Traditionally we eat one candy bar, followed by another, and then another. Especially if it is the miniature versions left in candy bowls around the holidays. The leftover candies are either dispersed or put into a container to be used for some higher purpose. Inevitably that higher purpose is to be chopped up and baked into a cookies, brownies, blondies, cakes and pies. The combination of candies and baked goods in often dependent on what is around and what is currently being craved.
The other day I was hit up with the request to make chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream and either butterfingers or heath bars. The choice was mine. The candy was supposed to provide textural contrast and flavor bombs in the pudding. As I contemplated the options I wondered why not use both? The two candies, that I would rarely if ever combine on my own, sounded amazing together. The flaky peanut butter combined with the harder crunchy toffee of the the Heath. The more I thought, and fantasized, the more I wondered why we had never tried this before.
I went to the cupboard to see if we had either candy bar stashed away. We did not, so i went to the store on my mission. I returned home with more bars than we needed. I was driven and consumed by the idea. I gave one of each bar to Amaya and said "Hulk, smash." Actually I gave her a spoon and said "please smash these bars perfectly, without destroying the packaging." Her response, "Daddy, nothing is perfect." Amaya set in on her task. When the bars were crushed to mine and her satisfaction we opened them into a bowl and mixed the coarse contents together. We tasted the combination and we both smiled. The blending of Heath Bars and Butterfingers was one of those matches made to happen. It only took a few years to get there.
Years Past
January 9, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
