These Caramel Nut Bars are made with an easy shortbread base and loaded with salted peanuts and cashews, topped with marshmallows and caramel for the perfect sweet and salty treat!

These Caramel Nut Bars are a last minute addition to the Christmas cookie lineup on The Recipe Rebel, and only because we were instantly obsessed!

They have jumped right to the top of our favorite Christmas treats, alongside these Nanaimo Bars and these Seven Layer Magic Bars!

With not much else to do, out Christmas baking bucket list is an epic one this year.

We have been working our way through all the treats we want to make for the blog, plus a slew of other ones we want to try just for fun — then we are making up plates of goodies to share with friends and family!

These Caramel Nut Bars were one we just wanted to try, and although my expectations weren’t that high, we loved them.

They are sweet and salty and buttery, crunchy and chewy and crumbly, and basically the perfect combination of everything we love.

How to make Caramel Nut Bars:

This is a quick overview with some extra tips — see the full step by step recipe below!

1. Line your pan: this is a step I never skip when making bars! Lining your baking dish with tin foil or parchment paper is an easy way to remove your bars so you can slice them perfectly. It also makes for easy clean up!
2. Make your crust: the shortbread base is an easy, multi-purpose base that is also used in these Butter Tart Squares and these Lemon Cheesecake Bars. Just mix up some flour, sugar and cold butter until crumbly. If it holds together when you squeeze it in your hand, that’s what we want! Press it firmly into the pan and don’t worry if some spots have more butter. Bake until just dried looking but not browned.
3. Sprinkle the peanuts, cashews and marshmallows over the crust — the kids love to help with this part!
4. Melt your caramels with the cream, and pour over your nuts on the crust. Bake the caramel just a few minutes until it starts bubbling around the edges.
5. Cool completely before slicing — I find it’s easiest to slice them after they have been refrigerated for several hours. I promise they won’t get too hard when they are cold!

How to make these Caramel Bars your own:

• Swap out the crust: you can use a graham cracker crust, crushed shortbread cookie crust or a Golden Oreo crust — combined with melted butter so that they hold together, then bake for 10 minutes until slightly dried. (I am partial to a thick, buttery shortbread crust in this recipe though )
• Swap out the filling: don’t have peanuts or cashews? Feel free to use other nuts, or add in dried fruit, chocolate chips, toffee bits, anything goes!
• Add a sprinkle of flaked sea salt on top of the caramel after it comes out of the oven, for an even saltier hit.

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Caramel Nut Bars

These Caramel Nut Bars are made with an easy shortbread base and loaded with salted peanuts and cashews, topped with marshmallows and caramel for the perfect sweet and salty treat!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 32 bars

Calories 208cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter

Filling

• 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts
• 1 cup roasted, salted cashews
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 36 caramel candies, unwrapped (like Kraft)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Crust

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9×13" pan with tin foil or parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Cut butter into cubes and add to flour, mixing with a pastry cutter, mixer, or your hands until crumbly — if it holds together when you squeeze it, it's ready.
• Press into prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, until dry looking but not browned.

Filling:

• Sprinkle peanuts, cashews and marshmallows over the crust after it has baked.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together caramels and cream until melted and smooth.
• Pour over nuts and marshmallows on crust, drizzling in a thin line to get as much coverage as possible.
• Bake for 6-8 minutes, until caramel is just bubbling at the edges.
• Remove and cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 208cal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 97mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 237IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Caramel Nut Bars appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.

These Easy Candied Nuts are just 6 ingredients and less than 30 minutes start to finish! They are sweet and salty with a hint of cinnamon — perfect for an edible holiday gift!

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I will admit, the last few years I haven’t really done a whole whack of Christmas baking and candy making and homemade gifts because, well, kids are crazy.

This year, we have a 1 year old, 3-almost 4 year old, and a 6 year old, and it’s busy. And I don’t like busy (you can ask anybody) — I’m an introvert big time and when I don’t have enough time to recuperate and refill, I start to feel a little crazy myself.

And so, I let go of the expectations that I will spend hours and hours baking and prepping and making edible gifts with cute labels for every person we see ever, and I don’t make homemade Christmas cards and I give myself a little leeway.

But I so badly want to make space for good, homemade treats, so for me this year is all about finding those easy recipes that are just as fun and delicious as the sugar cookies you have to spend 18 hours chilling and rolling and cutting and baking.

All that to say these Candied Nuts are on that list.

They are easy (really), with just 6 ingredients and super customizable.

They look cute in a small glass jar with a simple ribbon, which means minimal wrapping for you.

They are perfect for snacking or an appetizer or dessert, or even to top a salad.

They are gluten-free and vegetarian. Plus, nuts are full of healthy fats and protein

How to make Candied Nuts:

Making these Candied Nuts is relatively easy, as long as you have a thermometer. There are other methods but using a thermometer to check if the candy is ready by far the easiest.

Your best bet is to get a clip on candy thermometer like this one. Then you’re on your way to perfect candy coating!

Simply simmer the sugar and milk (I haven’t tried this recipe with non-dairy milk, so I can’t advise on that), until it reaches the correct temperature, stir in the flavorings (cinnamon, vanilla and salt – but you could mix this up if you wanted!), then stir in your nuts.

Feel free to mix up the nuts to suit your tastes — our favorite are almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans and peanuts.

How to store and freeze Candied Nuts:

• You can store these at room temperature in an air tight container (I love to keep them in mason jars as they look so pretty!) for up to 1 week.
• To freeze, place in a large freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Eat them right out of the freezer or allow to thaw for 10-15 minutes on the counter.

How to customize this Candied Nuts recipe:

I mentioned a few options earlier, but here are some ideas to take this candied nuts recipe to the next level:

• ¼ teaspoon of salt will give it just the slightest hint of salt, ½ teaspoon will give it a more pronounced sweet/salty flavor.
• Add in a pinch of cayenne for a bit of spice!
• Use only your favorite nuts — there’s no reason you need to use a mix! If you love almonds, use just almonds, or pecans, or walnuts, etc.
• Add more cinnamon, and a pinch of ginger, cloves and nutmeg for a fall spice blend — just start with a teeny tiny amount so you don’t overdo it!

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Easy Candied Nuts

These Easy Candied Nuts are just 6 ingredients and less than 30 minutes start to finish! They are sweet and salty with a hint of cinnamon — perfect for an edible holiday gift!

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 18

Calories 189cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups mixed nuts almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, peanuts, cashews

Instructions

• In a medium pan over medium heat, whisk together the sugar and milk and heat until boiling.
• Without stirring (resist the urge to touch it!), let the mixture boil on medium heat until it reaches 242-248 degrees F or firm ball stage on a candy thermometer. This took about 10 minutes for me. You can also test it by dropping a small amount into a glass of very cold water — if it forms a firm but pliable ball, it’s ready.
• Stir in cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Add nuts and stir until coated.
• Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and separate or let harden in large chunks — whatever you prefer. 
• Let cool until candy coating is firm, then store in an air tight container for up to 1 week at room temperature, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Video

Notes

Recipe adapted from Company’s Coming.

Nutrition

Calories: 189cal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 37mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.9mg

The post Easy Candied Nuts Recipe + VIDEO appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.