As much as I love to bake, there is something truly fulfilling about being able to whip up something so that something else doesn't go to waste.
Consumption is part of being alive, I get it. But how we utilize that which we are blessed to steward is completely within our control, there's something so incredibly fulfilling about not being wasteful, being resourceful, and having the innate ability to create with what's around you.
Little gratitude-laden, existential ramble aside, in my fridge I had this sitting on the top shelf:
My boss had recently gifted me a huge jar of salted caramel that she had used to make salted caramel bread pudding. Now, I am reasonably sure that the caramel would last for a while in the fridge, and the hubs and son have been enjoying the glorious stuff on everything from ice cream to pancakes, but as I looked at the jar yesterday morning, I just knew it could be made into something yummy.
My thoughts on the matter were emboldened by the fact that my hubs was up north at our friend's auto shop working on our massive truck. The truck has needed some things done to it for awhile, so everything from re-wiring and installing new lighting, installing a new trailer plug connection, finding an unexpected minor fuel leak, installing a new in-line block heater, and oh yes, dropping in some new torsion arm bushings all had to happen.
So, I thought the hubs deserved some fine comestible treatment after dealing with auto maintenance all day. After crafting a very tasty taco chili and setting it on the burner to meld, I found myself looking at the caramel sauce.
My husband loves desserts with nuts in them, and I just happened to have a pretty massive bag of walnuts that I had just procured from our local Costco. My brain started to subtly chant, caramel nut bars, caramel nut bars.
I got out my note pad.
After a bit of scratching about like the hens in their yard, I had a passable recipe for double layer caramel nut bars. I wanted the crunchiness of the walnuts and the decadence of the caramel to shine through, so kept the recipe very simple.
To start off things, I preheated the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit because I was using a metal bar pan. Then, I plopped some flour, brown sugar, and one beaten egg into a bowl and mixed it up really well.
After my mixture looked properly intertwined, I got out my amazing, awesome pastry cutter (thanks MA!!) and proceeded to cut in a bunch of butter until the mixture was all crumbly.
Then, I added a respectable amount of chopped walnuts, gave the whole thing a mix, and removed a couple cups of the stuff to be used for the bar's topping.
I gave my pan a spray of non stick cooking spray, pressed in the remaining mixture, and popped the pan into the oven for a fifteen minute initial bake.
I then heated up the caramel sauce a bit in the microwave and poured it on top of the crust after the timer went off.
The smell. Was. Eniticing.
As the caramel sauce hit the crust, it sizzled and I know I was probably smiling like the maniacal baker that I am, for I really used more flourish than was necessary as I sprinkled the reserved crust mixture on top of the caramel before popping the bars back into the oven for another twenty minutes.
Now, I know that not everyone has homemade salted caramel lurking in their fridge, but caramel ice cream topping should work just fine, or a mixture of caramels and sweetened condensed milk (which is the next experiment I am going to try with this recipe!).
The smell of the bars baking was enough to drive even the most fervent sugar abstainer glucose mad, and as I took them out of the oven I knew it was going to be a challenge waiting for them to cool.
But I succeeded on that front.
The wait was worth it though, because I did steal a taste of the bars and holy yum! Rich buttery, caramely, crunchy goodness alert! These caramel nut bars are so, so yummy.
I know this because my grease-covered, very tired husband told me so.😊
Caramel Nut Bars
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup cold butter
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups caramel sauceHeat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (325 if using metal pan), and grease a 9X13 pan. Set aside.
In a bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, and egg. Cut up butter in to pieces and add to the bowl, using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles a coarse sand.
Take two cups of the crumb mixture out of the bowl and set aside. Press the remaining mixture into the pan and place in the preheated oven and bake for fifteen minutes.
Once baked, remove from the oven and carefully spread the caramel on top of the crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture and return to the oven to bake for an additional twenty minutes.
Cool completely before serving! This recipe makes twelve big bars or twenty-four small bars. Enjoy!
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's currently coated with a bit of salted caramel iPhone.
