Moose Melts: The New England Candy Born from a Dad Joke

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My dad has a particular sense of humor. A few days ago, he told me he was going to send me a recipe for the website called “Moose Melts.” I got excited – my dad doesn’t usually contribute recipes, so this felt special. Turns out, he was joking. We had a good laugh about it.

Challenge accepted.

But then I thought about my mother. She loved the holidays with her whole heart, and she had this beautiful way of taking the silliest ideas and making them into something real, something meaningful. She would have absolutely run with this joke – probably would have had a batch made by the next day, packaged up in tins with handwritten labels, ready to give to neighbors.

So that’s exactly what I did. I turned my dad’s joke into an actual recipe, and honestly? These might be my new favorite holiday candy.

New England’s Answer to Bourbon Pecan Clusters

Moose Melts are my New England take on those incredible salted caramel turtles you find at places like Zeb’s General Store in North Conway, New Hampshire – the kind of old-fashioned candy shop that’s been a favorite of families for generations. You know the ones: glossy dark chocolate shells hiding puddles of buttery caramel and toasted nuts, finished with just the right amount of sea salt.

But instead of the traditional Southern approach with pecans and bourbon, I went full New England: pure maple syrup instead of bourbon, toasted walnuts instead of pecans, and crunchy pretzel twists as the base. Each cluster gets finished with flaky Maine sea salt that catches the light and makes everything taste even better.

The Magic of Maple Praline

The secret to these candies is the maple praline technique. You cook pure maple syrup with butter and cream until it reaches that perfect soft ball stage, creating a mixture that coats the walnuts in golden, glossy sweetness. When you bite into a Moose Melt, that praline layer literally melts in your mouth – it’s buttery, it’s rich, it’s deeply maple-flavored, and it dissolves on your tongue before you even realize what’s happening.

The pretzel stays crunchy underneath (that sweet-and-salty contrast is everything), the dark chocolate shell snaps when you bite through it, and those flakes of Maine sea salt tie it all together. They’re sophisticated enough to serve at a holiday party, but approachable enough that kids will love them too.

Making Memories from Jokes

My mother would have loved this. She had such joy in the kitchen, especially during the holidays, and she taught me that the best recipes often come from the most unexpected places – even from jokes that weren’t meant to be serious.

So here’s to turning dad jokes into traditions, to honoring the people we love by keeping their spirit alive in what we create, and to making candy that’s worth the effort. Whether you’re making these for gifts, for a holiday gathering, or just because you need something sweet and special in your life right now, I hope they bring you as much joy as they’ve brought our family.