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Chances are, unless you live in Washington state, you have no clue what a Mountain Bar is. Let me enlighten you!
Mountain Bars are made by a company you may have heard of, Brown & Haley. They make that little candy bar called Almond Roca. They used to sell Mountain Bars all over the place (at least in California), but I haven’t seen them in years. My mom loved them when I was a kid, and I always remember the little blue wrappers in her candy stash.
I had an uncle who lived in Tacoma, just outside Seattle, where Brown & Haley is. They have this little teeny store under a freeway overpass where you can buy their candy in bulk. My uncle would come stay with us for two weeks every summer and he would always have a case of Mountain Bars (that is a lot of candy!) in his luggage along with his “borrowed” hotel towels. I would eat handfuls and handfuls of Mountain Bars, until I was sick from them.
Memories…
A mountain bar is a candy bar that looks like a mountain. The outside shell was milk chocolate with finely chopped peanuts and the inside was pure sugary vanilla heaven. Almost like a vanilla nougat, but a little smoother.
I have been wanting to make Mountain Bars for my mom forever. This Christmas I decided to give it a go, and I’m so glad I did. These are really easy to make, even though they have a few steps.
The center is a candy made of butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. It’s really a soft nougat that I could have eaten with a spoon.
And then it’s dredged in chocolate mixed with peanuts. Could there be anything better?
Even if you’ve never heard of a Mountain Bar before, you need these in your life. Or, if you’re lucky and live in Tacoma, drive down to that little offramp and get a box for me, mmkay?
Oh, and they make a peanut butter version of Mountain Bar too. Stand by…
Mountain Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk from a 14 ounce can
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 bag chocolate melts or almond bark 12 ounces
- 1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Beat butter, vanilla, salt, and sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl with an electric or hand mixer. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until mixture comes together. You should be able to form balls of candy that hold together.
- Drop tablespoon sized balls (rolled) onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Chill until ready to use, at least 30 minutes.
- When ready to make candy, line a new cookie sheet with wax paper. Melt your chocolate according to package directions. If it’s cold in your kitchen, it might be helpful to line an electric griddle with an old kitchen towel on low heat (about 200 degrees) and place the bowl of melted candy on top. It keeps the candy warm for you.
- Place 1 teaspoon of chocolate evenly spaced on the prepared cookie sheet, one for each ball of candy you made. Spread it slightly. Place a rolled ball of candy in the center of each teaspoon of chocolate.
- Mix the chopped peanuts into the remaining chocolate. Cover each ball of candy with 1-2 teaspoons of peanutty chocolate. Use your spoon to spread it so that the chocolate top meets the bottom under the ball, to seal. Chill to harden.
Recipe Nutrition
Like Candy Recipes? Check out my Candy Pinboard or these sweet copycat treats:
Homemade Twix by Miss Candiquik
Biscoff KitKats by The Domestic Rebel
BoBerry Biscuits Copycat by Something Swanky
Thanks for reading!
Last Updated on March 9, 2024
I’m a native Oregonian and I remember Mountain Bars well. As a kid I had a serious addiction to Cherry Mountain Bars. Yum. Now I want one–or five. 😉
Me too! 🙂
You had me at vanilla nougat. : )
LOL, me too…
How have I never heard of this candy before??? Well obviously I need to make some of these so I can find out what I was missing 🙂 They look amazing!
Thanks Trish!
Everyone, these are as wonderful as they sound. Can you believe my surprise Christmas Eve when I opened my goodie can and found a bunch of them? I’m thinking…better than the originals. These creamy centers were very smooth and I remember the originals being a bit more “gritty”. YUM, YUM, YUM!
Love, Mom
I’m glad you liked them. 🙂
I never heard of these before, but they look scrumptious! Thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday 🙂
http://www.flourmewithlove.com/2013/01/mix-it-up-monday.html#more
Thanks Lisa!
These sound heavenly!! I haven’t heard of them, which is surprising – maybe I missed them in CO? We always had bear paws though, definitely a CO thing..Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to try these!
P.s. Thanks for sharing my link 🙂
You’re welcome! I heart copycat candy! 🙂
I have never heard of those, but I am in Canada, we never get the good treats here right? They sound yummy though.
Thanks Sue!
I have never heard of Mountain Bars, but boy do I want to meet one! Vanilla nougat center, chocolate peanut topping…it all sounds awesome!!!
It is! Thanks Jocelyn!
These sound wonderful! Whoa. Thanks.
Thanks Shiloh!
I remember Mountain Bars. Oh man, trip down memory lane! The vanilla ones were my favorite! I can’t wait yo make these. Yeah! Thanks so much!
Thanks Erin! I’m glad they triggered a memory for you. 🙂
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