Cooking Thursday: Caramel Cashew Bars & Monte Cristo Sliders

 

Hello dear Friends ~

The weekend is in sight and I hope you have some fun plans ahead!

Speaking of fun...I thought I'd share the recipe for these fun bars I made recently that have been a favorite around here for years (just like the twix bars). I thought I had shared them on here before, but now I wonder if maybe I hadn't? So I thought I'd put the recipe down here today so you will have it for sure. 

I also made monte cristo sliders up at the lake for brunch a few weekends back. I forgot to take any pics but we all LOVED them. So I want to be sure to keep the recipe here for my own record. But also so you have it if you would like to try it as well. 😋💗

First up the bars. Think 7 layer bars (I think they're sometimes called magic cookie bars?) but instead of a graham cracker crust it is a sugar cookie dough crust. And instead of a sweetened condensed milk topping, you use a thickened caramel.  I just love cashews with caramel - thus caramel cashew bars were born! (PS: if you've never had a caramel cashew sundae you're missing out - give it a go!)

The recipe I was inspired by is actually in an old cookbook I have. And it was for caramel pecan bars. 

Here's the recipe from the old Pillsbury Holiday Baking cookbook I have (this recipe is under Autumn). So for these bars I just changed the pecans to cashews. And I also add butterscotch chips. So I did about 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips and 1/2 c. of butterscotch chips (maybe a little extra of both but don't tell) 😉

These bars hold up well and don't need to be refrigerated. They'd be great to bring to a potluck. Plus they're delish and always a home run with folks! :)  

Next up I want to share the monte cristo sliders I made for our brunch at the lake a few weekends ago. It's a recipe under my "sliders" board on pinterest you can find if you click here.

Here is the recipe as it's posted from the jennifercooks site. They were easy and so amazing!! We had them as brunch along with fruit and some veggies and dip. Highly recommend giving them a try. The only thing I did differently is that I didn't have gruyere cheese and used provolone cheese slices and they were still amazing. 😋

Ingredients

• 1 package Sweet Hawaiian Dinner Rolls 12-count each
• ½ pound deli sliced smoked ham
• ½ pound deli sliced smoked roasted turkey
• ½ pound Gruyère cheese hand grated

Sauce:

• 1 stick salted butter melted
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Garnish:

• Powdered sugar
• Raspberry Preserves

Instructions

Prepare the Baking Dish

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper or foil, ensuring enough overhang to use as handles for easy lifting.
• Lightly coat the parchment paper-lined dish with cooking spray.

Assemble the Sliders

• Keeping the rolls connected, slice them horizontally as one unit. Do not separate into individual rolls.
  1 package Sweet Hawaiian Dinner Rolls
• Place the bottom half of the rolls into the prepared baking dish.
• Layer the ham, turkey, and grated Gruyère cheese evenly over the rolls.
  ½ pound deli sliced smoked ham,½ pound deli sliced smoked roasted turkey,½ pound Gruyère cheese

Make the Sauce

• In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, beaten egg, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and mayonnaise until smooth.
  1 stick salted butter,1 egg,1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce,2 tablespoons dijon mustard,2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• Pour half of the sauce evenly over the layered cheese and meats.

Bake the Sliders

• Place the top half of the rolls over the assembled ingredients, pressing down lightly.
• Pour the remaining sauce over the tops, brushing to distribute evenly.
• Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.
• If the tops brown too quickly, cover loosely with foil to prevent burning.

Finish & Serve

• Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Using the parchment paper handles, carefully lift the entire slab of sliders onto a cutting board.
• Cut into individual sliders with a sharp knife.
• Dust generously with powdered sugar.
• Serve warm with raspberry preserves on the side for dipping

Wishing you a great weekend ahead! If you try these recipes I sure hope you enjoy them as much as we did! 

xoxo