Nougat Bars Recipes

CRUNCHY PEANUT CARAMEL NOUGAT CANDY BAR

Steps:

• Spray a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of overhang on each side.
• For the nougat: Combine the peanut butter, vanilla and marshmallow cream in a large mixing bowl and reserve. Combine the sugar, cream and butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir with a heatproof spatula until the sugar dissolves. Fit the saucepan with a candy thermometer and continue monitoring until the mixture starts to turn a light amber color and the temperature reaches 250 degrees F, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Once your nougat hits 250 degrees F, remove from the heat and add to the marshmallow mixture. Mix together to completely combine, but don't overwork. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Turn out the nougat into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula coated in nonstick spray. Place in the refrigerator to cool and get going on your next layer, the caramel.
• For the caramel filling: Add the sugar, cream and corn syrup to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Carefully stir to combine with a heatproof spatula until the sugar dissolves and bring the mixture to a boil. Stop stirring and boil until the mixture begins to turn an amber color and reaches 250 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, carefully, as it will foam up. (Adding the butter at the end will stop the cooking and keeps your caramel soft and chewy.) Keep stirring until it's all dissolved, and then stir in the peanuts. As tempting as it may be, never stick your finger in hot caramel to taste, sugar burns and hurts!
• Pour the caramel over the nougat and spread evenly with the spatula. Place in the refrigerator until the caramel is completely cool, 15 minutes.
• Transfer the candy to a cutting board. Cut lengthwise into thirds and then across in nine 1-inch rectangles, using a sharp knife that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. You can mark the caramel nougat with your knife as a guide before cutting out your bars.
• For the chocolate: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and is smooth, 8 to10 minutes. Dip each candy piece and completely cover with chocolate on all sides, using two forks, allowing the excess to drip off. Place on a wire cooling rack for the excess to drip off while you dip all of the bars. Once the bars are dipped, transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and allow the chocolate to set in the fridge at least 20 minutes.

CHOCOLATE AND CARAMEL NOUGAT BARS

Steps:

• Whip egg whites to soft peaks. Melt chocolate. Toast the almonds and the pistachios and keep warm. Cook the honey to 166 degrees F (130 degrees C) in a copper pot. In another pot, cook the sugar, water, and glucose to 338 degrees F (170 degrees C). Gradually pour into the whipped egg whites, the honey then the sugar mixture. Let whip on high for 3 minutes then remove the whisk. Fold the melted and hot chocolate into the whites, followed by the warm nuts. Press into a frame that is 25 mm in thickness, and leave overnight to cool. Place a 5 mm frame directly on top of the frame that is around the nougat. Adhere the 2 frames with a little melted chocolate.
• In a pot warm cream and baking soda. In a copper pot cook the sugar, water, and the glucose to 293 degrees F (145 degrees C). Deglaze the sugar, slowly, with the cream that was warmed with the baking soda. Re-cook together to 244 degrees F (118 degrees C) and finish by adding the butter that has been cut into small cubes. Pour over the nougat and let rest overnight.
• Cut the nougat bars into the desired shape and dip in tempered chocolate. Serve at room temperature.
• Note: A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The FN chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

CLASSIC NOUGAT

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Scatter the nuts over a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10 mins, then set aside (they don't need to cool). Cut the two pieces of rice paper to fit a 20 x 20cm square tin. Line the tin with one sheet of rice paper, brush the sides of the tin with oil, then dust the tin with icing sugar.
• Put the honey into a saucepan, then in another saucepan tip in the sugar, glucose and 100ml of water. Put the egg whites in the very clean bowl of a tabletop mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk on a low speed. Heat and boil the honey until it reaches 121C on a digital cooking thermometer, then straightaway pour the honey over the egg whites and set the speed to medium. While the whites and honey are whisking, bring the sugar and water to the boil and keep boiling until the syrup reaches 145C exactly on a digital cooking thermometer. Pour the hot syrup in a slow, steady stream into the beating egg white mixture. Continue beating for about 10 mins until you have a thick, glossy, firm meringue. It's hard to over-whisk at this stage but easy to under-whisk, so keep going until the meringue looks like sticky chewing gum.
• Use a spatula to stir though the nuts (which should still be warm), the vanilla extract and a small pinch of salt. Scrape the mixture into the lined tin, then smooth over to spread the mixture out evenly (if you have an offset spatula, now is the time to use it). Finally, top with the remaining sheet of rice paper and press down. Leave the nougat to set for at least 2 hrs or overnight.
• To turn out and portion, use a spatula to loosen the edges of the nougat away from the tin, then invert the tin on to a clean board and use a sharp serated, hot knife to portion into bars or squares. The nougat will keep, stored in an airtight container, for up to a month.

NOUGAT BARS

Steps:

• Grease one 8" square cake pan or casserole dish.
• In a dutch oven, melt the butter; then add the marshmallows and melt them over low heat, stirring as it melts until you have a smooth mixture.
• Remove from heat and add the cereal, peanuts and coconut, stirring until the mixture is completely covered with the melted marshmallows.
• With buttered hands, press the cereal mixture into the greased cake pan.
• Spread the melted chocolate chips over the cereal mixture.
• Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour; then cut into bars and serve.
• NOTE: the 'cook' time covers the chilling time and the 'prep time covers everything else.
• Suggestions: swap out the peanuts for another kind, like almonds or macadamia; use a different crunchy cereal like Kix or Cocoa Puffs, etc; swap out the chocolate chips for a different flavor like butterscotch, peanut butter or mint chocolate.