If you’re anything like me, sometimes you have to have chocolate. NOW. And I’m not talking about that “one small piece after dinner” that fitness gurus conjured up to make the rest of us feel bad. I’m talking about a wedge of something warm and gooey, with a few of those “small pieces” on top. And maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to cut the sweet.

Something I can make in less than a hour.

Like this Goo Goo Pie.

It’s basically your granny’s brownie pie taken to the next level. About 10 minutes before it’s done, you sprinkle the top with chopped Goo Goos (or any other candy bar) and slide it back in the oven, so those pieces melt into a rich, gooey top layer that’s been known to inspire others to take out the trash in a spontaneous act of gratitude.

One pie to rule them all!

So, what’s a Goo Goo?

A Goo Goo Cluster is something magical – a cluster of chewy marshmallow nougat, caramel and crunchy roasted peanuts swaddled in melt-in-your-mouth milk chocolate. When we were kids, my sister and I used to see how slowly we could eat ours, just for the right to torture the one who’d finished first.

Goo Goos have been part of Nashville for almost 100 years, since Standard Candy Company started making them here in 1912. They were the world’s first candy bars made with one than one ingredient, beating Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups by 16 years, Snickers by 18 years and M&Ms by 29 years.

And they are still mighty fine.

Of course, you could crumble any candy bar on top of this pie (even leftover Halloween candy), but sometime, you’ve gotta spring for a box of Goo Goos. We say that they’re so good, people are born asking for them.

P.S. To celebrate Goo Goo’s 100th anniversary, Standard Candy Company has started selling them online. If you live in the U.S. or Canada, you can visit Goo Goo’s virtual store and order the candies (in original, supreme or peanut butter) from Oct. 1 to May 15.

Goo Goo Pie

Adapted from Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson’s “Bless Your Heart”

Makes one 9-inch pie

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Goo Goo Clusters (or other candy bars), chopped
• Optional garnishes: whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, caramel

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan, and set aside.
2. Place the butter and chocolate in a large glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute, stir, and heat for another 30 seconds. Let it sit for about 1 minute, and stir until the chocolate melts completely.
3. Add the sugar and flour, and mix well.
4. Remove from the heat, and add the eggs, vanilla and salt.
5. Pour into the prepared pie pan, and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with the chopped Goo Goo Clusters, and return to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Let the pie cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

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