Clark doesn't like sweet things very much, but Reese's Pieces have a magical property that suddenly renders any dessert into his favorite thing ev-AH. I don't know if it's the weird peanut butter or the candy shell, but if I made artichokes with Reese's Pieces he would probably eat them all and then ask me to make more for tomorrow.

So, now I have the perfect ingredient to reverse a past cooking failure. My so-so popcorn toffee bars will now be rendered as the caramel bars they were supposed to be and then elevated to the next level with peanut buttery goodness. (Woooo!) I now have a proper candy thermometer to guarantee success (Yeah yeah, I talk about it a lot, but I love it so much that I can't stop talking about it. [Woooo!]).



So, I popped a pot full popcorn the same as I did here, and let it cool. I lined a 9" by 13" rectangular glass pan with greased wax paper (bad idea*) and poured my popcorn in to form a 1 - 1.5 inch deep layer. I then sprinkled about a cup of Reese's Pieces on top.

Lastly, I made my third batch of caramel this month (recipe here) and poured it over my popcorn, coating uniformly. It will sink through and form a chewy bottom layer. Just let the bars cool for an hour and then slice and enjoy.

Sharing is recommended because each bar has enough fat and sugar to take 30 minutes off of your lifespan.

*If you don't like eating paper, don't do what I did. The wax paper, despite the layer of grease did not peel off the bars without leaving half of itself behind. Instead, use thicker parchment paper. Luckily, I have a husband who doesn't mind eating anything attached to something containing Reese's Pieces, but I don't recommend it.

Labels: food, projects

posted by Alison 9/27/2009 07:05:00 PM : (0) comments : splink