Recipe(tried): Amish Cashew Crunch

When the Amish moved into our area, I found myself having two wonderful friends...that baker and candy maker. My friend Edna shared her mother's cookbook with me. It was in a leather bound book and was all handwritten. It had all the amish recipes in it. I asked her if I could copy it and she said that I could BUT, I had to promise that I would not make any of the recipes, especially the candy recipes, until all the Amish were gone again from this area. The cashew crunch recipe was in this book. I noticed on a series of posts that there were numerous ideas about making cashew crunch. Since her daughter, Alma, was the candy maker in the community I watched her make cashew crunch many times.

She used one cup of butter melted in the pan then added one cup of sugar and brought it to a boil until it was golden brown. She new exactly when it was ready. I'm not that good but, the candy should not be cooked over 290 degrees and not less! Then, add one cup of salted cashews. Stir and pour onto cookie sheet. You do not have to butter the sheet due to the amount of butter in the recipe. She scored the candy when it was starting to set. She left it in the pan for at least one hour. It would absorb the extra butter, it would be a nice golden brown and nice and crunchy.