Cranberry Pistachio Salted Caramel Bars

Squeezing this one in at popular request… Larry made these for a pre-Christmas get together. The recipe is found in the 2012 Holiday Issue of Food and Drink (LCBO Magazine available only in Ontario). They were awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They would be great for your New Year’s Eve celebrations….

Cranberry Pistachio Salted Caramel Bars (LCBO)

Cookie Base :

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

½ cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup unsalted butter softened

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg YOLK

Filling :

2 cups sugar

½ cup water

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/3 cup whipping cream, heated

1 ½ teaspoons salt

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces

1 cup unsalted and roasted pistachios, chopped

1 ½ cups dried cranberries, plumped in boiling water for 10 minutes and drained

½ teaspoon sea salt (optional)*

Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C.

Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine flour, wheat germ and salt. Set aside in a bowl.

Combine butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Beat in the yolk until combined. Add in flour mixture and beat until combined. Crumble dough into prepared baking pan and use damp fingers to press into a single layer with a slight lip at the edges. Bake for 25 minutes or until dry to the touch and golden. Set aside.

Combine sugar, water and corn syrup in a heavy bottom pot and stir just enough to moisten the sugar. Place pot over medium heat, bring to simmer and cook without stirring for 10 minutes or until deeply golden (between 320 and 340F OR 159 to 170C) on a candy thermometer.

Working quickly and carefully, add cream and salt, stirring to combine and then add butter (1Tablespoon at a time) until incorporated. Remove from heat.  Let caramel stand for 10 minutes to cool slightly then add pistachios and cranberries and stir until coated.

Scrape caramel mixture onto the prepared cookie base and use a spatula to even out topping. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until caramel is bubbling at the edge.

Sprinkle bars with salt if desired. Let cool for two hours to firm up and then remove from pan. Peel down parchment and cut into 48 rectangular bars. Will keep well in a sealed container for one week at room temperature.