Shelly's Recipe

CASHEW CARAMEL CRACKER BARS

Category: Bars

1 1/4 cups butter, melted, divided
35 saltine crackers
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup toasted unsalted cashews, chopped medium coarse

Preheat the oven to 425. To make the cookies easy to remove, line a jelly roll pan with a sheet of foil, shiny side up, leaving a few inches hanging over the long edges. Drizzle 1/4 cup melted butter onto the foil-lined pan, and brush to cover the bottom. Arrange crackers, side by side and evenly spaced to completely cover the bottom of pan (do not worry if there are small gaps).

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining 1 cup butter and brown sugar; bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, until mixture forms a thick syrup (248 on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and slowly whisk in the condensed milk until blended. Pour mixture over crackers, making sure all crackers are covered. Bake 10 minutes. The top will be bubbly and brown. Remove from oven, scatter chips over topping, and allow to melt for 5 minutes. Using back of a spoon, spread chocolate over surface and sprinkle with nuts. Press the nuts into the chocolate. Freeze until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

Remove from freezer and invert pan onto a clean surface. Carefully peel back the foil to reveal the soda-cracker underside of the cookies. Using a sharp knife, cut the cookies along the cracker outlines. This is easier to do when the cookies have begun to thaw slightly. Invert and cut the squares into quarters for bite-size pieces or thirds for finger-size pieces.