INGREDIENTS

1 cup (two sticks) plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups nuts (almonds, pecans, cashews, macadamias, or your favorite other nut)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 tablespoons water
16 ounces San Francisco Chocolate Factory
milk or dark chocolate discs


PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Heavily butter the bottom and sides of a 13” x 9” baking sheet with the 2 tablespoons of butter. Set aside.

2. Toast the nuts on a cookie sheet until slightly browned. Cool slightly, and chop half of them coarsely and other other half fine. Set aside.

3. Melt the remaining 1 cup of butter in a large saucepan. Add sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook, stirring often, until a candy thermometer registers 300°F. (Watch it carefully; after 280°F, the heat increases quickly.) At 300°F, quickly stir in the coarsely chopped nuts and spread in the buttered baking sheet. Allow to cool.

4. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Turn the cooled candy in the baking sheet out onto a large sheet of waxed paper. Spread the top with half the chocolate and then half the nuts. Using a piece of buttered wax paper, lightly and gently press the nuts into the chocolate. Lay another sheet of wax paper over the top and flip the slab over. Repeat with the remaining chocolate and nuts.

5. Chill the bark until firm, and then break into pieces. Store the candy in a closed container in a cool place (not the refrigerator).