As October comes to a close and the national holiday that pays homage to candy consumption creeps closer, every store seems to celebrate commercial candies-from sugary candy corn to the brand-name classics, such as Snickers, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Milky Ways, Almond Joys, and Butterfingers. Since I grew up without them or Halloween, they don’t represent a touchstone of childhood for me, but I’ve developed . . . an appreciation for the flavors they represent.
To align with the spirit of the season, I made what I could only call Devilish Delights, a combination of candy flavors exploded and recombined into a single dessert-chocolate, coconut, toffee, butter, nuts, and milk giving a sticky, chewy, crunchy Halloween experience. They’re devilish because they’re tempting, and then they’re devilish because you want to keep eating them.
Devilish Delight, brought to you by angels and demons. Happy Halloween!.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center of oven. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and salt. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press into bottom of pan using your fingertips.
3. In another medium bowl, mix together chocolate chips, coconuts, toffee and pecans; sprinkle evenly over crust.
4. Pour condensed milk evenly over chocolate chip mixture, covering most of the surface. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating pan halfway through baking, making sure the milk does not get too brown or bubble over in the pan, 25 to 28 minutes.
5. Transfer baking pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into squares whatever size you like.
Notes:
1. Bar can be wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
2. You can switch up the ingredients to suit your candy palette, just keep them to similar quantity.
3. Use all sweetened coconut flakes if you want a sweeter result. You can also switch to milk chocolate chips instead of bittersweet chocolate chips.
