Toffee Bars

Start with a buttery cookie base- followed with a layer of melted milk chocolate with chopped walnuts sprinkled on top. And what do you get? Toffee bars.

The sweetest kindest bar cookie on the block.

This is the cookie to make for friends, neighbors, new roommates or just people you want to impress the heck out of for minimum effort.

Why is it an impressive cookie?

1. It's easy to make, because it's not a drop cookie that is baked individually, but a bar cookie. You plop all the dough in on pan and bake it like a cake.

2. It has "layers", but isn't as complex as say-- a 7-layer bar recipe. Again, Easy-Bake Oven easy.

3. A toffee bar is not a chocolate chip cookie. Nor does it contain chocolate chips in any form. This automatically makes it an interesting alternative to the norm. And if you bring it to a block party, you avoid that awkward moment that comes from realizing you brought the same dessert as someone else. Oooh, burn.

4. Each cookie comes with a list of references, witty conversation starters and is bilingual.

5. It is composed of simple flavors that everyone enjoys, so it's bound to be a hit among all ages.

6. If you make an angel food cake or meringues with it, you can use up an excess egg yolk. Yeah. It is that awesome.

7. It's something to do during the summer with excess chocolate, (if there is indeed such a thing), besides making s'mores. Mmm...s'mores.

Toffee Bars
(makes 32 cookies)
From the Betty Crocker Cookbook
Ingredients:
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg yolk
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk chocolate chips/bar
1/2 chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and egg yolk in a large bowl or mixer. Add flour and salt slowly to the mixture, stirring until combined.

Scrape into an 13x9x2 inch pan. Press down on dough gently to create an even surface. Take care that the edges are level as well.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The bars should be a light brown and will still be soft.

Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkled the chocolate pieces evenly over the crust. As the heat begins to melt the chocolate spread evenly over the cookies. Add nuts to the warm chocolate.

Let bars cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 32 pieces.

Tip: If you over bake the crust, pop the cookies into an airtight container with a lid. Add a slice of bread and seal the container. Leave overnight. The toffee bars will soften.
The bread will be hard as a rock. You won't be able to save it. Sorry.
Nab a free slice of bread from your dining hall if you can. Just make sure it isn't already stale.