These are rich, buttery, crunchy, caramel-y and addictive.  No one, and I mean no one, can eat just one of these.  Bitcoin Bits are candy, but they are cookie-like, too.  It doesn’t matter, because they are addictive, but in a very, very good way.  I’m not kidding when I tell you these are orgasmic.  You’ll want a cigarette after eating a couple of these.  And if that’s not good enough, they are positively, ridiculously easy.  They take longer to chill, than they will take to prepare and bake.

This time I heated the butter and brown sugar in the microwave, until the butter melted and boiled a bit.  I found that the end result wasn’t as good as when I melted and boiled the mixture in a saucepan.  The next day, the caramel crystallized and the granular texture wasn’t as pleasant.  I haven’t had that happen when I melted the mixture in a saucepan on the stove.  Maybe I should have let the mixture cook a bit more in the microwave.  Who know?  I’m pondering the situation, as I enjoy a couple of bit of Bitcoin Bits!  The taste is unaffected, but the mouth-feel isn’t as smooth.

Having said all that, they were absolutely delicious.  These are a favorite of The Latin Lover.  The recipe was given to me by a friend and had a rather uninteresting name, so The Latin Lover came up with the Bitcoin reference.  If the value of Bitcoin tanks, we’ll have to rethink the name again!  Anyway, he adores them and since I adore him, I always make these for him around the holidays.  This year I added Maldon salt.  It will be an addition we are keeping.  Salt and caramel.  Caramel and salt.  It’s a combination made in heaven.  It truly is.

Here we go—start preheating the oven before you start making the “bits”.  You’ll want a cookie sheet with an edge, or the caramel will run all over your oven, burn and smoke up your house!  This tends to detract from the enjoyment…not at all an orgasmic experience.  So line the cookie sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray. You want to do that or you may not be able to get the cookies off of the foil.  And you’ll want to be able to do that, as it’s difficult to appear civilized when you’re gnawing the Bitcoin Bits off of the foil at the table.  Not attractive.  To continue with our recipe, lay the graham crackers, butting up against each other, covering the entire pan.  Break the graham crackers into pieces that will fit the sheet.  Sprinkle the sliced almonds evenly over the graham crackers.  To make the caramel,  combine the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until the butter melts.  Whisk to combine the melted butter and brown sugar and continue to cook (and whisk) until you have a smooth mixture.  It’s probably going to boil just ever so slightly.  When the mixture is nice and smooth, remove from the heat.  Carefully pour the “caramel” over the almond-covered graham crackers; do this randomly.  In other words, don’t just pour it in the middle and expect it to spread.  Help it out.  I use a spatula to carefully smooth the caramel evenly over the almonds.  Don’t worry if there are a few clear spots.  The caramel should flow to cover and fill those spots in during baking.  Bake for 9 minutes.  I know that sounds a bit odd, but that time works in my oven.  The butter/ brown sugar mixture should bubble up around the edges of the pan.  Sprinkle some Maldon salt crystals over the whole sheet.  You want a few grains of salt on each piece when you eventually break them into pieces.  You need to cool to room temperature, then slide the pan into the freezer.  Chill until completely solid, about 1-2 hours.  If you need to throw filet mignon out of your freezer so you can fit the pan in, do it!  The Bitcoin Bits are worth it.  When they’re chilled, remove the pan from the freezer and break the candy into small pieces, shards or bits.  Store the candy in an air-tight container at room temperature.  And that’s it!

When one goes on the way The Goddess has, about how delicious these are, you run the risk of building up expectations…I’m fine with that.  You’re going to love these.  You really are.