Bready or Not: Milk Chocolate Toffee Bars
The time for healthy recipes is over. Time to make an entire casserole dish-worth of candy bars with this recipe for Milk Chocolate Toffee Bars.
These things are chewy and downright dreamy. Seriously, HOMEMADE CANDY BAR. FRESH. SO GOOD.
Ahem. Forgive the caps. I get enthusiastic about this sort of thing. But can you blame me?
I mean, these have it all going on. Chocolate. A crunch from the toffee and pecans. A chewy blondie base.
My husband took these to work and had several co-workers dub this a new favorite. Considering the goodies they get from me, that’s saying something.
Make these to share with a crowd. You don’t want to be home alone with them.
Modified from Brownies & Bars Magazine.
Bready or Not: Milk Chocolate Toffee Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cups milk chocolate chips divided
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup toffee bits
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and vanilla. Beat until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips and the pecans. Distribute the crumbs across the bottom of the pan and press down evenly.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden. Immediately sprinkle on the remaining 1 cup of milk chocolate chips. Let sit a minute or two to soften, then use an uneven spatula to spread chocolate across the crust. Sprinkle toffee bits on top.
- Cool in pan on wire rack; if desired, place in fridge to speed the process. Once the pan is cool, use foil to move contents to a cutting board. Slice into bars. Keeps in fridge or at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: White Chocolate Spiced Blondies
Let’s end 2018 on a sweet note with these White Chocolate Spiced Blondies!
These things are fantastic. Their spiciness is mild and refreshing. These would be great for a between Christmas-and-New-Year party, or any time of year.
I’m a firm believer that good food shouldn’t be confined to just one season. If you like it, eat it when you want.
This recipe is fairly fast to mix up. Chopping up the crystallized ginger is the most tedious thing; rather than use a knife, I like to use kitchen shears. The blades can still get goopy after a few pieces, but I have more control over the cuts.
Since I’ve been asked before, you can often find crystallized ginger in the spice area at the grocery store–look in the glass jarred section. Also, if you have a natural food store like Sprouts, check their bins.
I love to keep candied ginger around for recipes like this. If I can catch a good sale around the holidays, I stock up!
If you want to stock up on these blondies, do note that they freeze well. Pack some in the freezer for later enjoyment!
Bready or Not: White Chocolate Spiced Blondies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter two sticks, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups brown sugar packed
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 6 ounces white chocolate chips about half a bag
- 1 Tablespoon crystallized ginger chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt.
- In a big mixing bowl, beat the butter until its smooth. Add the brown sugar and mix, pausing to scrape the sides of the bowl, until the two are fluffy in texture. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture until just combined, then sprinkle in the white chocolate and candied ginger pieces. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Cool to room temperature. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board to slice.
- Store blondies in a sealed container between parchment or waxed paper layers. Blondies can be frozen for later enjoyment.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Macadamia Nut Caramel Chip Blondies
This original recipe combines salted caramel chips (my new favorite ingredient) with my beloved macadamia nuts to make something innovative and amazing.
These Macadamia Nut Caramel Chip Blondies are soft, chewy, and nigh divine. Plus, if you’re in a hurry, they are fast to make and bake.
That’s exactly what I needed when I created this recipe. I had another recipe result in total disaster (it happens to us all!) and I needed another platter of baked goods, fast, for my husband to take to work…
… where these bars were declared a new kind of crack. All of the bars were scarfed up. Not bad for an emergency oh-crap-what-can-I-throw-together recipe.
If you need to sub another kind of nut in this recipe, I think pecans and walnuts would work especially well. I do suggest sticking with the balance of 1 cup white chocolate and 1 cup salted caramel chips, though.
Caramel chips are very strong–like butterscotch chips in that way. They are a great ingredient, but you don’t want to go overkill. Plus, this way you’ll still have half a bag for another recipe. Scroll back on Bready or Not for some suggestions!
Bready or Not Original: Macadamia Nut Caramel Chip Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup salted caramel chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a large bowl, stir together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla.
- In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour, oats, salt, and baking powder. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Stir in the two kinds of chips and macadamia nuts until just distributed.
- Smooth out the dough in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the center passes the toothpick test. Cool completely before using the foil to life the contents from pan to slice on a cutting board.
- Store in a sealed container with parchment or wax paper between the layers.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars
Happy Halloween! Today I bring you a major treat, no tricks. These Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars will boggle your mind in the best kind of way.
That’s because these bars really do, in fact, taste like a combination of Snickerdoodles and Pumpkin Pie. Crazy, right?
And since those two things are delicious, that means these bars are REALLY REALLY GOOD. Not just the flavors, but the combination of textures.
That’s because these are soft and dense, easy to eat in hand or with a fork. The ones in the middle might end up a little gooier, though. Not necessarily a bad thing.
The list of ingredients looks long but it actually comes together pretty fast. The ingredients are so alike, I didn’t even bother washing the bowl and beater, which saved a lot of time and effort.
This makes a full 13×9 pan, so this is perfect for a potluck or family gathering. They might get softer after the two day point, but they will still be tasty.
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars
Ingredients
Cookie Layer
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pumpkin Pie Layer
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice heaping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 15 ounce pumpkin puree
Topping
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- To make the cookie layer, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Once they are smooth, add the eggs and vanilla. Next, mix in the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan.
- Next up is the pumpkin pie layer. No need to wash the bowl. Cream together the butter and sugar followed by the eggs and vanilla. Add the baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and flour. Once they are just mixed, fold in the pumpkin puree. Spread the everything over the cookie layer.
- Spoon together the topping and add it evenly over the top of the dough.
- Bake for 38 to 41 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (though it may still be softer when cut). Cool at room temperature at least an hour, then chill in fridge for several hours. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board to slice up.
- Keep stored chilled in a sealed container between waxed paper layers. Best consumed within 2 days; bars get mushier after that, but are still tasty.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Caramel Chip Bars
Caramel chips are a new and awesome thing in stores, and I couldn’t help but try pairing them with pumpkin in these bars. The result? YUM.
This is modified from a recipe I shared about a year ago for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.
I didn’t simply switch out the kinds of chips. I also decreased the spices. I wanted enough to add some flavor, but I didn’t want them to be spice cake-like as in the old version.
The use of bread flour creates bars that are especially thick and cakey. Unlike a standard frosted cake, these travel very well. The bars are nice and cohesive.
I like to place waxed paper between layers to prevent sticking and melting chips (because in Arizona, well, it’s still hot at this time of year).
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Caramel Chip Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup bread flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups caramel chips divided
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Stir in most of the caramel chips; coating them with flour will keep them from sinking as they bake. Set bowl aside.
- In a big mixing bowl, combine the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree. Once that's mixed, slowly blend in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the ready pan and smooth out. Sprinkle the remaining caramel chips over the top.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test in the middle. Cool completely. Lift up by the foil and place on a cutting board to cut bars. Store in a sealed container at room temperature or chilled. Since pumpkin can be a little sticky, use parchment or wax paper between stacked layers of bars.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Lemony Macadamia Nut Blondies
Welcome to MACADAMIA NUT MONTH! Why is this Macadamia Nut Month? Because next month on the 23rd, the final book in my Blood of Earth trilogy comes out! Macadamia nuts are a big product of Hawaii, and Hawaii is a major setting in Roar of Sky. Plus, macadamia nuts are awesome.
If you love these nuts, get ready to bliss out. This month includes recipes for:
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Lemony Macadamia Nut Bars (today)
Mini Fruit Cake Loaves to make now for the holidays (macadamia nuts optional)
Sweet, tart, crunchy, fresh: these Lemony Macadamia Nut Blondies have it all going on.
My husband loves good lemon treats, and these met his whole-hearted approval–and his co-workers apparently went bonkers for them, too.
I’m honestly surprised there aren’t more goodies out there that combine lemon and macadamia nuts. It’s such an awesome combination.
Here, the chewiness of the blondies is amped up by a very thin glaze that soaks into the bars while they are still hot. I was afraid the glaze might make them too sweet, but it turned out perfect.
If you have leftover macadamia nuts around, do remember to store them in the fridge! Their high fat content can cause them to spoil at room temperature, whereas they will keep for ages in the fridge.
Trust me, no one wants to eat rancid nuts.
Modified from Epicuricloud.
Come back next week for a recipe with optional macadamia nuts: mini fruit cake loaves, quite customizable with the dried fruit and nuts! And please preorder Roar of Sky!
Bready or Not: Lemony Macadamia Nut Blondies
Ingredients
Bars
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 3 lemons zested, setting aside a pinch for the glaze
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- lemon zest
- 1/4 cup macadamia nuts finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar. Add eggs one at a time followed by the lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract. Stir in the flour and salt. When those are just incorporated, add the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
- Pour the batter into the ready pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test in the middle.
- Immediately after that is done baking, make the glaze by stirring together the confectioners' sugar and reserved lemon juice and zest. Use a chopstick or similar tool to poke small holes across the top of the blondies. Pour the glaze over the top and use a spoon to distribute it evenly. Sprinkle the remaining nuts on top.
- Let pan cool completely. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container with wax paper or parchment between the layers.
- OM NOM NOM!
