Taiwanese Peanut Nougat (牛軋糖) - only 4 ingredients

 

Taiwanese Nougat (牛軋糖) is a traditional Taiwanese candy with peanuts. The texture ranges from chewy to soft to almost crunchy, and each store boasts their own secret recipe to be the best nougat candy. It's interesting that I've never been a big fan of these growing up (there was just so many other goodies to eat) until one day my roommate came back with a box her dad had brought from Taiwan and I just fell in love. It was the first time I've ever had a Taiwanese Nougat that was matcha flavored, and it was chewy and creamy...delicious! It was also the first time I had a Taiwanese Nougat that uses macadamia nuts instead of the usual peanuts that I'm so accustomed to. Nowadays, there are nougats with almonds, craisins, blueberries, are coffee flavored, chocolate flavored, the list goes on and on. Whenever I go back to Taiwan, I make sure to grab a bag before heading home, but not all Taiwanese Nougats are created equal. My favorite is still the box from my roommate's dad, the box that rekindled my love for them. It's actually sold at a Japanese hotel in Taipei, The Okura Prestige, which is ironic since this is a Taiwanese candy (but I secretly believe that the Japanese make everything taste better haha). If you are ever visiting Taipei, be sure to to stop by this hotel to grab some for yourself or as a souvenir. They're beautifully wrapped and make great presents!

The thing about buying snacks overseas is that they don't last forever, and before long my stash of nougats is depleted, leaving me searching for alternatives. My food cravings then tell me to start looking for recipes and when I found this super easy method using just marshmallows, butter, dry milk, and peanuts, I was sold. Not only is the recipe super simple, they also taste great. I gave a bag to my in-laws recently and my mother in-law really liked them as well. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Taiwanese Peanut Nougat
INGREDIENTS

• 120g of Marshmallows (size doesn't matter)
• 35g unsalted butter
• 100g dry milk
• 100g roasted, unsalted peanuts (or any other nuts of your liking)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt marshmallows and butter in a saucepan on low-medium heat. Stir every so often, making sure the mixture doesn't burn.
2. Once the marshmallows are about 80% melted (meaning you can still make out the shape of the marshmallows but they have melted into each other), add the dry milk in 3 increments, stirring after each addition to incorporate.
3. Once the dry milk is well mixed into the butter and marshmallows, turn off the heat and mix in the peanuts.
4. Transfer the mixture to silpat or parchment paper, allow it to cool so your hands can touch it, and shape it by patting with your hands (I find that's the easiest way) into a rectangular block that is 1/2"-1" thick.
5. Allow the peanut nougat to cool to room temperature, and cut with a knife into bite size pieces. I cut mine into 1" squares, but you can cut them into whatever shape you like!
6. Wrap each nougat with parchment paper to give as gifts, or simply stack them in layers with parchment paper in between (Otherwise the nougats will stick together if they are stacked one of top of each other).
7. Nougats taste the most fresh if eaten within 2 days, but can also be stored in airtight container for up to 5 days.  

PICTORIAL INSTRUCTIONS


Melt butter and marshmallows on low-medium heat in a small saucepan. This should only take 2-3 minutes. Once the marshmallows are about 80% melted (middle photo), add the dry milk in 2-3 increments and mix well after each addition.

When you first add the dry milk, it will have a lumpy texture, but as you stir more, the mixture becomes smooth like in the middle photo. At this point, you can turn off the heat and add in the peanuts.

Mix the peanuts into the nougat batter and transfer to silpat mat or parchment paper. Once the nougat is cool enough for you to touch it, shape and pat it with your hands into a rectangle about 1/2" thick. In the photo, I only made half the recipe so my rectangle is about 4"x 5". Allow the nougat to cool completey and cut into 1" squares with a sharp knife. You can also chill the nougat for about 10 minutes to allow for easy cutting.



You can also make matcha flavored peanut nougat by substituting 10g of the dry milk with an equal amount of matcha powder. In this case, you would use 90g of dry milk and 10g of matcha powder. This is also very tasty as well.

Wrap with individual parchment paper for a nice presentation for gift!

 

 

Adapted from icook