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    Home » Recipes » Amish Desserts

    Amish "Crack" Cashew Crunch

    Published: Nov 30, 2021 · Updated: Nov 30, 2021 by Kevin Williams | 13 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    Amish "Crack" Cashew Crunch

    There was an old question and answer board game from when I was a child (the name escapes me), but one of the questions was: Name a nut that sounds like a sneeze.

    The answer: cashew

    So I've never been able to see or eat a cashew without thinking of a sneeze sound.  But this stuff is amazing: cashew crunch.

    Jump to:
    • 🙋 FAQ
    • 🍬 Ingredients
    • 📋 Instructions
    • 🍬 More Amish Holiday Candy Ideas
    • 🖨️Printer Friendly Cashew Crunch

    Amish Cashew Crunch is a Christmas favorite

    I'm not sure how the recipe caught on among the Amish, but it really has.  Some even call it "Amish crack," because it is downright addictive. It is good stuff, such a treat.  This is some cashew crunch I recently got at an Amish bakery in Highland County, Ohio.  Below is an Amish cashew crunch recipe for the stuff that comes from an Amish woman in Tennessee.  Yum, give it a try!   And bless you! (um...joke...cashew=sneeze sound)

    The recipe is popular around Christmas and is a great gift for your kids teachers, the mail-carrier, or your boss.  Make it and put it in a beautiful tin with colorful aluminum foil or a raffia bow and you're all set.

    Also here's a little photo tour of one of the most intriguing Amish candy stores I've ever been to... or Grandpa Joes Candy Shop! I've mused about candy before if you're interested, and you can also check out Rosanna's account of what happens in a real old fashion Amish taffy pull! And if you want to just buy Amish-made candy from Ohio's Amish country, here is a helpful list. I've been to many of these places!

    amish candy cashew crunch

    This is homemade Amish cashew crunch that I bought from a small bulk food store outside of Hillsboro, Ohio. Yoder's Country Market is on Duff Road in Highland County and, wow, the cashew crunch there is amazing. But you can make it yourself at home.

    🙋 FAQ

    Can Pecans Be Used Instead of Cashews In This Recipe?

    Pecans are expensive, but, yes, you could use them, just swap out the cashews in the recipe for pecans, black walnuts, or even Spanish peanuts. But this recipe does work especially well with cashews in delivering taste and affordability!

    This is homemade Amish cashew crunch that I bought from a small bulk food store outside of Hillsboro, Ohio. Yoder's Country Market is on Duff Road in Highland County and, wow, the cashew crunch there is amazing. But you can make it yourself.  Cashew crunch, peanut brittle, or any kind of crunch are among my favorite categories of

    Pecans are expensive, but, yes, you could use them, just swap out the cashews in the recipe for pecans, black walnuts, or even Spanish peanuts.  But this recipe does work especially well with cashews in delivering taste and affordability!  This homemade cashew crunch is definitely something that is good enough to find in your favorite grocery store, but easy enough to make at home.

    Amish "Crack" Cashew Crunch

    Amish Cashew Crunch doesn't have many ingredients.  It is a very basic mixture, just four ingredients - white sugar, butter, corn syrup, and cashews. You can use a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper, lightly butter it, or use cooking spray.  When you are stirring in the cashews, stir with a wooden spoon, I find that you get a cleaner stir that way.  You can add a teaspoon of vanilla extract for some extra flavor when you are making this, but it's not necessary.  A small amount of syrup (maple), could be mixed in, maybe a tablespoon, just for an added twist.

    Use a heavy pot when stirring and cooking your mixture. A 2-quart saucepan is ideal.  Whatever pan you use, a heavy bottom saucepan combine is the best.  And when that candy thermometer reaches 290, that is when the magic happens.  

    This is where you pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet and then just let it cool completely.

    You can adjust the proportions of this recipe easily, just use a larger pan or smaller pan or different size baking sheet depending on how you are adjusting.

    Amish "Crack" Cashew Crunch

    Cashews are popular among the Amish whether it is just for snacking, making homemade cashew butter, cashew butter crunch, cashew crunch toffee, salty toffee, or a thicker toffee from cashews, either way, you know it is Christmas in Amish Country when the cashews start coming out!  And while I wont' call it health food, you do get some protein from the cashews!

    🍬 Ingredients

    • 1 cup butter
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
    • 2 cups of cashews

    📋 Instructions

    1. Lightly butter a cookie sheet.
    2. In a heavy pan cook and stir the butter, sugar and corn syrup over low heat until the butter is melted and the mixture comes to a boil.
    3. Cook until it starts to turn golden brown (290 degrees F on a candy thermometer) like peanut brittle.
    4. Remove from heat. Quickly stir in cashews.
    5. Pour mixture out onto prepared cookie sheet. Cool completely.
    6. Break up into pieces. Store in airtight container.

    🍬 More Amish Holiday Candy Ideas

    Amish Mashed Potato Candy

    Amish Christmas Cornflake Candy

    Homemade Taffy

    Quick Homemade Amish Candy Recipes

    Graham Cracker Butterscotch Candy

    One Pan Peanut Cornflake Candy

    Gingerbread Raspberry Whoopie Pie

    Amish Buttercrunch Coffee & Christmas Candy

    🖨️Printer Friendly Cashew Crunch

    Amish Cashew Crunch

    An Amish Holiday Candy Classic. Just Mix, Cool, Chill & Crunch!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine Amish

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup butter
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
    • 2 cup cashews

    Instructions
     

    • Lightly butter a cookie sheet.
    • In a heavy pan cook and stir the butter, sugar and corn syrup over low heat until the butter is melted and the mixture comes to a boil.
    • Cook until it starts to turn golden brown (290 degrees F on a candy thermometer) like peanut brittle.
    • Remove from heat. Quickly stir in cashews.
    • Pour out onto prepared cookie sheet. Cool completely.
    • Break up into pieces. Store in airtight container.
    Keyword Holiday
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    « The Amish Cook: Festive Raspberry-White Chocolate Cupcakes
    Easy Cornflake Christmas Wreaths »

    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Catherine Pond

      October 07, 2015 at 3:14 pm

      AMISH CRACK! I love it! Thanks for the recipe! We have an Amish family in nearby Crab Orchard, KY who make and sell this. I like to buy it at Christmas and have been wanting to know how to make it. So much better than peanut brittle. Also, she dips some of it half-way in chocolate (only in winter). Which reminds me: she said, and other friends have said, that you can only make it in dry weather. Humidity will affect the production quality.

      Enjoying your blog very much. Thank you!

      Reply
    2. Jill

      November 25, 2016 at 8:47 pm

      We have an Amish bakery up north that makes this and the toffee is very smooth and almost soft (it still has crunch to it but it's not typical hard toffee) It just melts in your mouth as opposed to normal toffee that gets stuck in your teeth and is super hard. Which one is this similar to? Thank you!!

      Reply
      • Kevin

        November 26, 2016 at 11:26 am

        This recipe is for a smoother, less sticky type...thanks for stopping by, Jill, what Amish settlement are you near?

        Reply
      • pat

        November 21, 2017 at 10:08 am

        is it the same recipe

        Reply
    3. Lew

      June 24, 2017 at 8:31 pm

      I have made a recipe similar to this for many years that I got from an Amish candy maker here in Wisconsin. That recipe was .... a cup.... a cup.... a cup butter, sugar, and cashews. It didn't call for corn syrup. What purpose does 1 Tbs. of corn syrup serve?

      Reply
      • Kevin

        June 28, 2017 at 8:55 am

        The corn syrup just acts as a bit of "binder" for all the ingredients, it's good stuff!

        Reply
        • David

          December 20, 2021 at 6:13 pm

          5 stars
          Is there a good substitute for the corn syrup? I’m in Sweden, and it’s difficult to come by.

        • Kevin Williams

          December 21, 2021 at 8:37 am

          Sure, David, if you can get your hands on some maple syrup or pancake syrup, either of those would be perfectly fine substitutes....honey or agave nectar should also work

    4. Janie

      March 07, 2020 at 11:46 am

      Do you use raw or roasted cashews?

      Thank you Kevin for the wonderful work you have done over the years. I look forward to your posts every day. I am 74 yes. Old and from Harrisburg, PA.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        March 07, 2020 at 12:21 pm

        Thanks, Janie, I know your area well...Patriot-News country, used to be an amazing newspaper.

        Reply
    5. Monika Hoskins

      January 05, 2021 at 2:47 am

      What type of cashews please. Roasted and salted, dry roasted, raw and roast yourself or ??? Thank you for this recipe. My sister gave me some for Christmas, and we need more!
      Monika

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        January 05, 2021 at 8:45 am

        Hi, Monika, I'd use lightly salt roasted cashews....just the kind of you buy as a snack in a store....no need to buy raw and roast, good luck with it!

        Reply
    6. Kris Allen

      November 18, 2021 at 3:19 pm

      5 stars
      This brittle is wonderful and easy to make! Delicious!

      Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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