Anette's Chocolates - Chili Lime Tequila Tortilla Brittle

Brent Madsen, owner and candymaker of Anette’s Chocolate Factory in Napa, Calif., has been known to douse his sweet concoctions in alcohol, like his award-winning bourbon and beer brittles. For more than 20 years, Brent and his sister, Anette, have been creating deliciously memorable sweets from family recipes and unconventional updated creations.

“This time we wanted to do something more off the wall with savory and sweet flavors with a subtle kick,” Madsen says. The idea for the Chili Lime Tequila Tortilla Brittle started brewing while Madsen was munching on one of his favorite snacks: corn tortilla chips.

“I kept thinking what would go well with tortilla chips and what flavors could I build around them,” he says. After some trial and error with pine nuts and almonds, Madsen settled on roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) to complement organic white and yellow corn tortilla chips. Keeping to a Mexican-food theme, Madsen chose a full-flavored tequila for the alcohol component and added all-natural lime and a little chile de árbol for kicks.

“The flavors are subtle and absolutely make sense,” says Mary Stornetta, Madsen’s wife. Stornetta samples every new creation in the company’s chocolate shop in Napa to gauge customer response. “People were intrigued and kept coming back for more,” she says. “We knew we had a winner.” Chili Lime Tequila Tortilla Brittle is the company’s fifth sofi Gold win for its line of brittles and Caramel Brandy Sauce.—Nicole Potenza Denis

How to Enjoy It: This brittle’s versatile flavors make it a satisfying snack, appetizer or dessert. Serve it at your next gourmet dinner party, or munch on it solo.

MSRP: $9.95/8 oz. package

Website: anettes.com

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