Despite being siblings, my brother and I had differing opinions on everything. He was a Los Angeles Dodgers fan while I preferred the Angels. He liked sci-fi stuff, and I… well, I just didn’t like/understand it.

And even on Thanksgiving, the day of the year where all families sit down together, he and I were contentious. You see, my mom had this tradition where she would let one of her kids pick the dessert to create. He always wanted pumpkin pie while I craved blueberry cheesecake. It was always a tempestuous dinner if your dessert wasn’t picked.

All these years later, I still like my preference over his, but in honor of the spirit of Thanksgiving, here is a candy recipe that combines both loves: A blueberry pumpkin cheesecake fudge bar that I call the Harmony Bar.

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One of my favorite candies is one you can make yourself. Commonly called Puppy Chow, this concoction – which requires little baking or time – can also be found at Christmas time with names such as Reindeer Food or Kibble. This sweet treat is a Midwest standard at church bazaars, elementary school craft shows and homemade Halloween parties, so you know it’s gotta be good.

Let me tell you from the start that Puppy Chow is some weird-looking stuff. There’s a reason it’s named after pet food. The finished snack is muddy brown with a white chalky-looking coating. But while this treat may not look very appetizing, once you get over its challenging appearance you won’t be able to stop “chowing down.” Kids love it, and can make it themselves with a little help from an adult. Even as kitchen-challenged as I am, I can whip up a batch in a pinch.

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There are many food associations for the month of October and Halloween. But personally, I can think of no other recipe that rings as true to this autumnal month than baked apples.

Apples themselves are an odd entity in the candy world, mainly lending themselves to either a sour apple flavoring or through the ever-popular candy apple. Aside from those formats, one rarely finds apple anywhere in the candy world.

So why am I talking about fruit when it is the antithesis of the holiest candy holiday of the year? Because you can’t just serve your guests candy at your Halloween party! Well… you could, but you shouldn’t. That is why instead of my typical candy bar for the month, I thought up a recipe that combines my favorite things about apples and gave them a candy makeover.

In the end, I decided I would combine my favorite elements to create a hybrid between a baked apple and a candy apple. The result is October’s candy recipe for what I call the Grand Apple, the perfect treat to serve any guest, whether they be a sugar-loving child or a nutrition-stubborn parent.

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Growing up in California, summer was always different from the rest of the country. For unknown reasons (at least to me), California schools let out in late June as opposed to May like everyone else in the country. As a result, summer vacation spans all the way until September (October even when I studied at U.C.L.A.).

What’s weird about this is that the rest of the country is back to their typical regimens while Californians have little to do. So how do Californians spend this month of September? They go to Hawaii!

All my friends were always going to Hawaii because it was still warm enough to enjoy, but the peak tourist season had already elapsed. Unfortunately, my parents had this thing about summer school and quality time with the family. As a result, I still have yet to find myself out on a beach in Maui.

But since I can’t afford to go to Hawaii at the moment, I decided I would bring the island to me. That translates to the candy bar of the month for September being what I call the Vacation Bar.

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Have you ever taken a bite out of a candy bar and thought “This is so wrong!” Do you feel that your love for all things candy is not adequately represented in any product on the market? Is there just a brilliant candy bar buried in your mind that your just waiting to see materialize one day?

If you, like me, answered yes to those questions, then you will understand why I am undergoing a process of creating my own candy bar. All too many times I have been disappointed by hollow promises of candy wrappers beguiling me into purchasing bad candy. No more excuses! I have decided to make my own bar so that way I control the quality of ingredients and make sure there is nothing in it that I don’t want.

Seeking inspiration for this bar, I turned to the month. August. Well… here in Austin, TX, it’s incredibly hot and humid, but that’s summer for you. And what says summer like going out into the woods and camping? And can you really camp anywhere without making s’mores? So in honor of all things woodsy and s’mores-related, I have concocted an inverted s’mores black forest bar that I call Lost in the Woods.

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