Toffee Bars

This recipe is simple. And by simple I mean crazy quick. If I didn't have to keep unlodging butter clumps from my mixer it wouldn't have even taken me all of the 20 minutes that it did take to mix and throw the pan into the oven. I was initially excited about the prospect of making something with such a short ingredients list. But I was also sceptical that there was no leavening agent in this recipe, something that most cookie recipes (and cookie bar recipes) utilize. There wasn't even any eggs. Well, I got over that and went on my merry way, only to realize once this was in the oven that there was a bigger concern than this not rising. And that was that there is no liquid in this recipe (unless you count 1 1/2 Tsp. of Vanilla as liquid). Well, it came out of the oven and I cut a piece to try. Despite it being very, very flakey and dry, it cut very nicely into squares and did not crumble into a pile of dust as I had feared. Even after transporting them to work the next day, they stayed intact. I'm calling it a miracle, because I honestly don't know how this happened.

Now these definitely weren't my favourite thing I've ever made, but everyone else seemed to love them as I brought home an empty tray from work. I'm just going to attribute this to my preference of a chewy cookie, and not a crunchy. So, if you like crunchy, crispy cookies, this is for you. In the reviews where I found this recipe people talked about how this was like a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a shortbread. I think they hit the nail on the head here. As this has the appearance of ccc's but the dry texture of a good scottish shortbread.

I found this recipe over at The Big Green Bowl and I omitted the nuts the original recipe called for and instead used some butterscotch chips, because hey, the recipe name said toffee so I had to include something. Even though I know that butterscotch and toffee are not the same thing.

Makes 2 Dozen Bars

Ingredients

1 C. Butter, softened

1 C. Brown Sugar

1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla

2 1/2 C. Flour

3/4 C. Chocolate Chips

1/4 C. Butterscotch Chips 

(original recipe called for 1/2 C. Walnuts, chopped but I didn't include this)

Directions

~Preheat oven to 350 F.

~Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

~In mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla.

~Stir in flour, chips and nuts (if you're using them).

~Pour mixture into baking dish and pat down.

~Bake for 16-18 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges.

~Cool and then cut into squares.

Enjoy