Todd Wilbur has baked, boiled, digested, fried, and tested--all in the name of duplicating some of America's favorite convenience foods. He now shares 41 of these naughty but nice gastronomical delights in Top Secret Recipes. If you've ever craved a McDonald's Big Mac at 3:00 A.M. on a Sunday morning, then Wilbur has just the recipe for satisfying your junk-food desires. Even better, no cordon-bleu expertise is needed for this particular clone--just simple frying and chopping skills! Simplicity
At the train station in Naugatuck, Connecticut, candy and ice-cream shop owner Peter Paul Halajian used to meet the commuter trains carrying baskets full of fresh hand-made chocolates. The most popular of his candies was a blend of coconut, fruits, nuts, and chocolate that he called Konabar.
In 1919, when demand for his confections grew, Halajian and five associates, all of Armenian heritage, opened a business in New Haven to produce and sell his chocolates on a larger scale. Because there were no refrigerators, they made the chocolate by hand at night, when the air was the coolest, and sold the candy during the day. In 1920 the first Mounds bar was introduced.
Peter Paul merged with Cad bury U.S.A. in 1978, and in 1986 Cadbury U.S.A. merged with the Hershey Foods Corporation, now the world's largest candy conglomerate.
Today the recipes for Mounds and Almond Joy are the same as they were in the roaring twenties.
Makes about 3 dozen bars
5 ounces Eagle sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
14 ounces premium shredded or flaked coconut
One 24-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
Blend the condensed milk and vanilla.
Add the powdered sugar to the above mixture a little bit at a time, stirring until smooth.
Stir in the coconut. The mixture should be firm.
Pat the mixture firmly into a greased 9x13x2-inch pan. Chill in the refrigerator until firm.
In a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, melt the chocolate, stirring often. You may also use a microwave oven. Place the chips in a bowl and heat for 1 minute on high: stir, then heat for 1 minute more.
Remove the coconut mixture from the refrigerator and cut it into 1x2-inch bars.
Set each coconut bar onto a fork and dip into the chocolate. Tap the fork against the side of the pan or bowl to remove any excess chocolate.
Air-dry at room temperature on waxed paper. This could take several hours, but chocolate sets best at cool room temperature (below 70 degrees). You may speed up the process by placing the bars in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Peter Paul Almond Joy
And if you feel like a nut, follow the above recipe with these changes:
Add 1 cup dry-roasted almonds to the list of ingredients.
Substitute milk-chocolate chips for semisweet chocolate.
In step 8, place two almonds atop each bar before dipping.
