Caramel Walnut Bars: No-Bake Christmas Slices Between Wafer Sheets That Keep for Weeks

Instructions

1. First prepare everything thoroughly, because caramel is all about speed. Grind the cookies and chop the walnuts. Lay the wafer sheets out on your work surface.

2. Pour the sugar into a wide, heavy-bottomed pot. Melt it over medium heat, swirling the pot occasionally, until it becomes a liquid amber caramel. Stir only once most of the sugar has melted.

3. While the sugar caramelizes, warm the milk and butter together in a second pot until the butter is completely melted. The mixture does not need to boil, it just has to be hot.

4. Now the key step. Pour the hot milk and butter mixture into the finished liquid caramel very slowly, whisking constantly. Be careful, the mixture will bubble and spatter heavily! This method keeps the caramel from seizing into one hard lump.

5. Simmer briefly over low heat until you have a smooth, combined caramel sauce.

6. Take the pot off the heat and immediately stir the chopped walnuts and ground cookies vigorously into the hot mixture. You get a thick, sticky mass.

7. Work quickly. Spread a quarter of the hot filling evenly over the first wafer sheet. Cover with a second sheet, press down lightly and keep layering until you run out of filling. The top layer is the fifth and last wafer.

8. Cover the whole slab with parchment paper and weigh it down evenly, for example with a large cutting board and a few heavy books.

9. Let it set at room temperature for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.