Sesame Cashew Turtles

On top of all the treat spots we love at the beach, Kilwin's happens to be top 3. Their turtles happen to be the best I've ever had from a store, therefore I had to make my own! Now while these aren't gigantic like the original, these bite size candies are an incredible balance of savory and sweet. I decided to use honey sesame cashews from Trader Joe's, BUT I find that any tree nut works well with this recipe. The key here is to use a silicone candy mold, but you can freehand as well. I got a little too into making wine gummies last year because of my coworker (hi Hilary!) and went overboard on buying these silicone molds. I ended up OD-ing my friends and family on my rose gummies, so I needed an excuse to use the molds for other goodies, hence these turtles. You can also make your caramels coffee caramels by following this recipe linked. The perfect treat for anyone (who does not have a nut allergy). Cheers!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped sesame cashews (enough to fill bottom of each mold, do not overfill we want to leave room for caramel and chocolate)
3.5 oz extra dark Valrhona chocolate (you can use any chocolate, but dark is best to balance out the sweetness of the caramel)

Caramel:

1 1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
5 tbsp butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp flaked sea salt


Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan on medium-low heat add heavy cream, vanilla extract and butter. Stir until butter has fully dissolved
2. In a saucepan with high sides (this is really important!!!) on medium heat add sugar, water and corn syrup. Leave untouched (DON'T WALK AWAY) until the mixture starts to caramelize (about 10-15 minutes) and has a light amber color. Add salt
3. Take your heavy cream mixture along with a metal whisk and slowly pour into the caramel. It's going to steam and bubble up so DO NOT put your face over the pan. Whisk vigorously and keep whisking until caramel has reached 275 degrees Fahrenheit
4. Pour into a Pyrex glass measuring cup with a spout in order to make pouring your caramel into your molds MUCH easier
5. Pour the caramel into each mold and leave room at the top to add your chocolate later. PLEASE be super careful while pouring this hot caramel into your molds, I have given myself second degree burns while handling caramel before (it's extremely painful and takes a while to heal). If you burn yourself please see a doctor immediately to treat your injury
6. Allow for your caramels to harden in the molds for at least an hour
7. Once caramels have hardened, melt your chocolate either in the microwave or on a double boiler
8. Once melted, spoon your chocolate on top of your caramels. Allow to cool and harden. If you wish for this to go faster you can put your molds in the refrigerator or freezer