Toffee Bars

I made these chewy-with-enough-crunch bars for an after-school snack recently and they were a hit. They were pretty quick to make, and super-simple to put together. Super-tasty, too. So ... I'm making them again today.

Because I decided at the last minute to prepare them, I had to go ahead and dig into them while they were hot, and place a few slices in the freezer to firm them up for eating. If you're able, make them a few hours in advance of serving so they'll have time to properly cool.

My mother is living in England right now, getting her master's, and she has given me a couple of sweet little recipe books she picked up over there. I adapted this recipe from the "toffee bars" recipe in the Favourite Teatime Recipes book by Carole Gregory, so I guess these are "authentic" English toffee bars. (Except I used pecans instead of walnuts.) Another thing I love about having a kitchen scale is I don't have to fret about converting recipes like this one - I can work straight from the recipe! I'd been wanting to make toffee bars lately, anyway, seeing my friend Ginny's recent toffee bar posts with similar recipes.

These did not disappoint.

Projected prep time: 10 minutes; Projected bake time: 15-20 minutes
(Printable recipe)

Bars:
4 oz. (whole stick) salted butter
4 oz. dark brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 oz. gluten-free flour blend (I used blend of millet & tapioca and a blend of millet & brown rice the other time - both were good)
1 tsp. ground chia seeds (I use Salba brand)
2 oz. certified gluten-free rolled oats

Topping:
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 oz. butter
2 oz. chopped pecans (or walnuts - I like pecans better)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 7x11 baking pan.

Cream butter, sugar and egg yolk together until smooth. Mix in flour and oats. Spread mixture in pan, pressing down to even the surface.

Bake about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on oven, or until golden brown. Let cool about 10 minutes.

Add chocolate chips and butter into a small bowl and microwave 30 seconds, stir and then microwave a few more seconds until you can stir it smooth. Alternately, heat over a bowl of hot water until it can be stirred smooth. Gently spread chocolate over bars. Top with pecans (or walnuts).

While warm, cut into bars but leave in pan until cool. Cool completely before serving.

Enjoy!

And while I'm at it, Mr. Finch (Tomato, Cherry or Reddy) enjoyed another snack of his own in the window feeder, providing me with a photo of his beauty. He saw me, and craned his neck to determine if he needed to scoot. He decided to finish his snack. 

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

I hope you have a beautiful day and weekend!