I went to a pot-luck picnic yesterday, and signed up to bring cookies. I brought a batch of cookies for my upcoming contest, but I wanted to try something new as well. I decided to rid my cupboards of a bunch of bags and jars containing small quantities of nuts – cocktail peanuts, dry-roasted peanuts, macadamia nuts, almonds, and cashews. I used a recipe I had copied from the Cooking Light "great food" bulletin board awhile back. The only change I made was to use a larger pan.
The bars weren’t hard to make. They held their shape nicely and had a very buttery flavor. When I make this recipe again, I’ll probably try pouring the cooked mixture over the crust, spreading it around and then sprinkling the nuts on top.
SALTED NUT BARS
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend together (I used my hands):
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
Press into an ungreased 15 X 10 pan (I used 12 by 18). Bake 10 - 12 minutes.
Sprinkle 3 cups of mixed nuts over the crust. (I used a little more because I used a bigger pan.)
While the crust is baking, combine in a small saucepan:
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp water
6 oz. butterscotch chips
Bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour cooked mixture over nuts. (I moved the nuts around to make sure they were in the cooked mixture.) Bake 10 - 12 minutes. When cool, cut into bars.