Copycat Salted Nut Roll Candy Bar Recipe is a candy store classic. You can make it at home and give all your favorite people a homemade gift this year!
I love making homemade candy. From haystacks, turtles candy, and divinity to our favorite peanut butter fudge recipe.
Why This Recipe is Best
These homemade candies were a true labor of love.
After several unsuccessful attempts, I finally created the result I was hoping for: a soft center wrapped in chewy caramel and salty peanuts!
There are a couple of candies that if put in front of me, I could never resist. Pay Day candy bars, Salted Nut Rolls, and Bullseyes (caramel creams). Are you familiar with any of these?
Today’s Salted Nut Roll recipe is a cross between those classic Caramel Creams and a salty Pay Day truffles.
If caramel is your thing, this is definitely the homemade candy for you, and it would also make a really great homemade Christmas gift.
- Smooth, creamy marshmallow center
- Chewy caramel coating
- Crunchy, salted peanuts for the perfect finish
Ingredient Notes
- Unsalted Butter – I use and prefer unsalted butter in all of my baking so I can control the amount of sodium. If all you have is salted, it should work fine, too.
- Marshmallow Cream – Also called marshmallow fluff, this is the base of the inner roll for the candy. We love using homemade marshmallow fluff for this too!
- Powdered Sugar – Also called “confectioner’s sugar,” it dissolves into the marshmallow fluff to sweeten it and create a super smooth dough.
- Caramel Bits – Any brand will do, but you need TWO 11-ounce bags for this recipe.
- Peanuts – Use dry roasted, salted peanuts for best sweet and salty peanut flavor. And while peanuts are classic for this candy, you could try switching up the nut if you need to avoid peanuts.
Easy Instructions
Make the dough. Melt the butter and marshmallow cream in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds, until butter is fully melted. Mix with the powdered sugar and vanilla and cream together until just combined.
Form and freeze the dough. Place the dough on the siplat and knead into a dough ball. Divide the “dough” into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 7-8 inch log (about 1-inch thick around). Wrap each log in parchment paper and freeze for 2 hours, until firm. You can freeze overnight if you’d like.
Make the caramel mixture. Melt caramel bits and butter in an 11×7-inch baking dish in the microwave, about 1 1/2 minutes, until smooth. The mixture will be very thick, and the butter will separate from the caramel. That’s OKAY. Using your hands, once the caramel has cooled slightly, press the caramel into the dish and then use a knife to make 6 equal slices.
Assemble the logs. Unwrap the frozen marshmallow log and using your hands, literally spread the caramel until it covers the center completely. Once the entire log is covered, press the chopped peanuts into the caramel to adhere. Re-wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate. Repeat for each log.
Slice and serve. When ready to enjoy, slice the logs into 1-inch pieces and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Invest in a Silicone Baking Mat for kneading the marshmallow mixture to have a stable base that won’t stick to the dough.
- Knead the marshmallow mixture using your hands until it’s nice and smooth to create a creamy filling for the candies.
- You’ll need to use your fingers to stretch and shape the caramel around each log of the marshmallow dough until it’s entirely covered. It’ll feel like you’re working with play doh.
- Have the chopped peanuts ready to go so you can immediately press them into the soft caramel and have them stick.
- Be sure to refrigerate the candies after they are assembled so they set up completely and are easy to slice.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! The marshmallow dough needs to be frozen for 2 hours before assembling the rolls and the whole candy needs to be refrigerated to set, so these are a great candy recipe to make in advance.
These candies need to be refrigerated. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, if they last that long.
You can freeze the marshmallow dough logs overnight or even up to 1 month in advance to make these candies easier to assemble. You can also freeze leftovers of the candy. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and enjoying.
More Candy Recipes
- English Toffee
- Cracker Toffee
- Christmas Crack
- Rice Crispy Treats
- Churro Toffee
- Divinity Candy
- Pralines
- Buckeyes
- More Easy Dessert Recipes
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Salted Nut Roll
Ingredients
for the filling:
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 7 ounces marshmallow cream
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
for the coating:
- 2 bags caramel bits 11 ounces each
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups chopped peanuts
Instructions
For the filling
- Melt the butter and marshmallow cream in the microwave, about 30-60seconds, until butter is fully melted.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter and marshmallow to the powdered sugar and vanilla. Cream together until just blended.
- Drop onto a silpat (or large piece of parchment paper). Use your hands to knead the “dough” into a large ball.
- Divide the ball into 6 equal portions. You’ll then want to use your hands to roll each portion into a 7-8-inch log (the key is to keep it 1-inch thick around).
- Wrap each log in parchment paper and freeze two hours until firm.
For the coating:
- Melt caramel bits and butter in an 11×7-inch baking dish in the microwave, about 1 1/2 minutes, until smooth. The mixture will be thick, and the butter will separate from the caramel. That’s OKAY.
- Allow caramel to cool slightly, then using your hands, combine the butter into the caramel and press the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish. Score it into 6 equal portions.
- To cover the marshmallow centers, unwrap the frozen log and using your hands, take one section of caramel and spread it over the center completely. It will feel like you’re working with playdoh.
- Once the entire log is covered, press the chopped peanuts into the caramel. Re-wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate. Repeat for each log.
- When ready to enjoy, slice each log into 1-inch pieces.
Notes
- Any kind of caramels will work.
- The classic candy is made with peanuts but feel free to switch it up.
Nutrition
Salted Nut Roll is a candy store classic. You can make it at home, and give all your favorite people a homemade Christmas gift this year!
I made this recipe and my nutrolls came out perfect! Thank you so much for the recipe. What I did to combat the carmel cooling off too soon and the nuts not sticking was to press the nuts into the top of the smoothed still warm caramel . I kept my oven at 175 F and put the pan in to soften the caramel as needed. I cut the caramel into 6 strips and pulled each strip out as needed. I faced the nuts on the outside so that it would look real pretty.
I am allergic to peanuts, but not to be out done, I still wanted to try this. I made the nougat and added maraschino cherries (that I removed as much moisture from as I could). I rolled the nougat into 1 inch size balls and dipped them in chocolate. Totally different than the peanut logs, but still delicious!
Chill put. Not EVERYBODY is an expert @ mindreading & not EVERYBODY is rude like you.
I cannot eat peanut can I use something else like maybe coconut?
The filling is easy to make and tastes just like a Salted Nut Roll. The caramel was very difficult to put around the frozen filling. By the time I got the caramel spread around the filling, it was almost impossible for the chopped peanuts to stick to the caramel. I worked fast, too. It was disappointing to not have the candy turn out as pictured. That being said, there were some parts where the peanuts stuck…and they did taste amazing! I also entered four pieces of the Salted Nut Rolls in the county fair, and got first place in the candy division.
I just made this candy. Simple and yummy. But…… I worked quickly and the nuts were chopped and ready to roll, but the caramel set too quickly and the nuts wouldn’t stick……well, some did but lots were falling off. Maybe I should not have let the caramel cool ? Please advise
You definitely have to work quickly. On my last roll I really pressed the nuts into the caramel with my hands.
I’m curious if you can pour the caramel over the peanuts and then roll it?
The instructions leave a lot to the imagination. How aes you supposed to work the butter into the caramel?
It doesn’t say how to cut the caramel. I’m assuming across the 7″ pan in ribbons but if I hadn’t thought about it I would have cut them into more square shapes.
How do you store them?
Any special hints for cutting them like type of knife? Hot or cool knife? Buttered?
I’d suggest using your imagination then. Maybe you can answer your own question and won’t always need someone to hold your hand
what a very rude comment to someone that is trying to ask a questions
Sad that I just made the filling and it’s like powder, not sticking together at all. I double checked all ingredients and directions and don’t understand what went wrong.
Just made these and are they ever good!! My mom loves these types of bars so will be gifting to immediate family members for sure. The hubby can’t eat nuts so I rolled one for him in chopped up peanut butter chocolate ball cereal…delish! Thanks and Merry Christmas :0)
I made these for my husband. The caramel bits and butter never really mixed together and I found that spreading the caramel in the pan was not easy. Instead I ended up cutting the caramel into 6 sections and then spread the caramel into a long rectangle next to the center roll and tried to press it all the way around it – found that none of the caramel wrapped around enough so I suggest adding another bag of caramel bits. Also putting the caramel around the frozen center and then trying to get the nuts to stick was a bit of a struggle. In fact none really stuck to the caramel since by then the caramel was getting hard from the frozen center. Next log I put the nuts in between the caramel and center. Got really good feedback on how tasty they were but was not satisfying to make them as the caramel was difficult to work with.
I need to stop looking at your photos because everything I look at these I crave them again! What a tasty combo of sweet, nutty, salty. I know these will be well-loved during the holidays!
This gives me all the feels! I love classic candies like this but I love that I can make it at home now!