Butterscotch Cashew Bars (SMS)

My apologies to Melissa of Lulu the Baker who chose the Whole Orange Poppy Seed Cake for this week's installment of Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS). It looked fabulous, but I didn't end up having time to make this cake. I definitely plan on trying it later. Make sure you visit Lulu the Baker to check out the cake.

Instead, I am doing a rewind recipe from June, chosen by Pamela of Cookies with Boys: Butterscotch Cashew Bars. Start with a shortbread cookie base, then top with gooey butterscotch caramel and cashews and you've got one sweet treat!


I'm really weird when it comes to nuts. In general, I do not like them. In certain things, however, I will eat them (and actually enjoy them!). Take brownies for instance - I do not like nuts in my brownies. Or pecan pie - I do not like the pecans in pecan pie. Nor do I like the almonds in a mud pie or Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream. Give me something like a snickers bar, though, packed with peanuts, and I will eat it. And although Almond Roca is toffee dipped in chocolate and rolled in almond bits, I still love it. I guess I'm a little weird like that :) Oddly enough, when I read this recipe, I somehow knew that despite my dislike of nuts, that I would like these bars.


These were a breeze to make, and while the butterscotch flavor was there, it wasn't quite as prominent as I had expected it to be. I think that was a good thing, though, because any stronger and the butterscotch flavor would have been too overpowering.


I refrigerated these to help them set, and had no problems cutting them into squares. The butterscotch caramel held together with nice, clean cut edges when it was right out of the fridge, but after coming to room temperature, it started to drip down the sides of each square. Not a problem at all, though a bit messy.

If you want a real treat, I think you could refrigerate these until firm, cut them into really small pieces, and then dip them in some chocolate for some pretty tasty chocolates. Overall, I really enjoyed these and would definitely make them again. If you like nuts and caramel, then you'll like these. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here.