Before I start this piece, I want to point out that this is not a shameless plug for a friend's idea for a dessert. I was skeptical when I heard that Sarah, a West Coast-based colleague who worked at the advertising trade newspaper with me oh so many years ago, was embarking on creating a brownie/blondie-type bar in hopes of selling it to some shops and actually make a living at it. Sarah relocated with her husband to the East Coast, and was hoping to make a little money on the side while raising her young son, Race. Recently she visited a mutual friend of ours, Christine, and dropped off some of her Caramellas for us to try out. Neither myself nor Christine are what we'd call dessert lovers. Christine tried a Caramella and was instantly hooked. She told me that I'd better take the rest or she'd eat them all. I finally tried a bar and I too am hooked. It was the most delicious bar I've ever tried. In fact I wanted to save one for tonight so that I could experience the taste while writing this post. I got home and knowing I had one left went to grab it from the fridge. At first I couldn't find it and went searching all through the shelves. I was about to call Christine and accuse her of stealing my Caramella when I finally located it. I then realized that I was acting like a crack addict who couldn't find his or her next hit. Now, enough about my addiction—on to more about the amazing Caramellas...
Sarah's Caramellas are an oatmeal and brown sugar bar topped with homemade caramel, chopped walnuts and smooth dark chocolate. The original recipe came from a relative on her sister's husband's side, a woman who raised five boys. Sarah happened to try a bar at her sister's house and after tracking down the recipe she began baking them herself, tweaking and changing along the way until she came up with her Caramellas. Sarah then took them to some parties where they were (not surprisingly) a huge hit. A test run with a local shop proved very successful so fortunately Sarah is now going full speed on working to get the Caramellas out to the public. In just a few short weeks, the Caramellas will be available at the following places:
Coffee Labs, 7 Main Street,Tarrytown, NY
www.coffeelabs.com
Black Cat Café, 45 Main Street, Irvington, NY
www.blackcatchef.com
Julie Bean Espresso Mobile Café, Based out of Hastings on Hudson, NY
www.juliebeanespresso.com
If you're lucky enough to be near any of these places, by all means please do yourself a favor and try these slices of heaven. Eventually Sarah hopes to get more places in Westchester County, and then she has her sights set on New York City. Sarah can also make special orders for catering and corporate events and parties, which includes delivery (minimum order is 20 bars for $60 plus delivery charges). If you'd like to be kept in the loop about where Sarah's Caramellas are available as well when her website is up with all info, please keep checking http://sarahscaramellas.blogspot.com/
Oh, and Sarah, if you'd like to test how the Caramellas hold up in the mail you have my address.
