I was a nagging question for 2 or 3 days... 'would a tootsie roll melt?' It's hard to say without knowing what it's made of. Actually, it's mostly sugar and corn syrup with some skim condensed milk, cocoa, and some 'natural' and artificial flavors. So, in truth it will melt.
But, so what? What's the use of that? Maybe it's my strange humor, but I have been wanting to make a tootsie roll barbeque sauce for about a week now. I just kept imagining that familiar taste reference melted down and mixed with a variety of other ingredients to accompany a nice sparerib or grilled chicken, duck, etc. It has the intense sweet/sour push/pull quality of a gastrique and the depth of a mole.
Here's my recipe. Obviously, it's going to be sweet, but the mustard and vinegar offer a nice balance.
Slowly cook 2 diced medium yellow onions in 10g grapeseed oil until they are very caramelized (almost to the color of a tootsie roll). Add in 15g of minced garlic and cook until you can smell the pungency dissapate. Next, unwrap and add in 340g of tootsie rolls (equal to an average sized bag of midgees) and stir and cook until they are fully melted. Pour in 50g of merlot vinegar (or maybe raspberry vinegar would be nice) and 15g of mushroom soy sauce. Next, stir in 120g yellow mustard, 200g ketchup, 8g sriracha, 4g chipotle morita powder, 5g chile powder, 3g cumin, and 4g smoked sea salt. Adjust the spices any way you like. Simmer for about 20 minutes on very low heat, puree, and strain.
