Ga-ga over Goo Goos

When the James Beard Foundation hosts a Valentine’s Tea at the James Beard House in New York City this Sunday, the dessert offerings will include “Goo Goo Pies” created by pastry chef Jennifer Giblin (from the Blue Smoke restaurant — a barbecue joint in Manhattan). This confection, inspired by the famous candy clusters, will be tartlets “layered with caramel, salted peanuts, cream cheese mousse, chocolate pudding and marshmallow kisses.”

It sounds delicious! I’m a longtime fan of Goo Goo Clusters — a candy that’s been around since 1912; it was invented by a 19-year-old entrepreneur named Howell Campell in Nashville, Tennessee. One theory about how the candy got its name is that it was sold as a concession treat at the Grand Ol’ Opry (GOO).

During the Great Depression, the slogan for Goo Goo Clusters was “a nourishing lunch for a nickel.”

In this Depression, I’d love to find a nourishing lunch for a nickel. I’d go goo-goo over it.