The proximity of Halloween inspired me to recreate one of my favorite candy bars, Snickers, in the form of a sundae, so this past weekend I headed to Amy's for some experimentation. Admittedly I could have made this sundae just as well at home (or bought this pre-designed monstrosity), but the memory of Amy's luscious vanilla ice cream and artery-clogging whipped cream drew me to her once again.

If Amy's had been offering Snickers- or even nougat-flavored ice cream that day, my work might have been a little too easy. But the types of ice cream on hand (e.g., Guinness) were not directly related to my project, so I had to be a little more creative and flexible. I decided to exercise my option for a heterogeneous mixture of scoops and for my large sundae chose two parts plain vanilla (though Snickers' nougat is technically peanut-flavored) and one part plain chocolate. I briefly considered the Belgian chocolate but dismissed that option given its darker flavor.

As I have written in earlier posts, Amy's offers hot fudge, not milk chocolate topping, so that would have to substitute. (Alternatively, I could tweak my model slightly from original Snickers to Snickers Dark.) I paid extra for a swirl of caramel, and requested some peanuts for my dry topping. "No peanuts," chirped the scooper. "Almonds and walnuts." Good lord, I thought. This is not Dark Chocolate Walnut Snickers, which sounded like some limited edition version sold only on Nantucket. So, I went meta and topped my Snickers sundae with actual bits of the candy bar itself. At home I anointed my creation with a bag of peanuts leftover from a Southwest flight and dug in.

Let me first say that pure, unabashed nut salt combined with dairy sugar is absolutely amazing. Alternately chewing and slurping my way through the sticky candy bar topping coating and melting chocolate and vanilla ice creams was immensely pleasurable. Add to that experience tasting the extra caramel and chocolate (fudge) that inevitably coated the nuts and bits of Snickers, and you have an out-of-this-world candy-ice cream moment. Certainly worthy of a chocolate bar from Mars.

But enough self congratulation. It's back to the drawing board and next time, I want to make something even more appropriate for All Hallow's Eve.