Salted Caramel Strawberries

As printed in Southern Living magazine, April 2009:

• 20 large fresh strawberries
• 40 caramels
• 3 Tbsp. whipping cream
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped mixed nuts
• wax paper

Pat strawberries completely dry with paper towels. (Caramel mixture will not stick to wet strawberries). Microwave caramels, 3 Tsp. whipping cream and 1/4 tsp. salt in a 1 qt. microwave safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) for 3 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring at 1 minute intervals. Dip each strawberry halfway into caramel mixture. Roll in nuts, and place on lightly greased wax paper. Let stand 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 8 hours.

***Instead of using mixed nuts, we used a can of almond nut toppings we keep on hand for ice cream sundaes. Worked great, tasted terrific!