Toffee Squares

Name: Toffee Squares
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 48
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 237 milliliters chopped almonds, toasted; 237 milliliters firmly packed light brown sugar; 1 large egg yolk; 473 milliliters all-purpose flour; 198 grams milk chocolate, broken into pieces, or 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips; 0 teaspoons salt; 237 milliliters (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toffee Squares might be just the hor d'oeuvre you are searching for. This recipe serves 48. One portion of this dish contains approximately 1g of protein, 7g of fat, and a total of 110 calories. This recipe covers 2% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. Head to the store and pick up butter, firmly brown sugar, vanillan extract, and a few other things to make it today. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes approximately 45 minutes.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment.

Equipment you will use

Baking Pan

Oven

Prepare the crust. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla, and salt. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour just until mixed. The dough will be stiff. Pat the dough evenly over the bottom of the baking pan.

Ingredients you will need

Egg Yolk

Vanilla

Butter

Crust

Dough

All Purpose Flour

Sugar

Salt

Equipment you will use

Hand Mixer

Baking Pan

Bowl

Bake in the center of the oven until pale gold on top, about 20 minutes.

Equipment you will use

Oven

Remove the pan from the oven and scatter the chocolate pieces evenly over the crust. Return the pan to the oven for 1 minute.

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Crust

Equipment you will use

Oven

Frying Pan

Remove the pan again and, using a knife, spread the chocolate evenly over the crust.

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Crust

Equipment you will use

Knife

Frying Pan

Sprinkle evenly with the almonds.

Ingredients you will need

Almonds

Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Using a sharp knife, cut into small squares, then carefully remove from the pan with a small offset spatula or an icing spatula.

Ingredients you will need

Icing

Equipment you will use

Offset Spatula

Wire Rack

Knife

Frying Pan

This is another of those always-popular cookie-exchange selections: Toffee-laced squares appeal to just about everyone. Dress them up a little by weaving lengths of gold metallic ribbon through the stacked cookies.

Ingredients you will need

Toffee

From Very Merry Cookie Party: How to Plan and Host a Christmas Cookie Exchange by Barbara Grunes & Virginia Van Vynckt. Text copyright © 2010 by Barbara Grunes and Virginia Van Vynckt; photographs copyright © 2010 by France Ruffenach. Published by Chronicle Books, LLC.

Ingredients you will need