Peanut Butter Nougat Chocolates

I need you to know that there’s no turning back after making these chocolates.

You can’t expect to make them, eat them, and live your life like you did the day before.  No.  Something will happen, some sort of inexplicable shift, some sort of transformation.  You won’t be able to stop thinking about them, and I feel obligated to tell you that they’ll get under your skin in a fairly dangerous way.

The chewy, sweet, peanut-buttery nougat on its own is enough to alter your universe.  But drench it in chocolate, and you have a completely amplified situation on your hands.  Sprinkle peanuts over top, or sea salt, and you’re done.  You just need to know.  I’d say I was sorry but I’m so not- these are worth the neurosis.

(I’m also going to tell you that they aren’t the easiest addiction to feed.  They take patience and time, which you’ll find lacking if you do what I did in this particular part of the process.  But as always, you need to trust that the frustration is worth the drama.  In this case, especially.)

Adapted from the Culinary Institute of America’s recipe…

SYRUP

2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

MERINGUE

1 egg white

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla

ADDITIONS CHOCOLATE COATING

3/4 cup dry powdered milk

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 lb. (1 1/2 cups) dark or semisweet chocolate, melted tempered (OR dark compound coating, melted)

2 tbsp. vegetable shortening

1/4 cup peanuts, finely chopped (for garnish)

1. Line a 9? x 13? baking pan with plastic wrap and spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a LARGE (6-qt+!) saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, molasses, and water.  Heat over medium-high heat without stirring.  Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 250°.  Meanwhile, put meringue ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk (egg white, corn syrup vanilla).
3. In a medium bowl, combine peanut butter, powdered milk, and confectioners’ sugar and stir until smooth; set peanut butter mixture aside.
4. When syrup reaches 235°, begin to whip meringue mixture on high speed.  Once the syrup reaches 250°, remove pan from heat, reduce mixer speed to medium and carefully pour hot syrup into center of  meringue mixture in a slow, steady stream.  Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 4 minutes.  Remove bowl from mixer and fold in peanut butter mixture gently but quickly with a rubber spatula until well combined.  Transfer to prepared baking pan and smooth with a rubber spatula; allow to cool to room temperature (at least 2 hours or overnight).
5. Remove nougat from pan and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut into 1? squares and set aside.
6. In a medium bowl, melt chocolate and shortening in microwave for 1 minute, stirring, then microwaving in 20-second increments as necessary until melted and smooth.  Allow chocolate to cool until 89°.  (If using compound coating, like Ghiradelli’s amazing-tasting stuff, simply melt in microwave according to package directions.)
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.  Using candy dipping forks or toothpicks, dip a square of nougat into the chocolate topside up, then flip over in the chocolate to cover the underside.  Lift out of the chocolate bath and allow excess chocolate to drip off nougat square.  Gently scrape off excess chocolate from bottoms before placing on parchment or wax paper.  Sprinkle squares with a small pinch of chopped peanuts (or sea salt) before chocolate sets (so sprinkle right after placing on parchment- don’t wait!).  Let chocolate cool to room temperature and set before serving.

Tips:

• Use a pot that’s big enough for the syrup.  I used our biggest saucepan and it still overflowed; I then poured it into our chili pot and it worked like a charm.
• Like your nougat firmer and chewier?  Just cook the pot of syrup to as high as 255º, and watch for the telltale smell of burning… as soon as you get the teensiest, faintest whiff of char, remove from the burner.
• No stand mixer?  Just make do, like you do.  Stand and beat.  And plan what model of mixer you’ll buy.  🙂
• Slicing the nougat is way easier with a clean knife (wiped between every slice or so), sprayed with a bit of nonstick spray.  Don’t use too much or everything will feel greasy… just enough to slice a bit easier.  And don’t worry of your slices aren’t perfect- the chocolate covers up a lot of the ugliness.
• When dipping nougat in chocolate, if it cools below 86°, it’ll start to clump a bit and annoy you.  Pop the bowl back in the microwave for 10 – 15 seconds or so, until the chocolate reaches 89° again, then continue coating nougat squares.
• If you don’t scrape enough of the chocolate off the bottom of the nougat, you’ll get a little pooling (like in the picture above- the square above the one with the bite out of it [that’s The Husband’s front teeth impression] has a little edge).  I should have scraped some more.  Oh well, more chocolate to love.
• Thank you, Ghiradelli, for making candy coating that’s still tasty and quality-filled.  I loved not having to temper chocolate and hope for the best.
• Eat these within a few days, storing at room temperature in an airtight container.  Getting rid of them shouldn’t be an issue.
• Enjoy!

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