Graham Cracker Candy

Mandy has given more thought to her birthday treat than anyone else I know. She's considered a lot of options over several months. Some of possible selections were Baklava, Lemon-Coconut Macaroons, and a Lemon-Coconut Tart. But then the topic of graham crackers came up and how much she loves coconut and then hazelnuts and I got inspired by this recipe I found on Epicurious. She took one look at it and gave me the green light to make it.
I adapted it (as usual) as I found it to be extremely versatile. You can make it with just about anything you want. We went with coconut and hazelnuts because those are Mandy's favorite but you can get creative. Just keep in mind that this is a cold-weather candy as it will get sticky and start to melt as the weather gets warmer. If you want to make it during the warmer months, just remember keep in the refrigerator, between sheets of wax paper, until you're ready to serve it. 

Graham Cracker Candy
Yield: This will serve several. Depending on how you break up the candy, you could potentially get 50 servings out of it.

24 plain graham crackers (or any kind of non-savory flavored cracker. Saltines are wonderful)
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
11.5 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli)
12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate (I used Guittard)
1 cup hazelnuts, chopped (or nut of your choice)
3/4 cup of unsweetened coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 25 x 17 x full sheet pan pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang at each end. (Note: the recipe on Epicurious said to use foil and I ended up peeling tiny pieces from the bottom of the candy. Baaad idea.)

In a separate, smaller pan (a brownie pan works great), spread the coconut out in an even, single layer. Bake, stirring after 5 minutes or so, until the coconut becomes an even golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside. Increase the oven's temperature to 375F.

Line bottom of pan with graham crackers (it will be a tight fit and you'll need to break a few in half. Set aside.

Melt butter in a 3-4 quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then add brown sugar and salt and cook, whisking, until mixture is smooth and combined well, about 2minutes. Pour over crackers, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown and bubbling, about 10 minutes.

Scatter chocolate chips evenly over crackers and bake in oven until chocolate is soft, about 1 minute. Remove pan from oven and gently spread chocolate evenly over crackers with offset spatula. Sprinkle nuts evenly over chocolate and cool crackers in pan on a rack 30 minutes.

Refrigerate overnight or freeze for 15 minutes.

Carefully lift crackers from pan by grasping both parchment paper, then peel it from the. Break crackers into serving pieces.