Reptar Bars!

If you grew up in the 90s, it was pretty much a given that you watched Nickelodeon and every show from All That to Rockos Modern Life. I pretty much lived for all of those shows as a child and the Rugrats were one of my favorites [ I always wanted to be a nicer & sweeter version of Angelica].

I was watching Rugrat repeats recently on "the 90s are all that" & then I stumbled upon this blog, and found the most awesome thing ever..REPTAR BARS! Of course I had to make them, but a little more refined. I swapped out the jarred marshmallow fluff for a scratch-made Italian meringue, a homemade salted caramel sauce, & I even tempered the chocolate, for some practice. You could of course always use store bought caramel,  fluff and non-temper [Nestles] chocolate to make your life easier, but that's just not me.

They definitely do turn your tongue green.



Reptar bars
- mini loaf pans [mine were 3 x 5]
- 24 oz milk chocolate, melted
- 7 oz marshmallow fluff, dyed green
- 4 tsp pecans, toasted & chopped
- 4 tsp salted caramel sauce

have everything ready to go

Italian Meringue/Fluff Recipe
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- water [enough to moisten sugar]

To make: in a saucepan, boil the sugar with the water until it reaches 240F. Meanwhile, start whipping up the egg white until it looks like cappuccino foam. When the syrup is to temp, turn up the mixer and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture is cooled down to room temp. Add vanilla & food coloring.

Salted Caramel Sauce:[ This makes extra, but its delicious!]
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp fleur de sel, or other salt
- water [to moisten sugar]

To make: cook sugar until it turns a deep golden brown, around 320F. Meanwhile, heat the cream up so it doesn't splatter as much when you pour it into the sugar. When the sugar is to temp, whisk in the cream and then whisk in the butter. Add the vanilla & salt.

To assemble the bars:

Grease the loaf pans with cooking spray.
Pour 1/4 cup of melted chocolate in the bottom of each pan and spread out evenly.  Sprinkle 1 tsp of pecans on each bar. Freeze for 10 minutes to set.

Take 1 tbsp of marshmallow fluff and place it in the center of each bar, leaving 1/2 inch of space [at least] from the edges so the filling doesn't ooze out later. Drizzle 1 tsp of caramel over the fluff.

Pour another 1/4 cup of chocolate over the top, starting at the edges to encase the marshmallow fluff before putting chocolate over it. Spread out evenly, and use all of the melted chocolate if some bars are not covered enough. Freeze for another 10 minutes to set.

To remove from pan: loosen the edges with a small offset spatula or knife. Turn over and give one hard tap, and it should fall out in one piece.

I like to wrap mine in foil as most chocolate bars come wrapped in foil, although I'm sad I don't have reptar foil.