Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and that just doesn't seem possible! I've really enjoyed posting these treats for you each day - and so have my well-fed friends and family!
This is a great little recipe that yields a big pan of candy caramels. They are packed with chocolate chips and salty cashews so eating one is a little bit like eating a candy bar!
First you'll pour a whole bunch of semisweet chips and salted cashews into a 13x9 pan.
Now's the time to dust off that candy thermometer! Cook the caramel ingredients in a big pot and pour it on top of the chips and nuts.
After a quick chill in the fridge the caramels can be cut into pieces. Use a large chef's knife because the chilled caramel block will be firm.
These caramels hold their shape well so you don't have to wrap them - but they look cute in their own individual waxed papers with the ends twisted.
Chocolate Chip Cashew Caramels
Yields about 4 dozen pieces
2 cups (250g) roasted salted cashews
1 cup (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
2 cups (400g) brown sugar, packed
1 cup (300g) light corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml) water
14 ounces (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan with vegetable shortening and line it with parchment paper so that the paper overhangs the edges of the pan (the shortening will help the paper stick to the sides of the pan).
Pour the cashews and semisweet chips into the pan and pat down evenly so they cover the bottom in a single layer.
Add the butter to a large pot and place over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook mixture until it comes to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the mixture boils stir in the sweetened condensed milk. Cook, stirring constantly until a candy thermometer reads 248°F.
Remove the pot from the heat and add the vanilla extract; stir. Pour the caramel into the prepared pan without scraping out the bottom. Let the caramel cool slightly before transferring it to the refrigerator. Let chill until firm.
Lift caramel out of the pan by the overhanging parchment paper. Cut into pieces. If the caramel is too firm, allow it to stand at room temperature until soft enough to cut.
Store pieces in a tin between sheets of waxed paper, or wrap each cut caramel in its own waxed paper wrapper.
Courtesy: Sprinkle Bakes
