Honeycrunch 74%

Logan’s cousins, Joanna and Wes, who run Hound Dog Honey in Pennsylvania, surprised us last month with a literal vat of raw honey that was floral, creamy, and delicately wild. We’ve long toyed with the idea of a honey sweetened bar, but honestly, we’ve been scared off by the science. Honey adds moisture, which complicates the already fickle process of tempering.

So while honey is famously shelf stable for millennia, it’s a tricky guest in chocolate. Beautiful but temperamental. A vixen, if you will. But it sat there on our table like a dare.

Lauren loves candied nuts in her salads and decided to experiment. A scoop of nibs. A dollop of raw honey. A gentle melt on the stovetop, just enough to coat and cook off a bit of the water. Then into the dehydrator overnight.

By morning: golden, crackling, deeply aromatic nibs. The result is alive with contrast, sweet and toasty, bright and grounding, a flavor you can practically hear. We then added a dash of Everything salt, inspired by the sounds and smells of Thanksgiving. We hope it finds its way onto a charcuterie board, is shared after dinner, or tucked into a pocket for a trail snack as the days get shorter.