by Steven Doyle
I always like to see the local people do well, and I have followed the journey of the owner and head baking gal over at HANK Dessert Bars, made right here in Dallas, for some time. Stacie Shaw makes the all natural dessert bars that are gluten free and a mere 170 calories that are huge in flavor that truly satisfies your snacking needs. The bars have been available locally at places such as Jimmy’s Food Store and the Green Grocer, but also available for home delivery through Artizone. Today Shaw sends word that the bars have been picked up by Central Market, and they will begin carrying the products in all five Dallas and Fort Worth stores on January 18th.
A little background on Hank. In the mid 1900’s John “Bud” sailed the Great Lakes as a shipman, eventually graduating to captain. John “Bud”’s wife Helen would join the captain aboard his ship one day and was treated to a dessert bar that was like no other. Helen was so taken by this treat that she asked for the recipe, and to her delight the cook happily obliged. The cook’s name? Hank.
The recipe for the dessert bar was handed down for several generations and is now in the hands of Dallasite Stacy Shaw who had sampled the bars since she was quite young. Sheasked her asked her grandmother Edie for the recipe and today Shaw is marketing Hank’s Dessert Bars for all the world to share. The young entrepreneur has been wildly successful as the bars are delicious.
The Hank bars come in myriad of flavor combinations including dark chocolate and butterscotch. The bars are dual layers containing different nuts like almonds and peanuts, with a smooth, creamy top layer of chocolate.
The dark chocolate with almonds and ginger is an especially wonderful taste combination as is the white chocolate, almond and espresso. Check out Shaw’s Facebook page for Hanks.
