CASHEW CARAMEL CRACKER BARS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. To make the cookies easy to remove, line a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan with a sheet of foil, shiny side up, leaving a few inches hanging over the long edges. Drizzle 1/4 cup melted butter onto the foil-lined pan, and brush to cover the bottom. Arrange the crackers, side by side and evenly spaced, so they completely cover the bottom of the pan (don't worry if there are small gaps).2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining 1 cup butter and the brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, until the mixture forms a thick syrup (248ºF on a candy thermometer). Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the condensed milk until blended. Pour the mixture over the crackers, making sure all the crackers are covered.3. Bake for 10 minutes. The top will be bubbly and brown. Remove from the oven, scatter the chocolate chips over the topping, and allow them to melt for 5 minutes. Using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula, spread the chocolate over the surface and sprinkle with the nuts. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, press the nuts into the chocolate. Freeze until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.4. Remove from the freezer and invert the pan onto a clean surface (don't worry if you lose some nuts from the surface they'll be great for topping an ice cream sundae or for adding to cookie dough). Carefully peel back the foil to reveal the soda-cracker underside of the cookies. Using a sharp knife, cut the cookies along the cracker outlines. This is easier to do when the cookies have begun to thaw slightly. Invert and cut the squares into quarters for bite-size pieces or thirds for finger-size pieces.VariationFor Crunchy Nut Caramel Bars, follow the main recipe, substituting your favorite toasted nuts, such as hazelnuts, almonds, peanuts, or walnuts.From Holiday Baking. Text copyright © 2005 by Sara Perry. Photographs copyright © 2005 by Leigh Beisch. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.