2/10/09

salty peanut caramel bars

salty caramel-peanut bars
A lot of times there are some stupid, good, boring, crazy "get to know me quizzes' on Facebook. Some of them ask you crazy things about yourself that no else knows and/or might find interesting. Well, on one of these random quizzes I told my friends that one of the crazy things I do is eat peanuts everyday. I don't think it's crazy, but it is strange. I mean, think about it, everyday I eat a handful or more of salty peanuts. Plus, I eat a lot of walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds and almonds. Never thought about it till I answered that quiz. Even hubby says when we are grocery shopping he is amazed at the the amount of nuts I buy, in bulk, at the store.
Those macadamia nuts are one of my favorites. So buttery, so crisp and so addicting. Why do they have to be so fattening you know? It's bad enough they are so expensive, but why all the calories from something so natural? Speaking of fattening---

salty caramel-peanut bars
These caramel bars are very rich and decadent, so make sure to cut them into candy/bite-sized pieces,. With all the caramel in there they are chew-worthy; you'll be chewing for a while. If you love those sea salt caramels, then you will love these.

salty caramel-peanut bars
salty peanut caramel bars
print recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ ts sea salt
3/4 cup cold butter, divided
3/4 cup chopped peanuts (I left them whole & used dry roasted)

caramel middle:
30 caramels, unwrapped (or I made my own:make your own caramel)
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
½ ts sea salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan, then line it with parchment paper, both side; two pieces overlapping each other (this will help you get bars out; there is caramel in here, so it will be sticky).
In large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, salt and egg; cut in 1/2 cup butter until crumbly. Stir in nuts.
Reserving 2 cups crumb mixture, press remainder firmly on bottom of baking pan.
Bake 15 minutes.
In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt caramels with condensed milk, the other ½ ts of salt, and remaining 1/4 cup butter.
Pour over prepared crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake 20 minutes or until bubbly. You need to cool this completely (about 2 hours) before cutting it. It is hard to cut so use a sharp knife. Wetting the knife helps too. Store loosely covered at room temperature.
Makes about 2 dozen + bars.

55 comments:

  1. I never take those Facebook quizzes, haha :-D

    I WANT THOSE!!!

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  2. Be still my heart.

    Those look AMAZING, Dawn. I love salty/sweet chewy things that take forever to finish. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm... You are so bringing these when we finally meet. (Along with the burger, brownies and toffee, of course.)

    But, really, I think your cookbook needs to be a salty/sweet themed one. That is your magic touch!

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  3. if I didnt know better I would think this was some kind of bait set out to trap me....these look great!

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  4. oooo these look dangerous

    Kelly Turner
    www.everygymsnightmare.com

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  5. I would love to have one for my morning snack - they look wonderful!

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  6. Dawn you are nuts! These bars look killer. Leave it to you to try and kill me! With me trying to be all healthy. I am book marking these for sure!

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  7. I love the combination of salty and sweet, especially with a chewy center and crumbly top. I am officially craving these now!

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  8. I am loving your newest creation! I love how creative you are in the kitchen!

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  9. New nickname for you - Nutty Dawn (lol) I was just thinking about having some pistachios myself before reading your post. I wish I could have one of your caramel bars though!

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  10. Dawn, you never cease to amaze me. I didn't know anyone loved salty and sweet as much as I do until I found your blog. These look out of this world!

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  11. I don't think it's a crazy thing. I have to eat peanut butter everyday. Love your bars.

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  12. Oh these look scary good. I love salty and sweet together. :)

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  13. Awesome! Salty caramel RULES! I will be making these. :)

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  14. These look incredible! That first picture is amazing! I must have one of these. Thanks for sharing!!!

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  15. If I leave you my address will you send me 2 dozen of those?! ;)

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  16. Woman, wanna kill me here? I'm also a nuts for nuts! I like to buy them in the shells and entertein my self unshelling and eating them. But sweet and salty is the way to go. We would be so happy if we were neighbours!

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  17. Holy cow, girl. These look amazing! I'm tempted to run out to the store right now.

    I like nuts a lot too. We're kinda like squirrels. The macadamia nuts are $5 at Wal Mart. That kills me!

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  18. oh my god. i need some now, really. this is my kind of snack...salty & sweet and nutty. yummmmmmm!

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  19. Those look heavenly...the look like they have incredible texture. I love the salty/sweet combination.

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  20. Oh my gosh, those look divine!!!

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  21. I eat a lot of friggin nuts, too, hahaha! These look amazing, Dawn, as usual!

    ps-something for you on my blog. :)

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  22. Ooooh!! I just discovered these garlic roasted peanuts in the shell at the farmers market. They are soo good. I am sure you would find a good way to put them to use! These bars look amazing.

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  23. These look amazingly good, I can see how the salt would be a great complement to the caramel and nuts.

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  24. I agree with one of the earlier comments, those are dangerous! I would lie, cheat and steal for one of those! YUMMMMMMMM!

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  25. mmmmm. you had me at "salt" and "caramel".

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  26. I think I'm in love...

    Sounds like an amazing combination -- I'm going to have to bookmark this one!

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  27. Oh my oh my...all the things I love stacked one on top of the other....stop me before I faint. These look AMAZINGLY good, Dawn....and I agree-Walmart does have great prices on nuts! :)

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  28. this is just fantastic!!! what a treat... :)

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  29. Great original recipe, Dawn! It's like a nutty (Dawn-ized? Lol) version of Millionaire's Shortbread!

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  30. wow do these look amazing. i'm on a caramel kick right now, and i need these bars now. oh man, they look so so so good.

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  31. Believe it or not, I just started eating nuts about a year and a half ago! Good thing I started so I can enjoy these bars.

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  32. Hey Dawn!

    Interesting story you left as a comment. I often wonder why some things happpen to some people and not to others. I haven't blatently seeing anything...felt and heard but that's about it.

    I love that you love me baking! I think it's your blog that inspires me to do so! :)

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  33. Wow you on a roll. These look awesome Dawn!

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  34. drool. oh, and drool. these are picture-perfect and completely awesome. you're doing good work in the expanding of my waistline. :)

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  35. I'm glad I found someone who appreciates nuts as much as I do. Yes, macadamia's are the bomb! I love visiting your blog and learning from your creativity. These bars are amazing. Walgrees also has great prices on cashews and macadamias

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  36. Woman, these look CRAZY good - just gorgeously de-lish.

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  37. I love salty and sweet together so this is awesome!

    I am totally addicted to facebook quizzes, as you well know. ;)

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  38. I'm with VeggieGirl- I want these! Yum yum! Nuts are good fats so I think its great you eat them every day! I have trouble controlling myself around nuts so I try to keep them out of the house haha

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  39. I have yet to get into the whole Facebook thing. I am so out of it, huh? These look so tooth-achingly delicious that I couldn't just stop at one.

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  40. I'm in love, really and truly, I am.

    I can't get onto my facebook account anymore. Maybe a good thing since I spend so much of my free time looking around here :)

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  41. Damn you..how do you come up w/ all of this yummy stuff!

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  42. Hi Dawn! How are you? I am an almond girl. I have 10 a day. Like you, I just love nuts. Also, seeds. Your caramel bars look heavenly. The photos are great.
    all the best,
    Maryann xox

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  43. You. Are. The. Master!!! I think I heard angels singing when I saw this! My hubby is a HUGE snacker of nuts, and he would go crazy over these ... if I would share them! hehe Outstanding recipe, Dawn!

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  44. OH my goodness! I love salty and sweet.

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  45. Happy Valentine's Day!!! :)

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  46. Awesome, just simply awesome bars!!!

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  47. These are very dangerous, perhaps halving the recipe would deter temptation and eating them in one sitting.

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  48. This looks wonderful!!! OMG i love this Dawn!!

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  49. Those look so good! Just look at that thick layer of caramel!

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  50. Wow, these look amazing! Love your blog, so glad I found it!

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  51. Adding caramels to my grocery list.

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  52. umm these look amazing.

    and yes there are way to many notes I'm being tagged in on facebook. It needs to stop.

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  53. Hi, we've never really met. I've lurked here and commented a few times. I'm Ingrid and I'm a nut lover/eater too, like every morning and maybe, sometimes, often throughout the day if I'm hungry. LOL! I prefer almonds in the morning but if I'm out I'll eat peanuts. I would eat some of my others but I try to save them for my baked goodies. :-) Have you tried Planters Kettle peanuts? Holy cow good!

    Your bars look so good with that yummy THICK layer of caramel!

    Nice to meet you!
    ~ingrid

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  54. I hope you can help! I made these last night. I did the caramel from scratch last night (1c sugar) and when I poured it into the sw cond milk it crackled into a hard crack! I ended up heating those cracked parts again to soften but they never liquidized. It turned out ok, I haven't found any bars with brittle in them but did I do something wrong? Thanks!

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  55. has anyone tried these with chocolate chips plz lemme kno!

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