Macadamia Caramel Clusters
We have a big all star game tomorrow, though unfortunately I will be missing it. One of my parents was hospitalized this week so I am flying back to California for a weekend visit.
As I tucked my older son into bed tonight he said, "I want extra snuggles since I won't see you until Sunday." He was very disappointed that I would be missing his game and couldn't completely understand how a hospital visit could take priority over his tournament. I did pack a couple of batches of blondies for his team (to keep them energized during the game) and am hoping my husband will remember to take them along tomorrow.
I also made these macadamia caramel clusters for my husband. I experimented with them earlier this week and he just about ate the entire test batch --I took that as a sign that they were good enough to share with all of you. I hope you like them as much as he does.
½ cup creamy roasted almond butter
½ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ tsp celtic sea salt
1 cup macadamia nuts, toasted
1 cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao
- Combine almond butter and agave in a medium saucepan over low heat
- Stir in vanilla and salt, then add macadamia nuts
- Allow mixture to cool a few minutes
- Drop mixture by the tablespoonful onto a parchment lined dish
- Place dish in freezer for 10 minutes
- Melt chocolate in a medium saucepan over lowest heat possible, stirring continuously to avoid scorching
- Remove dish from freezer and drop chocolate over each caramel cluster, spreading gently to coat
- Store macadamia caramel clusters in freezer
- Remove from freezer just before serving (if left out for long they become quite messy)
My husband said these remind him of my candy bars --though says these are better. What do you think? Macadamia Caramel Clusters or Candy Bars? What'll it be?
Posted on July 11, 2008 in desserts by Elana
other entries you may like: Raw Chocolate Fudge
or Orange Chocolate Coconut Clusters
or Vegan Chocolate Frosting
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"Check out Elana's FAQ page for info on substitutions -- there are just too many possibilities so she can't answer all of these : ) But the Forums are an excellent resource and I highly recommend posting your substitution questions there; everyone is friendly and helpful." -Katie
Those look and sound so good!
Greetings,
I like your recipes and your site in general has awesome stuff.
I cook gluten free as well as make breads to sell to my customers.I can't wait to make the Macadamia Caramel Clusters you have posted. Sounds so yummy!
I'd like to post your recipes,etc to my blogs at http://shekinahshome.blogspot.com & http://360.yahoo.com/shekinahcohen (with your permission) to share your fantastic stuff with others.I will be certain to give you full credit!
Thanks,
Rivkah
I love your recipes. The first recipe I made was the granola recipe which is now a family favorite. This one looks so good; I'm going to make it today. I eat bread like it's going out of style and I still love all your recipes. Sometime I'd like to see a "day in the life of" menu posting. I'm curious about what you eat on a regular basis - is it always this fantastic??
Elana: I wonder if you can email me your answer to this, rather than blog, as I am also in the midst of a parental illness/death in SoCal and may forget to look at your site.
I love your recipes and wonder if you can provide the nutritional values/breakdown per servings or cumulative values and I can always break them down? We are mostly focused on no sodium issues, and I am beginning to incorporate gluten-free ingredients.
Please advise.
Prayer to your family and parents. [My Dad is 87 w/end-stage Alzheimer's. We are blessed to have 8 living siblings to share the coordination of healthcare; my eldest sister is on a plane from Denver as I write this].
These look amazing! I am picturing adjusting the recipe to use pecans to make a turtle-like concoction! Have you ever used Living Tree Community foods? Their website has some really great looking stuff... one is cashew/macadamia nut butter. That sounds dreamy!
Kevin -Thanks
Rivka -Thanks for your kind words, and yes, you can post my recipes (with appropriate credits) on your blog. Thanks so much!
Eve -It is always this fantastic; though often it is fantastic leftovers. We do leftovers quite a lot around here with a big fresh bunch of greens from our garden.
Kathy -This is indeed a frequently asked question from my readers. The answer to this question and many others can be found on my FAQs page. Best wishes to you, your family and your father.
Chrissy -Courtney, whom I've had the pleasure of meeting through this blog introduced me to that company and their products sound amazing. Let me know how your turtles turn out.
Ok... these are absolutely WONDERFUL! I made my "turtles" a few minutes ago... already ate one... (he was trying to get away...)! These taste like any high-quality chocolate store treat and it took me like 10 minutes to get them into the freezer to cool! When I make them again I will not use wax paper... they kinda stick and peel off onto the bottoms. Maybe that release foil or parchment would work better? I dont know... but I will certainly ingest a little wax paper to eat these things! I am taking two to my mom tonight! I have a photo, but can't figure out how to send it to you!
I made these with cashew butter instead of almond butter and they tasted great! Thanks for another great recipe.
Chrissy -Thanks for checking back in and letting us know your results. I use parchment paper and they don't stick too badly. I'm so glad you liked 'em.
Wendy -Cashew butter sounds delicious! You are very welcome.
Ok, an acquaintance just fed me some of these and they are SO GOOD!!! I came home and googled vegan+caramel+agave and this is what I found. If this is your own personal recipe...nice work!
michelle -glad you liked 'em and yes, they are my own personal recipe. Since you found these agreeable, you might also enjoy candy bars as well.
Thanks,
Elana
One problem with these is how I can stop myself from eating the whole tray. Absolutely delicious and mine looked just like your picture which doesn't always happen with recipes...so great. How I love agave, it changed my world when I stumbled upon it and I'm so happy to have found recipes that rely on it.
Hannah,
I have the exact same problem with this recipe! By the way, any luck with the bread recipe? I also figured out in my detective work that it may have been too flat due to using a larger pan size than recommended in the recipe... what do you think?
Elana
Can't figure the bread out still, switched agave, think I have the right pan size, but i'll measure to be sure.
Hannah,
Thanks so much for being in touch about this, I know we will get it!
Pan size makes all the difference and could explain why your bread was a flat little focaccia type thing.
Thanks Again,
Elana
A friend brought these to work for me to try. They are so good that I didn't believe they were low glycemic. I took the leap and ate one anyway. They really are low glycemic! One of the best deserts I've ever tried. I'm actually going to make them myself and pass the recipe to others. Thank you!
Jodi,
So glad you enjoyed them --these are one of my favorites.
Elana
Hi Elana,
These are so wonderful! I used pecans instead of the macadamia nuts. YUMMY!
Mary,
Thanks for the report! Sounds delicious.
Elana
i made this for my hubby and i for superbowl sunday and they are amazing!!!
i lvoe your sie. thank you.
monique,
Thanks for your sweet comment and so glad that you and your hubby enjoyed them!
Elana
[...] made her Macadamia Caramel Clusters, only I subbed in hazelnuts because macadamia nuts and I aren’t the best of [...]
[...] Check out the recipe over at Elana’s Pantry. [...]
These are amazing! After they set, I cut them into strips and stored them in the freezer. They became much firmer and gave them a longer life once pulled out of the freezer to be served. Thanks!
These are so, SO good!! :) Mixed in a handful of dried cranberries in one batch and it turned out great. Love your site and your cookbook!