English Toffee

Always, toffee is buttery. Sometimes, toffee is chewy. This toffee is the former. Not the latter. No one likes caramel stuck in their molars all day. It makes you feel fat. And uncouth. 

Toffee really is a cookie disguised as a bar. Want to know how I know? It's made with butter and brown sugar and vanilla and candy (Heath bar). Throw in an egg yolk and flour to hold it all together. Totally cookie dough, am I right? (Nevermind that this cookie dough is spread onto one sheetpan rather than scooped individually. Nevermind that at all.)

But at soon as this giant 9x13" cookie comes out of the oven, something happens to facilitate the transformation into toffee. That something? An unreasonable amount of chocolate chips. An amount that might make you feel fat. But never uncouth. Just go with it.

Let the chocolate melt and top it all off with more Heath bar and nuts and there it is and there you are. Perfect for gifting and for celebrating and eating. 

English Toffee

Ingredients

for the dough base...

1 + 1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 + 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 + 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. all-purpose flour
3/8 tsp. salt
2 c. toffee chips (I used Heath brand)

for the topping (separately)...

3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 c. toffee chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9x13" sheet pan. Set the pan aside

[All of this dough mixing business can be done with your hands. It's possible, but not recommended. Have you ever tried to get butter off your hands? I feel slimy just thinking about it.]

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer) cream together the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Mix the egg yolk and vanilla to the butter mixture.

Next, add the flour and salt to the mixture and mix until just combined. Add the toffee chips and mix to combine.

Your dough will be malleable and easy to work with. This will be the base for your toffee.

Now it's time to get in there with your hands.

Spread the dough into the 9x13" sheet pan, working small areas at a time to make sure the dough is evenly distributed. To do this, I work from the corners of the pan towards the center, pushing down with my hands as I go. If an area looks too thin, take a portion from a fuller area and redistribute. This is enough dough - just keep working it!

Once the pan is covered, pat your finger around the edges of the pan to ensure the sides are level with the rest of the pan. If you need to, you can flatten with a rolling pin. This dough is pretty forgiving and will soon be smothered with chocolate and other goodness, so no need to be exactly precise.

Bake the dough for 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown (mine took about 25 minutes.)

While the dough is baking, measure out and prep your ingredients for the topping. You'll need two bowls: one for the chocolate chips and the other for the toasted walnuts and toffee chips (combine them.) 

When the toffee base is baked and hot out of the oven, immediately top it with the chocolate chips, covering the entire surface.

Once the chocolate starts to look glossy and is aching to be spread (about three to five minutes later), spread it evenly across the base with a spatula. Important! The toffee base must be hot out of the oven for the chocolate to do its glossy thing.

Immediately sprinkle the chocolate with the toffee and walnut mixture.

Once cool, cut into bars.

These will keep in an airtight container for about a week.

Yields 20 large toffee bars.

Merry Merry!