Photo by Lori Dunn
Delightful Cherry Mash Bars are a yearly request.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup evaporated milk, not diluted
- Dash of salt
- 12 regular marshmallows
- 1/2 cup margarine
- 1 package (6 ounces) cherry chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 package (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup crushed salted peanuts
Directions
- In saucepan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, salt, marshmallows and margarine. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil; boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in cherry chips and vanilla. Pour mixture into buttered 9-by-13-inch pan.
- In double boiler, melt chocolate chips, then stir in peanut butter and peanuts. Spread mixture over cherry chips layer. Chill until firm.
Note: If you can’t find cherry chips, substitute 6 ounces almond bark and 1 teaspoon cherry extract (or more as desired for taste and coloring), and omit the vanilla extract.
Interested in some more special treats for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Whip up some of the homemade delights featured in Recipe Box: Holiday Candy Recipes.
Associate Editor Jean Teller is sure she’s not the only one to consider the candy and desserts one of the best – and certainly the most tasty – parts of the holiday season.
Cora Bash, Stuart, Iowa, has lost the recipe for Cherry Mash Candy Bars. She says the center fondant was made with cherry flavoring, not chips. It was placed in the bottom of the pan, then a mixture of ground nuts and chocolate chips was poured over the top.
The responses — and most recipes we found — include cherry chips. The recipes online that included flavoring other than chips were rolled into bars and then dipped in chocolate.
This version gives us a choice of cherry chips or flavoring.
