One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is making offerings from kitchen and heart for friends and family. A consistent favorite among recipients not just for gifts but also gatherings is my cashew bark, a confection of chocolate, salty nuts, butter, and sugar. Heat transforms the butter and sugar into a crisp toffee. The chocolate and nuts encapsulate everything. The combination is genuinely addictive. Thank goodness the recipe is simple!
Before you get started, make sure that you have a heavy-bottomed pot (stainless steel is good), a candy thermometer, and a jelly roll pan. You can do without the latter, but the first two are absolute necessities.
Ingredients
I was able to get every ingredient listed in organic form.
- 3 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks (dark chocolate or semi-sweet; milk chocolate is too sweet for me for this recipe)
- 3 cups roasted, salted cashews (option: try other nuts, like almonds, for a toffee more like those candy bars that shall not be named)
- 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) real butter (no, you may not use margarine; it will not work)
- 2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Chop chocolate chips or chunks in a food processor, pulsing on and off to avoid the chocolate melting, until they are just bits of chocolate. (You may, of course, do this step by hand.) Transfer the chocolate bits into a big bowl and then chop the cashews roughly, pulsing again. They should retain some characteristics of cashews, not be pulverized into nut butter. Mix the chopped cashews with the chocolate bits and set aside.
Now put the butter and brown sugar in a heavy-bottomed, high-sided pot. (Electric burner users: you may want to use a wire diffuser to avoid burning.) Let the butter and sugar melt together at first over medium heat, stirring to combine. As the mixture combines, hook the candy thermometer over the side of the pot, making sure to keep the tip submerged but well away from the bottom of the pot. Make sure that all of the sugar crystals are melting, and then increase the heat a bit, stirring regularly.
Meanwhile, grease the jelly roll pan (about 17×11 inches) and use half of the cashew-chocolate mixture to coat the bottom lightly but evenly. Just gently sprinkle it on. Now go back and stir the butter and sugar, which should be starting to resemble rising, molten lava. Add the vanilla. Be very careful, as the mixture will feel like molten lava if it gets on your hand!
Keep stirring while you watch the thermometer edge toward 300 degrees F, also known in candy making as the hard-crack stage. Increase the heat if you must, but watch that temperature! As soon as it hits 300 degrees, pick up the pot and quickly drizzle the butter-sugar lava over your cashew-chocolate mixture, leaving gaps that the lava will mostly fill in for you. If any sections are left uncovered, smooth out the lava with the back of a metal serving spoon. You need to move fast, as the mixture will start to harden almost immediately. (No, sadly I do not have pictures, as I never have time for photographing at this stage.) Now quickly sprinkle on the rest of the cashew-chocolate mixture, making sure to get to the edges. Press the cashew-chocolate mixture into the pan with the back of the same metal serving spoon you used above. The chocolate will start to melt and hold everything together.
Let the pan sit for a couple of minutes and then put it in the refrigerator or freezer, depending on how much time you have. Be sure that it is relatively flat or the cashew bark will be thicker on one side than the other.
After a couple of hours in the freezer or a few more in the refrigerator, the cashew bark should be thoroughly chilled and ready to break into pieces. Lift one edge and start breaking!
Ultimately, you want pieces that one could eat in one to three bites, since the toffee is incredibly rich. Any smaller bits will make a wonderful topping for ice cream!
Store in air-tight container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks or the freezer for a bit longer. You can package the cashew bark for gift-giving too, as you long as you forewarn the recipient to keep it cold, or simply set it out as your offering for the next potluck or party. Just be sure to save some for home, or you’ll find your family protesting!
This cashew bark has become a holiday favorite among my friends, family, and co-workers since I started making it almost two decades ago. Do you have a favorite sweet treat you share for the holidays? What’s the dish or treat you look forward to at holiday gatherings and in gift baskets?
You may also be interested in last year’s chocolate gift recipe, chocolate chip gingerbread.
Copyright 2010 Ozarkhomesteader.
Thanks for this recipe and the great step-by-step directions! I’ve been planning what to put in goodie bags for my girl friends and neighbors and this looks like a wonderful addition. I’m always amazed that it’s possible to make candy at home. And it’s always so good I wonder why I ever eat any other kind.
You’re most welcome, Linda. It really is easy IF you have a really heavy-bottomed pot that’s on the tall side. You’ll notice from the first picture with the butter and sugar how little space it takes up in the pot. As it heats, it rises to three times its original height in my cooking pot.
You’re right about the big pot — thanks for the warning! I made this twice but burnt it both times. The first time, I was looking a the wrong mark on my ambiguous candy thermometer. The second time, I marked the thermometer with nail polish and was sure that I got the candy off the heat at 300 degrees.
BUT … the burnt taste sort of grew on me. I didn’t give it out as gifts, but set it out at my New Year’s Day party. And people loved it! I left out bags so people could take more home if they wanted, since three batches is a lot of toffee. Nearly everyone took a bag or two home. I’m going to label the rest as Cajun cashew toffee and give it out.
One thing for candy rookies like me to watch for is how the temperature stalls just before a state change (soft ball, hard ball, soft crack, etc.), then zooms up to just below the next state change.
Thanks again!
I remove all distractions in those final stages, because otherwise I know I’ll lose it. I’m like you, though; a little extra caramelization is fine. I just make sure not to scrape the bottom of the pot if I get it a bit too brown there. Usually it’s just a thin layer of “extra caramelization” on the very bottom.
What a great idea!
Love this idea, but I don’t have good control over “easy to make desserts.”
Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, and welcome to the blog!
I didn’t make any sweets or do any baking this year. I felt a little bad but then, it was an easy holiday. Next year, I’ll jump in with two feet and have to remember that this great step by step instruction is here.
Thanks, Tammy! This was pretty much it for me this year too, although I have baked some since Christmas.