Caramel Cashew Bars -- A Blast From The Past!
I was going through old posts trying to find interesting yet sadly forgotten about recipes and found Caramel Cashew Bars. How did I forget about Caramel Cashew Bars? Everyone is crazy about them and they are super easy. They have a layer of brown sugar flavored shortbread, a thick layer of caramel and are topped with cashews and chocolate chips. They freeze well, are pretty on a cookie tray. and best of all -- they'll satisfy your sweet & salty cravings.
The only downside to this recipe is unwrapping the caramels. I might try making them again today using Kraft Caramel Bits.
In the past I often halved the recipe and made the bars in an 8 inch square pan, but now that the holidays are here I'm going to go with a full batch!
Recipe
Caramel Cashew Bars
Caramel cashew bars have a base layer of brown sugar flavored shortbread topped with melted caramel, chocolate chips and cashews.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
- ¾ packed brown sugar
- ½ scant teaspoon salt**
- l lightly beaten egg
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 14 oz package caramels, unwrapped
- 5 tablespoons half and half
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup salted cashew halves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick foil or regular foil. If using regular foil, spray with cooking spray. Alternatively use parchment paper.
- Beat the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat in salt and egg. Stir in flour and oats. Press mixture into the baking pan and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown around edges.
- Meanwhile, combine caramels and half and half cream in a large saucepan and cook over low to medium low heat until caramels are melted. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with chocolate and cashews.
- Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to refrigerator to chill (this sets the caramel a bit).
- Lift from pan and cut into bars.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Therese says
Hi Anna! These look sooooo good! I am almost out of my paydays (my secret Halloween Stash), so this would be a good to for me! YUMMY!!
Anna says
Hi Betsy,
I always use the middle rack. Even when recipes call for the lower third, I still probably use the middle rack.
Biz says
Those look delicious!
Thanks for your stroganoff recipe without the mushrooms!
Anna says
Sally, I just emailed it to you.
Sally says
Any chance that you could post the full recipe? The link says that you can only get the recipe if you are a subscriber and currently I don't subscribe. Thank you!
Stephanie says
Haha at the little kids in the background! These look great, by the way =)
deeba says
Gorgeous bars! Just fabulous!!
Carol A, says
These are beautiful! I love caramel and chocolate together. Never used cashews in a cookie/bar, but I know you have sung their praises. The saltiness with the caramel/chocolate is definitely appealing. I'm going to have to try these, it's inevitable..
I have no doubt that somebody, somewhere, has put the caramels in to melt without unwrapping. Probably left them unattended while they went to blow dry their hair in the shower.
HeartofGlass says
Cashews are my favorite nut and I have been on a mega-caramel cravin' jag! I am totally making these--bar cookies are so easy to make and transport!
They look so perfect,like you strategically placed the cashews!
Olivia says
First off, these look really good w/ the combination of caramel and cashews. Second, I hate unwrapping those Kraft caramels! It takes me forever!
johngl says
Oh my gosh Anna, don't let my wife see these things. Not only is she a sucker for cashews, she eats caramel anything like, uh, like...candy.
Katrina says
Love the "unwrapped" thing. Too funny. Kind of like a bottle of shampoo actually telling you to rinse it out after putting it on! I also love how frozen pizzas say to remove the pizza from the box AND the plastic wrap before baking. Hello!
These bars look great. My 5 year old loves cashews and I told him we could make a cookie (which I know you've posted) with cashews. He keeps bugging me to do so, now I'll have to show him this and see which he'd like better.
Sue says
Mmmmm! Those look fantastic! I'll remember these the next time I need a bar cookie. Thanks kids! 🙂
snooky doodle says
wow these look delicious and i like the cashew nut variation. Something different from the usual nut toppings 🙂
Dani says
i have been on a caramel kick lately so these treats have just made their way onto my to-make list 🙂