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1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
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2
Toast the cashews on an unoiled baking sheet for 7 to 10 minutes, golden; then chop, toss with 3/4 teaspoons of the salt, and set aside to cool.
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3
In a heavy skillet or saucepan, heat the butter until it begins to bubble, turn amber colored, and leave tiny brown particles on the bottom of the pan.
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4
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
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5
Beat the brown sugar, egg and vanilla into the cooled butter until creamy.
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6
Sift in the remaining 1/4 teaspoons of salt and half of the flour; mix until blended.
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7
Sift in the rest of the flour and mix until the dough is stiff and forms a ball.
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8
Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan and set aside.
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9
For the syrup, warm the butter and sugar on medium-low heat in a saucepan just until the mixture bubbles vigorously and the sugar begins to melt.
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10
Add the water and stir until most of the sugar has melted into syrup.
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11
Toss the cashews in the syrup and spread evenly over the dough.
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12
Bake for about 25 minutes, until just golden and firm.
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13
Cool and then cut into 24 bars--6 rows x 4 columns.
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14
Store in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
