This is my favorite recipe for an edible gift this holiday season. They are so good that I don’t even have the time to wrap them to give away to colleagues and friends! Best of all is that you can customize it to your personal tastes. You can use milk, white, or dark chocolate and for the nuts, I like hazelnuts but pecans, almonds, cashews, or walnuts work as well.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 ½ cups chopped hazelnuts or other nuts you prefer
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Directions
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with foil (enough to cover the sides with extra) and coat it with melted butter or cooking spray.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave and spread it in the pan. Chill the pan while you cook the candy.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, butter, hazelnuts, and corn syrup. Cook, stirring while the butter melts, until it reaches a boil.
- Cook to 260°F, or until a drop of syrup in cold water forms a hardball.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Quickly spread the mixture over the chocolate layer and sprinkle with salt.
- Chill until set, and then break it into serving pieces. Sprinkle with salt if desired.
Note: I often double the recipe and it’s best given in a tin lined with waxed paper.
This recipe is from Louise Davidson’s book Celebrate Christmas: 75 Sweet Treats Recipes for the Holidays.
