Butterscotch Cashew Bars

I think I've mentioned this before, but I subscribe to about 100 blogs and about 95% of said blogs are about baking. My usual routine is to log into my Google Reader each morning and scroll through every post I haven't read yet. If I see a recipe that strikes my fancy, I'll label it with a category (cookies, pies, cupcakes, etc...) so it gets organized into category folders I can reference later when I can't come up with something to bake. Since returning from my trip, I've gotten about 3 weeks behind on my reading. This equals over 500 unread posts just sitting there, waiting for me to discover all the delicious photography that will most definitely make my stomach growl and my mouth salivate all over my desk. I'll catch up some day, I promise.

I think I saw this photo of Butterscotch Cashew Bars back when I first started my little Occasional Sugar baking blog. I could NOT get them out of my head. Every time I would search for a recipe to try, I would click on this one first, ogle it for a minute, and then decide against it because I didn't want to go to the store and buy cashews AND butterscotch chips. But as soon as I got back from my trip, I had these on the brain. I had some ingredient replenishing to do anyway so I finally bought the cashews and butterscotch chips and I baked these up for my softball team last week. They were a hit! So yummy and received many compliments from my teammates. After biting into the first one, I thought they were too sweet and that the butterscotch was overpowering the the cashews - after all I am big on the salty sweet combo thing. But these just kept getting better and better. The crust is so buttery. They are a bit messy but they just melt in your mouth. I must have eaten at least four. Actually I lied, I probably had five (six).

Butterscotch Cashew Bars

from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, Melissa Murphy

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 & 1/4 tsps salt

2 & 1/2 cups AP flour

11 ounces butterscotch chips

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon water

2 cups roasted salted whole cashews

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x 13 pan. Using two sheets of parchment paper, line the pan’s width and length, creating a parchment “sling.” Grease parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and salt for 1 to 1 & 1/2 minutes on medium speed. Decrease mixer speed to low and add the flour. Mix just until combined. Lightly press dough evenly into the prepared pan. Poke holes in the dough with a fork. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is a golden color. Remove to wire rack to cool.

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, stir together butterscotch chips, corn syrup, and water. Stir until mixture comes to a simmer and butterscotch chips are melted. Pour over crust.

Sprinkle cashews over the butterscotch caramel. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. After cooling, remove from pan and use a very sharp knife to cut into bars.

Makes 2 dozen 2-inch bars.