Memoirs of a Sugar Baby

My favorite candy since childhood: Milky Way chocolate bars. Visiting friends of my parents brought the first bag into the house--enough treats to last a week for my sister and me. But the Milky Ways were confiscated the moment they arrived, and we stood in breathless wait for a weak moment when my mother would allow one to cross our lips. Under my mother’s strict control, a small bagful lasted three months.

Milky Way was the candy of seduction and negotiation. No excess amounts of candy were allowed in the house, so the candy bars remained out of our reach on the top shelf of my mother’s curio cabinet, reserved for special occasions--when we were so “good” that an ultimate treat was warranted or so “sick” that only a candy bar would help turn the tide of a fever crisis in favor of returning to school the next day. To be “bad” meant no candy. No matter what. To be “bad” meant watching my mother toss our beloved Milky Way bars kamikaze- style into the trash bin. Without mercy.

My mother disliked chocolates and saw no reason for them except to dirty our clothes. And, of course, a stray chocolate crumb would tumble gracefully on a pure white collar and make an indelible mark that not even Clorox could erase.

I still enjoy Milky Ways--at times in remote places. Once,under a Sahara Desert moon, I had one. There it was, a Milky Way trapped in the under-pocket of my tote bag, squished to a flat bar but still edible. I peeled off the paper that had stuck hard to the melted chocolate layer and sucked away at the velvety mass as I watched the sky glow over undulating sand dunes within its own milky way.

There were other childhood candy seductions, of course. There were sesame candies and powdery Turkish Delights (also gifts from well-meaning friends of our parents) that lifted our spirits momentarily before they, too, were confiscated and dropped into the trash bin.

Then there were Abba-Zaba and Bit-O-Honey taffies that tasted like peanut butter, and the Jujubes, Jujyfruits, Baby Ruths and candy kisses that became the preferred candy whenever our father accompanied us to a movie-- sans Mom. And there were the yard-long paper strips covered with candy “dots” in beautiful pastel colors that we’d buy for a penny on our way to or from school.

Later, when we arrived in California, a box of See’s candies was the first best thing I discovered about Los Angeles. I still think it’s one of the best things about Los Angeles, just as Fanny Farmer candies are one of the great things about Chicago. In fact, no chocolates, not even the finest Belgian or Swiss chocolate or even Belgian Callebaut or French Valrhona , believed to be among the most expensive chocolates in the world, can hold a candle to my beloved good, old American See’s. It’s my favorite Valentine’s Day present and my most adored bedtime reading snack--there’s something wonderfully naughty about the taste of silky-smooth milk chocolate after you’ve brushed your teeth.

SESAME SEED STRIPS

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup water

2 (3-ounce) boxes sesame seeds, lightly toasted

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar, honey and water in 4-quart saucepan. Cook to hard-crack stage (300 degrees on candy thermometer). Stir in sesame seeds. Cook 2 minutes. Stir in butter and vanilla. Let stand few minutes then stir. Pour into well-buttered jellyroll pan. Cool slightly.

While still soft, score into desired shapes, such as strips or diamond shapes--about 160 pieces. Do not remove from pan until candy is firm. Cut with scissors, separating strips. Makes 160 strips.

Each strip contains about:

21 calories; 3 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams protein; 0.05 grams fiber; 34% calories from fat.

This recipe was adapted from the “Candymaking” cookbook (HPBooks). Authors Ruth A. Kendrick & Pauline H. Atkinson write: “This recipe gives a very tender candy; if you prefer a chewier consistency, add one tablespoon cornstarch to the gelatin mixture.”

PAULINE’S APPLETTES

2 (1/4-ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 1/4 cups applesauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup chopped nuts

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Powdered sugar or cornstarch or melted chocolate

Butter or line 8-inch loaf pan with foil. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup applesauce and stir until well-mixed. Combine remaining applesauce, lemon juice and sugar in 1-quart saucepan. Stir well. Place over medium heat and stir constantly until mixture comes to boil. Boil 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add gelatin-applesauce mixture and boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Refrigerate 24 hours. Remove from refrigerator, let stand about 15 minutes, then wipe top with paper towels.

Lightly dust wax paper with powdered sugar. Flip candy onto wax paper; remove foil if using. Wipe top with paper towels if moist. Cut into 32 pieces (8x4). Roll in powdered sugar. Or dip in melted chocolate and set on wax paper-lined pan. Makes 32 applettes.

Each applette contains about:

68 calories; 1 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0 fiber; 29% calories from fat.