Guy Fawkes Night Chocolate Sparklers

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.

Guy Fawkes Night, aka Bonfire Night, is an annual celebration, primarily in Great Britain, traditionally held on the evening of November 5. Festivities are centered on the use of fireworks and the lighting of bonfires. Historically, the celebrations mark the anniversary of the failed Gunpowder Plot of November 5, 1605. Guy Fawkes Night originates from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a failed conspiracy by a group of provincial English Catholics to assassinate the Protestant King James I of England and replace him with a Catholic head of state. The survival of the king was first celebrated on 5 November 1605, after Guy Fawkes, left in charge of the gunpowder placed underneath the House of Lords, was discovered and arrested. During the Celebration, an effigy or "guy" representing Fawkes is ritually burnt on the bonfire

Here's a fun an easy recipe to make with the children, even if you don't celebrate the holiday! You can always save this recipe and make it for Fourth of July with Red, White, and Blue Sprinkles.

Guy Fawkes Night Chocolate Sparklers

Ingredients
Chocolate Fingers
Confectioners Sugar
Multi-colored Sprinkles or Sugar Popping candy

Directions
Pour Sprinkles or popping candy on a plate.
Dip end of chocolate finger in hot water--just a little to melt slightly.
Roll end of chocolate finger in sparkles and coat end. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until all fingers are coated. Set for a few hours.

What are Chocolate Fingers? Well, Cadbury makes a chocolate biscuit called Chocolate Fingers. I found them on Amazon, but if you don't have these, look for a similar chocolate shape (KitKat). You can also dip pretzels in chocolate ganache (melted) and dip in sprinkles.

Homemade Oh Henry! Bars: National Candy Day

Today is National Candy Day, and one of my all time favorite candy bars was an Oh Henry! Bar. Can't really say I've had one recently. Maybe that's because there are so many fabulous chocolate candy companies now, but that's another story.

So what exactly is an Oh Henry! Bar?  

From Wikipedia:

Oh Henry! is a chocolate bar containing peanuts, caramel, and fudge coated in chocolate. It was first introduced in 1920, by the Williamson Candy Company of Chicago, Illinois. According to legend, Oh Henry! was originally named after a boy who frequented the Williamson company, flirting with the girls who made the candy. The name is also said to be a homage to American writer, O. Henry. However, there is no definitive explanation as to the exact origin of the name.

Another theory is that the candy bar was invented by a man named Tom Henry of Arkansas City, Kansas. Tom Henry ran a candy company called the Peerless candy factory, and in 1919 he started making the Tom Henry candy bar. He sold the candy bar to Williamson Candy Company in 1920 where they later changed the name to "Oh Henry!". Henry's family now runs a candy factory in Dexter, Kansas that sells "momma henry" bars, which are nearly identical to the original candy bar.

In 1923, an employee of Williamson, John Glossinger, announced that he was going to make the Oh Henry! bar a national best seller. Company officials said it was impossible and denied him the funds for an advertising campaign. Glossinger went into the streets and pasted stickers saying merely "Oh Henry!" on automobile bumpers. People became curious as to what an Oh Henry! was and sales for the bar rose quickly.

1926 Oh Henry! Advertisement

Nestlé acquired the United States rights to the brand in 1984, and continues to produce the bar. In Canada, the bar is currently sold by The Hershey Company and manufactured at their Smiths Falls, Ontario facilities. Because of Canada's different chocolate standards, the Canadian "Oh Henry!" is not considered a "chocolate bar" and is labelled instead as a "candy bar." In fact, unlike the American version, which labels the bar as "milk chocolate," the Canadian version makes no mention of chocolate on the front of the wrapper. Hershey sells Oh Henry! bars made in Canada on a very limited basis in the United States as Rally bars, using the trademark of a Hershey product introduced in the 1970s and later discontinued.

Want to make your own Oh Henry! Bars? Here are three different recipes. Funny, but several of them include oats. I'm partial to #III because it doesn't include oatmeal, but that's just me. The first two recipes do seem to really capture the flavor.

I. Oh Henry! Candy Bars

Ingredients
4 cups oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup butter (melted)
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions
Mix together oatmeal, brown sugar, white sugar and melted butter.
Press into greased 9x13 pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter.
Spread over baked bars.
Put in fridge so frosting hardens completely.

II. Oh Henry! Candy Bars 

Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup white Karo syrup
2 cups oatmeal

Directions
Melt butter, sugar and syrup.
Add oatmeal.
Press in well buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Melt:
1 c. crunchy peanut butter
1 (6 oz.) chocolate chips

Cool bottom layer and spread mixture over the top.
Refrigerate.
Cut in squares.

III. Oh Henry! Candy Bars (my favorite recipe)

Part One
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:
Combine over heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Cook until it reaches the hard boil stage (265 degrees).
Let cool
Add peanut butter.
Stir, then shape into rolls 3/4 inch thick and 1 inch long.
Set aside.

Part Two
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 pounds peanuts, chopped fine
8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

Directions:
Cook corn syrup and sugar together until it reaches the hard boil stage (265 degrees).
Dip candy from first mixture into second mixture, then roll in peanuts while still hot.

Melt dark chocolate and dip rolls into melted chocolate
Place on parchment paper.

Dagwood's Chocolate Sandwich: National Sandwich Day!

What is more fitting than Dagwood's Chocolate Sandwich for National Sandwich Day. I believe that Dagwood probably would have added lots of other ingredients such as bananas and peanut butter, and that would be great, but how can you go wrong with chocolate, butter, and good bread?

I've posted several Chocolate Sandwiches over the years,  so today I turn to my "Tie-In" Cookbook collection and specifically Blondie's Cook Book for today's recipe. Dagwood is the iconic King of Sandwiches. My Dad used to make Dagwood Sandwiches... they were sandwiches that contained every thing but the 'kitchen sink'. FYI: My father never added chocolate.

Dagwood Bumstead, in case you don't know, is one of the main characters in comic artist Chic Young's long-running comic strip Blondie. He first appeared in the U.S. sometime prior to February 1933.

What's Cooking America defines the Dagwood Sandwich as a multi-layered sandwich with a variety of fillings. The term is used to denote a sandwich put together so as to attain such a tremendous size and infinite variety of contents as to stun the imagination, sight, and stomach of all but the original maker. Dagwood sandwiches is a term so well-known that it's in the Webster's New World Dictionary.

According to the creator of the comic strip, Murat Bernard “Chic” Young (1901-1973), the only thing that Dagwood could prepare in the kitchen was a mountainous pile of dissimilar leftovers precariously arranged between two slices of bread. Dagwood became known for his huge sandwiches he created on evening forays to the refrigerator. The comic strip is produced today under the direction of the creator's son, Dean Young, the strip has continued to keep up with the times.

Blondie's Cook Book: Chic Young's Classic Cook Book with New Comic Art Selections by His Son Dean Young (Gramercy Books, New York 1947, 1996)

This Comic says it all:

CHOCOLATE SANDWICHES RECIPE: Not sure how many sandwiches (or layers) this is supposed to make, but that's a lot of sugar. I've never made either of these recipse, so I'm thinking the amount of sugar might be a mistake.

Chocolate Vinegar Cake aka Depression Cake, Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake

This moist Chocolate Vinegar Cake is simple to make and perfect for yesterday's food holiday (or any day): National Vinegar Day. This cake is also known as Depression Cake, Crazy Cake, and Wacky Cake.

During the Depression and WWII there was a shortage of eggs and butter and milk, so this cake found its way into the ovens and hearts of many. Elevate it for 2016 with chocolate butter cream frosting or whipped cream and strawberries. But this cake doesn't really need it. It's delicious the way it is! It's great to make for a pot-luck or for a last minute dessert.

CHOCOLATE VINEGAR CAKE

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour 
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
10 Tbsp unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
2 Tbsp vinegar  (I like Cider Vinegar, but white distilled is fine, too)
2 tsp Madagascar vanilla
3/4 cup vegetable oil (try sunflower oil, if you have it, but any will do)
2 cups cold water

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 13 x 9 baking pan.
Sift dry ingredients into large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mix with large spoon until smooth.
Pour into prepared greased and floured pan.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Optional: Sprinkle with powdered sugar, frost with ganache or buttercream, or top with whipped cream and strawberries!