Our Sweet friend Cowboy Mike (no pun intended,) is always on the lookout for items to share with us that are vegan. He found a coconut covered cashew candy that was "almost" vegan, at a big box store recently. To my dismay, there was dairy in it. Why do "they" always have to toss in the big "D" for almost no reason at all? Our friend was so nice to try and suprise us with this delectable looking item anyhow. I decided that I would most definitely recreate this in a non-dairy version. And to our delight...this dream was born. Simple, yummy, elegant or casual...
make ahead of time and store until ready, that is, if you don't munch away on it and it's gone in a day. Yes, I must confess...
almost...
Gone...
in minutes!
Deliciousness!
Toasted Coconut Cashews Recipe~
4 ounces toasted fine shredded coconut
1 1/2 Cups whole raw Cashews
2 Tbs vegan butter
1/2 Cup corn syrup
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
Ahead of time, take a cookie sheet and line with aluminum foil. Pour 2/3 of the coconut mixture on the aluminum foil and spread out. Start by mixing the vegan butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, salt and nutmeg in a shallow pan over high heat. Once it starts to bubble (as pictured below,) stir in cashews and stir every minute for about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda. Stir for about 1 minute and pour mixture on prepared pan. Top the mixture with the remaining coconut and begin to mix with a flat spatula by placing spatula under the mixture and turning it over and over and over about 20 times until the coconut is coating the cashew pieces and they begin to separate. At this point, cashews should be slightly cool to touch. Start separating the pieces by hand and then continue to cool.
These cashews will have a slight crunch with a chew after cooled. The flair of vanilla and toasted coconut will tease your taste buds with non stop yumminess! These are the perfect little candies to place in a jar with a cute bow and give to your friends for any holiday. And if you are one of my neighbors and friends...I like these kind of gifts too... Hint, hint!
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