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
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
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!
Heavenly! I’ve actually never seen them in candy stores so this is a wonderful first for me. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Great Recipe! It was a hit! Thanks!
This recipe turned out so fun! I’m thinking this could make a fun Christmas Neighbor treat! Thanks!
I love making these around the holiday season. My whole family loves them too!
So I am rather new to the keto thing but i thought the whole idea is to eliminate sugar except for sugar substitutes.with this being said, how are these Keto friendly, they have sugar (?)
Ummm, I have never claimed these are keto friendly?!?!
Yumm!! This looks so good.
These look amazing! I used to work at a Cracker Barrel and the nut rolls were my absolute fave. Excited to have a way to make them at home — although I’ll have to plan on making a lot of them gifts because they’re too delish. Thanks, Aimee!
once it is all done and you have cut and stored it in an airtight container does it need to continue to be refrigerated ? I would like to add these to the goodies that will be mailed out to family !
I kept them chilled so they last longer and didn’t get too soft!
Oh, and I see you want to mail them. If you do that…I would keep them as a log shape, wrap in saran wrap then slide it into a paper towel tube to help it stay protected 🙂
Just made these tonight. However I couldn’t get any caramel bits or sweets as I’m from Northern Ireland so I’m really used toffee sweets however they came out quite hard but they are still gorgeous. Is there anything else I could use or make instead of the caramel bits? Thanks
I made it for my family this weekend, and everybody loved it.
The rolls were so delicious!
I will make more of them for the holiday season.
Yay, so glad you like it!
Perfect candy to give as gifts this holiday season!
This is a fabulous looking candy! Love the marshmallow frosting inside the caramel and nuts!
These look wonderful! I’d love some right now. 🙂
Where to get the caramel bits?
I find them in my baking aisle (with the chocolate chips), or you can order them on Amazon 🙂 http://amzn.to/2fVWMev
Where does the ‘Salted’ come in? Is it ‘salted peanuts’?
Yes, the peanuts are salty. A Salted Nut Roll is actually a candy bar! http://amzn.to/2fhmRU6
Will make a wonderful Christmas gift
Let me just say DOUBLE WOWZA! This looks incredible!
what a great candy to gift this holiday season!
Aimee, I was so curious how you made the center of this roll–genius! I would love to get this as a gift!