Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bars
Kitchen Tested 
- Yield 36 pieces
- Prep 20 mins
- Cook 35 mins
A nut crust, topped with caramel and chocolate. Seconds, anyone?
Mark Boughton Photography / styling by Teresa Blackburn
These buttery bars are the specialty of the Aloha Angel Café on Hawaii's Big Island. Created by baker Cathy Haber, they have it all: a buttery, crunchy, nutty crust, caramel and rich chocolate. We like them chilled.
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts, toasted
- Caramel and Chocolate:
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate morsels
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan.
- To prepare the crust, combine flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process about 10 seconds to combine thoroughly. Add butter and process until mixture is crumbly, about 30 seconds. Transfer crumbs to prepared pan and press firmly to make a compact layer. Scatter nuts evenly over crust and press them in firmly.
- To prepare the caramel layer, melt butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar and stir well until thoroughly combined and smooth. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until entire surface of caramel is bubbly. Immediately pour hot caramel over nuts and spread evenly with back of a metal spoon. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until caramel is bubbly.
- Remove pan from oven. Wait 1 minute; sprinkle chocolate morsels evenly over caramel. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes for chocolate to melt. Spread chocolate evenly with spatula or back of a metal spoon. Cool completely, then refrigerate 30 minutes to set. Cut into bars with a sharp knife.
Recipe by Greg Patent.
