| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 4 hr 10 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Yield: | 64 squares |
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- Nonstick cooking spray, for the pan
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1 2/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- Pinch kosher salt
- 3 cups toasted unsalted hazelnuts
- 3/4 cup toasted unsalted pistachios
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 ounces ruby cacao chocolate chips, or other flavored chocolate as desired
- Sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- Combine the cornstarch and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with wings coming up a few inches off the sides. Spray it with cooking spray, then dust it with half of the cornstarch mixture. Set the pan and the rest of the mixture aside.
- Combine the honey, 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar and 1 3/4 cups water in a large saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer and stir to combine. Place over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture reaches 305 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, position a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment near the stove. Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of the mixer.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Reduce the speed to medium and beat in the remaining tablespoon granulated sugar. (Do this while keeping an eye on the honey so you don’t burn it.)
- As soon as the honey reaches 305 degrees F, turn the mixer speed to medium-low and add it to the egg whites in a steady drizzle. Then turn the mixer to high and beat until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and spray a rubber spatula with cooking spray. Add the nuts to the mixture and fold with the sprayed spatula to combine. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. Press it into an even layer, then sprinkle on the remaining cornstarch mixture and let cool, a few hours. Use the parchment wings to remove the nougat to a board. Cut the nougat into 1-inch squares.
- Set up a sheet pan with a rack and set aside.
- Heat the semisweet chocolate with 1/2 tablespoon oil in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted, 1 1/2 minutes total. Repeat with the ruby chips and remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil. Brushing off the excess powdered sugar from the top of each, dip half of the squares in the regular chocolate and half in the ruby chocolate, spooning some over the tops so that they are completely covered. Use a fork to remove the squares from the chocolate and place on the prepared rack. Sprinkle with sprinkles, if using. Refrigerate until the chocolate is set, about 10 minutes, or let set at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 64 servings |
| Calories | 126 |
| Total Fat | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 16 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 14 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 1 mg |
| Sodium | 7 mg |
Reviews
I tried and almost thought failed until I read Debbie R . Comment . Yes it takes a while to reach 305 temp and stir between like almost half hour on almost high on gas stove . But I got there and we’ll worth the wait ! I didn’t put chocolate on yet very good without but going to try it on half the batch . Beat your eggs like 20 min after boiling and again to stiffen peaks just before . I never made candy ever and this was 1st time for me . Very easy amd very good thank you for recipe molly ! ( also I added only one cup hazelnuts just because didn’t have enough and the full amount pistachios with salt and was still very good
I am super disappointed in this recipe. The reason it takes so long for the honey mixture to reach 305 is because of the water. It will never get to that temp until the water is boiled away. Not sure why it is made this way. Oh well, I will try another recipe ☹️
I am new to any type of candy making. I eventually got the honey/water/sugar up to temp…I think. Mine wasn’t as firm as Molly’s, but was still tasty! I don’t think the chocolate is a necessity. Not perfect but definitely delish for those that love sweet treats.
I made this recipe today and it turned out perfect. Just like the previous comment, it did take awhile for the honey to reach 305. My mistake was whipping the eggs way before honey reach its temp. Few minutes before it reached 305 I re whipped 2 fresh egg whites and it turned out perfectly. It didn’t even last long enough for me to take a pic.
I just made this candy recipe and it came out perfect!! I didn’t dip the pieces in chocolate because I wanted to see if they were similar to Italian Torrone. They are spot on,,,,, delicious, chewy and not hard to make at all. It did take a while for the honey mixture to reach 305, so I turned up the heat a little and kept an eye on it and it did get there – be patient. Also I beat the egg white mixture a couple of extra minutes to make sure the candy would set up. Fold those nuts in quickly and get it into the pan! Terrific recipe Molly! Thank you!
I got the same results as Katelin. Very disappointed.
I made these yesterday and they are absolutely delicious! It took a very long time (20 to 30 minutes) for the honey/sugar/water mixture to come to temp (305 degrees) and I was worried that the mix was off, but eventually the water evaporated and the honey and sugar came together. I did have to stir it a bit while it cooked to make sure it came together which is not something I normally do when cooking sugar and water alone. I could not find unsalted pistachios, so I used lightly salted and they worked just fine. I now have a ruby chocolate addition, it has such a wonderful acidic berry flavor and it paired nicely with the honey nougat and nuts. These made my husband very happy and I will make them again.
I attempted this recipe two times and it took ages for the honey/sugar/water to reach even 250 degrees. When I looked at other recipes for nougat, I realized that the honey is often brought up to 250 while the sugar and water is brought up to 300. I watched the episode where Molly made this and followed the instructions. Neither medium gave a time frame for how long the mixture should take to come to a boil. I’m very disappointed because I wanted this to work and wasted a lot of ingredients in the process. I’ll be using a different recipe in the future.
Molly, thanks for making something different for Valentine’s Day. Nougats look excellent!