Chocolate Chip, Almond and Salted Caramel Bars

A craving for something sweet over the weekend gave us these rich, decadent, gooey, sweet, salty and crunchy bars. The recipe evolved as I made it; the basis of it was to use the half bag of toffee bits that was in the cupboards.

I added slivered almonds for crunch, and chose to include a bit of kosher salt to give it that sweet and salty vibe. They are also quick and easy to make; baiscally it is all mixed in the pot you melt the butter in.

Start off by heating the oven to 350F, and lining a 9" X 13" pan with foil. Lightly grease the foil.

In a large, heavy bottomed pot, melt:

8 ounces of unsalted butter

Remove the pot from the heat, and whisk in:

2 cups brown sugar

Whisk until the sugar has melted and the butter and sugar have emulsified.

Whisk in, one at a time:

2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Whisk in the dry ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Lastly, stir in the rest of the ingredients:

3/4 cup toffee bits
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 cup chocolate chips

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and spread as evenly as possible.

Bake until the bars are set, still slightly soft in the middle and golden around the edges.

This should take around 22 - 25 minutes. When checked with a wooden skewer there should be a few moist crumbs on the skewer.






Cool to room temperature, then gently lift the foil out of the pan, and cut the bars. Yum!

• I used one and a half teaspoons of kosher salt, and it was just a bit much, in my opinion (although some people thought it was just right). I reduced it to one teaspoon, you can adjust it if you feel it needs more or less.
• I used unsalted butter. Keep in mind that salted butter will increase the salt even more, so adjust it accordingly, using about 1/4 teaspoon less.
• Pecans would be great in this recipe, if you have no almonds.
• I used dark chocolate chips; any type of chocolate can be used...white, milk, chips or chunks.
• Instead of cinnamon, try a teaspoon of instant coffee.
• If you are unable to find toffee bits, cut up a toffee bar, such as Skor, Heath or any other English toffee bar available.
• The recipe can be halved to make an 8" X 8" pan of bars.
• To make the bars last longer, they can also be frozen.