Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch

This recipe requires few ingredients and little effort, but the result is superb, making it appear you slaved over a hot stove all afternoon. What's more, this candy is so rich that a few pieces go a long way, making it ideal for holiday gift bags. For those of you unfamiliar with buttercrunch, it's a lot like a Heath Bar. And, like a Heath Bar, not only is it tasty candy; it's delicious crunched up and stirred into ice cream, or mixed into whipped cream and spread between layers of a chocolate cake.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 2 cups diced pecans or slivered almonds, toasted
• 2 2/3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped; or chocolate chips

Instructions

1. In a large, deep saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the salt, sugar, water, and corn syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil gently over medium heat, without stirring, until the mixture reaches hard-crack stage (300°F on an instant-read or candy thermometer). The syrup will bubble without seeming to change much for awhile, but be patient; all of a sudden it will darken, and at that point you need to take its temperature and see if it's ready. (If you don't have a thermometer, test a dollop in ice water; it should immediately harden to a brittleness sufficient that you'll be able to snap it in two, without any bending or softness). This whole process should take about 10 to 12 minutes. Pay attention; too long on the heat, and the syrup will burn.
2. While the sugar mixture is gently bubbling, spread half of the nuts, in a fairly closely packed, even single layer, on a lightly greased baking sheet (a half sheet pan works well here). Top with half the chocolate.
3. When the syrup is ready, pour it quickly and evenly over the nuts and chocolate. Immediately top with the remaining chocolate, then the remaining nuts.
4. Wait several minutes, then gently, using the back of a spatula, press down on the chocolate-nut layer to spread the chocolate around evenly.
5. While the candy is still slightly warm, use a spatula to loosen it from the baking sheet. When cool, break it into uneven chunks.
6. Store cooled candy tightly wrapped; it'll stay fresh for a couple of weeks at room temperature. Freeze for longer storage.
7. Yield: about 24 big bite-sized pieces.