Skip to main content

No Bake Sweet Marie Bars

 Reminiscent of the popular Canadian candy bar, these desserts are soft, chewy, salty and sweet. Covered in chocolate, these bars boast the perfect flavour and texture combination!


Growing up in Canada, I never realised that many of our beloved candy bars/chocolate bars did not exist in the U.S. It wasn't until I lived in the U.S back in 2001, that I realised how different chocolate bars were there. Gone were many of my favourites, which I only was able to enjoy on trips home to visit family. Why are things so different? Well in Canada, we carry many Cadbury brands of chocolate. Since we are a British Colony, naturally we import British products. Cadbury never made it big in the U.S, after Hershey's accused the company of infringing on it's trademark rights and importing U.K products not intended for sale in the U.S.

The Sweet Marie Bar had crispy rice, peanuts, caramel and chewy nougat, covered in chocolate. Inspired by a love affair and a love poem, this chocolate bar first made it's appearance in the late 1800s. It's said that in 1893 author Cy Warman had been taking an evening stroll through a park in London Ontario, with his sweetheart Marie. He had been so smitten that he sat in the park and wrote a poem title "Sweet Marie". When musician Raymond Moore later read the poem, he decided to put it to music. The song eventually became a hit, which inspired the creation of the chocolate bar. Pretty neat if you ask me!

My mom first made this recipe over 30 years ago and would only make this dessert at Christmas. Mom's Christmas trays are always overflowing with dozens of different types of desserts! Her's resembled little fun sized Sweet Marie Bars, but I decided to make them in a cake pan, since I'm not the greatest at dipping things in chocolate. I don't know how similar these taste to the actual Sweet Marie bar, which is no longer in production, but these sure are delicious. They are chewy, crispy and studded with salty peanuts, which gives them added texture. An absolutely wonderful flavour and texture combination!



Sweet Marie Bars

½ C smooth natural peanut butter
½ C brown sugar
½ C light corn syrup, or raw honey
1 tbs butter
2 C Crisped Rice Cereal
1 C salted peanuts
1 package semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 C white chocolate chips

Heat the peanut butter, sugar, corn syrup (or honey) and butter over low heat until mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat and stir in rice cereal and peanuts; mix well.

Press into a greased 8 inch square pan and cover with chocolate chips while hot. As chips melt, spread over the top, using an offset spatula. Let cool.

Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, using 30 second intervals, until melted. Stir until smooth and pour into a zip top bag. Cut a small piece from the corner of the zip top bag and drizzle white chocolate onto bars.

Once white chocolate has set, cut into squares; using a long sharp knife.

PIN IT!!!


This recipe is being shared at these AWESOME linky parties

Labels:

Comments

  1. The Rowdy Baker10 December 2020 at 15:50

    Oh my goodness - what a perfect treat! A little bit of heaven. Can't wait to try them. They're on my Christmas list!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Irene11 December 2020 at 09:39

    I have lived in Canada since the mid 90s and have never heard of these bars. I like trying all things Canadian, and these sure sound delicious, so I have pinned the recipe and will have to make a batch soon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Miz Helen15 December 2020 at 19:44

    Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday,514. Hope you are having a great week and come back to see us soon!
    Miz Helen

    ReplyDelete

Post a comment

We love hearing from you!! Let us know what you think.

Popular posts from this blog

No Yeast Old Fashion Cinnamon Rolls

 These delicious cinnamon sticky rolls have been in my family for over 40 yrs. No yeast is required, so you can whip up a batch of these in no time. Still tender, sticky sweet and delicious! Ever since I can remember Mom would make these as a special treat. It wasn't too often, but every once in a while, we'd come home to these no yeast cinnamon rolls, as an after school snack. Growing up, this is what I thought cinnamon rolls were. I wasn't aware that there was a yeast version of cinnamon rolls. As much as I LOVE the yeast version, this no yeast version seems to make an appearance more frequently here at home.  Since there is no yeast in the dough, it does not need to rise for 30 minutes before being rolled out and baked. When I worked in the retirement home the residents were always excited when I made these cinnamon rolls. They said it reminded them of their childhood. It was amazing seeing how happy a simple recipe could make them. I don't make these very often and
12 comments
Read more

AMAZING Crockpot Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken #Blogtober

 In this AMAZING crockpot recipe, t ender chicken is bursting with flavour and cooked a garlic and brown sugar glaze. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission from these links. I offer them to you at no extra charge. I originally saw versions of this recipe on Pinterest and it had my tummy rumbling so hard, that I knew I had to make it. I had chicken in the freezer, so decided to make this chicken on a day where I would be at school all day. Nothing like walking into the most amazing smell, when you get home from a busy day of work!  I love that this recipe is so simple, yet it is out of this world delicious. Sweet and savory combine, to coat this tender chicken. It literally fell apart as I tried to remove it from the crock pot. Once tossed with the thickened glaze, I served it with cooked rice/fried rice and some fresh snap peas. It was an amazingly fantastic crock pot meal, that I will be making again and again.  Crockpot Brown
21 comments
Read more

Peanut Butter Confetti Squares

 A mixture of peanut butter and butterscotch chips, coat colourful marshmallows, for a simple, fun and easy holiday treat! My family calls these Galettes Froides, but most people know these as confetti squares. My grandmothers would make these for Christmas, and Mom has been making these desserts at Christmas time, since I can remember. They've always been my favourite because of the use of the rainbow marshmallows. There's just something about the colours that make these looks so yummy. These squares couldn't be more simple to make and I love that they are no bake as well. Some people use regular white marshmallows, some people use chunky peanut butter and some people add coconut. I like them each and every way I can get them. It wouldn't be Christmas without these confetti squares making an appearance. Peanut Butter Confetti Squares 1 bag butterscotch chips 1/2 C smooth peanut butter 1/2 C flakes sweetened coconut 1/2 C unsalted butter (not margarine) 4 C rainbow colo
5 comments
Read more