Gluten Free Chocolate Caramel Cashew Candy

Wowza! Here’s a decadent one for you. These candies are filled with homemade caramel and salted cashews coated with dark chocolate. The flavor is enhanced by sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, and maple syrup. And boy, are they easy; you’ll need a microwave and your refrigerator. That’s it for appliances and did I mention that they are gluten free? Woo hoo!

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/2 maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups salted cashews
4 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

You will also want some non-stick foil and non-stick spray. You might also want a C-3PO to hang with you in your kitchen. He knows a lot of stuff.

Add 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter to large microwaveable bowl with high sides. You don’t want stuff to bubble right out of your bowl. That’s never good.

Add 1 cup of light brown sugar.

Fun fact: if you run out of brown sugar, add 2 tablespoons molasses to 1 cup white sugar to make a handy substitute.

Add a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk. This stuff is awesome! If you happen to get some on your fingers, go ahead and lick that stuff off. No guilt on that one.

Add 1/2 cup of maple syrup. Pancake syrup works great here.

Add 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Microwave on high for a total of 6 minutes. Stop and stir mixture every 2 minutes.

In the meantime, line a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish with non-stick aluminum foil coated in non-stick spray. Spread 2 cups of salted cashews in the dish.

Pour microwave mixture over cashews and use a spaluta to spread evenly. Place dish in the refrigerator for an hour.

Note: At this point you can make candies out of this filling by rolling into 1 inch balls and coating in powdered sugar. It’s up to you. You are the boss of your kitchen.

Add 4 ounces of chopped dark chocolate to a microwaveable bowl. I used a chocolate that was 72 percent cocoa.

Did you you know that 300 to 600 cocoa beans have to be processed to make 2.2 pounds of chocolate?

Microwave in 30 second increments on high. Mine took a total of 90 seconds to melt the chocolate.

Choose a silicone mold and add a little melted chocolate to each well. Add enough to coat the inside of your mold. Turn the mold so that the chocolate moves to coat the insides evenly. You can also use a food safe brush to paint the chocolate on the inside of the mold.

It’s okay if you don’t use a Star Wars mold, maybe you like Minecraft or My Little Pony. I support you in your mold choices.

Add a scoop of caramel cashew filling to each chocolate coated well. This will be sticky. Be prepared to get messy. Messy=Tasty

Seal the candy by adding a layer of melted chocolate to the top of well. Make sure it’s filled to the top. Refrigerate until solidified, about thirty minutes.

You can take this time to pose your Star Wars figures around the dinner table. That’s super fun!

This is it: the moment you have been waiting for. I know that they are cute but it’s time to defeat the Empire and devour Darth Vader. He’s just so tasty. I always knew he was a softie in the middle, now I have proof! Enjoy!