Canadian Candy Bar Salad is a fun, Canadian version of a Minnesota "Salad". That is to say... it's a dessert, NOT an actual salad.
Originally posted July 22, 2018. Updated 2/16/2021
So - It's been a long time since I've posted a blog entry!
A LOT has happened - we packed up and sold our house in Minneapolis, got everything onto two shipping containers, and moved to Canada.
Shortly before we sold the house, we moved into a small, 27' motor home, and that's been "home" right up until we closed on our new house a couple weeks ago.
The kitchen didn't really lend itself to creating blog worthy meals, and we've been very busy with getting settled, so.. no posts. We're now mostly settled, so I can get back into posting from time to time.
For the first recipe being posted from within Canada, this one seems appropriate. We've been calling it "fusion salad".
This weekend, we attended our first social event in Ontario - a potluck BBQ.
We were fussing over what we should bring, and my husband joked that we should bring a Minnesota "salad" - basically a desserty item made with things like Cool Whip, fruit, pudding, etc.
One thing led to another, and we ended up coming up with a "Minnesota-Canadian Fusion" version of Snickers Salad, which we brought to the event last night. (Along with my Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake, just in case our creation didn't turn out well!)
Canadian Candy Bar Salad
We decided to use our 3 favourite Canadian candy bars, because neither of us wanted to actually choose. We decided to keep the Granny Smith apple, so the sour crunch could provide a good foil for all that chocolate.
For the fluff, we decided we would be adding maple syrup... because obviously we would.
Knowing that, we decided on a cream cheese based fluff, so that the syrup wouldn't be competing with pudding mix, nor would it be sickeningly sweet as a result.
What started as a joke ended up turning out really well! Once people got past the look of it ("What is THAT?") and actually tried it, it seemed fairly popular. Definitely a conversation piece!
The maple syrup in the fluff definitely elevated it from normal dessert "salads" - it seemed to really tie everything together well. It just added a little something, without being overpowering.
If you are in the USA, these chocolate bars may be available in the international aisle of some grocery stores, and/or at World Market.
Also, as a tip: My $9 cheapie sushi knives that I bought off Amazon works REALLY well for cleanly cutting candy bars, as you can see with the garnish slice in the pic. (A Mr Big bar, sliced on an extreme diagonal!).
You know, in addition to making sushi, carving foam, and everything else I use them for!
Enjoy!
If you’re interested in Canadian cuisine, you should check out my cookbook, "More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from my Home and Native Land”. "More than Poutine" is a Canadian cookbook like no other - written by a Canadian living away, it includes both traditional home cooking recipes, as well as accurate homemade versions of many of the snacks, sauces, convenience foods, and other food items that are hard to come by outside of Canada! Order your copy here on this site, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller!
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Minnesota-Canada Fusion Candybar Salad
Equipment
- Sushi Knife
Ingredients
- 3 Wunderbars
- 2 Coffee Crisp Bars
- 2 Mr Big Bars
- 8 oz Cream Cheese Softened
- ¼ Cup Maple Syrup
- ½ Cup Confectioners / Icing / Powdered Sugar
- 1 L Container of Cool Whip Slightly softened. (16 oz)
- 4 Granny Smith Apples
Instructions
- Thinly slice all 7 candy bars, set aside.
- In a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and maple syrup together until smooth. Add icing sugar, continue mixing until well combined and smooth.
- Gently fold in Cool Whip, until well combined. Add chocolate pieces, once again gently folding until well combined.
- Chop Granny Smith apples into bit sized pieces, gently fold into mix.
- Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving. Top with reserved candy bar pieces, if you set some aside.
Notes
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Looking for some more recipes inspired by my time living in Minnesota? Here's a few for ya! (Oh ya, you betcha?)
Beer Battered Corn on the Cob
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Carol
Now this is my kind of salad! What great fun!
At first when Insaw the title I thought it might be lots of chocolate and maybe too much(if there ever was such a thing), but I think with the cream cheese and whipping cream this might be a fun and really tasty way to have your sweets.Something just a biut different from diving into a chocolate bar. I love it!
Rene
What are the American versions of the candy bars names here?
Marie Porter
There really aren't any US equivalents to them, sadly.
Like I mentioned in the post, though, you can usually find them in import stores like World Market.