Caramel Cashew Bars

(They taste much better than they look in this photograph.)

Dessert for the book club, which met last night.

I love this month's read:



From Bake and Freeze Desserts by Elinor Klivans

Cashew Crust
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 1/2 cups roasted unsalted cashew halves or pieces

Caramel
1/4 pound plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13" pan.

Mix the flour, brown sugar and butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed until pea-sized crumbs form. Press crumbs firmly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle cashews evenly over crust.

Put the butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over low-medium heat until the butter and brown sugar melt, stirring constantly. Increase heat to medium and bring to boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour hot caramel mixture evenly over cashew nuts in baking pan.

Bake until mixture bubbles, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the chopped white chocolate evenly over the bars; let sit another 5 minutes. With the back of a spoon, swirl the chocolate over the bars. Cool thoroughly until topping is firm.

Yields 24 two-inch bars. Can freeze bars for up to 3 months.

Note: I find that way of doing white chocolate doesn't work well for me, so I put the chocolate in a zip-top bag, melt the choc. in the microwave, snip off the corner of the bag and drizzle the choc. over the bars.