A nutty heart for your valentine - recipes

Sunset, Feb, 1991

Romance the special person in your life with this caramel nut valentine. It's easy to make-simply coat toasted nuts with a butter-sugar mixture and bake in a heart-shaped cake pan until the sugar caramelizes. Decorate, wrap, and give away your heart.

Caramel Nut Valentine
2 1/2 cups (8 to 10 oz.) unsalted whole
      almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, or
      macadamia nuts, or pecan or
      walnut halves (choose 1 or a
      mixture)
    About 1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
    cup all-purpose flour
1   teaspoon vanilla
    Purchased decorating icing (in
      tubes or cans)

Place nuts in a 9-inch (measured from top center to bottom tip) heart-shaped cake pan; bake in a 350[deg.] oven until nuts are golden under skin, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove nuts from pan and set aside. Line bottom and sides of the heart-shaped pan with foil. Coat foil with nonstick cooking oil spray or butter. In a 1 /2- to 2-quart pan, melt 1/3 up butter over low heat. Add sugar and syrup. Stirring, bring to a boil over high heat. Off heat, stir in flour and vanilla. Add nuts and mix well. Pour mixture into lined pan, spreading into an even layer. Bake in a 325[deg.] oven until rich golden brown all over, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan on rack until firm but still slightly warm, 30 to 40 minutes. Invert a rack on pan; hold together and invert heart onto rack. Carefully peel off foil. Invert another rack onto heart; holding both racks, turn over so top is up. Remove rack on top. Cool heart completely. If desired, with frosting write an inscription on the heart and decorate edges. Let stand until frosting is dry and firm to touch, about 30 minutes. Encase heart in plastic wrap, taping excess to back. If heart is not rigid, place decorated side up on a piece of lightweight cardboard cut in a matching heart shape; then overwrap with plastic wrap and secure with tape. Store at cool room temperature up to 5 days. Break apart or cut pieces. Makes 1 heart, about pounds. Per ounce: 129 cal.; 2.5 g protein; 9 g fat, 11 g carbo.; 41 mg sodium; 8 mg chol.