Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Bars

My favorite quote at Jimmy John's is, "Every driver believes they are an above average driver."

One time, when I was like...6/7/8, we were sitting at the dinner table.  Me and the fam (minus the little sister who was negative years old).  I am sure my other little sister was babbling on and on about something really random like ponies, tree trunks or overalls.  My brother...he was definitely picking his nose.  I was probably being perfect.  As usual.  My dad was staring out the window.  His eyes were glazed over and he was totally out of it.  I asked, "hey dad, what are you staring at?"  His answer was, "peace".

Another time, I was driving and this lady behind me was bumper huggin' me.  I made a right turn into a parking lot.  Parked.  Got out.  Then all of a sudden that same lady was all up in my face, straight up yelling at me for not using my blinker when I made my right hand turn.  I was making a right hand turn into a car repair shop to fix my blinker light bulb, which was burnt out.  I didn't tell her that.  She was really mad.  This was at least 6/7/8 years ago.    

I made these chocolate toffee shortbread bars for those cookie baskets I gave out around the Whole Foods video contest time. They are pretty simple to make, ship well and taste good for about a week after making them.  All requirements for successful cookie baskets.  Kinda like a candy bar.  

Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Bars

from Annie’s Eats

For the shortbread base:

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the topping:

6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

11/2 cups toffee bits

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line a 9 x 13″ baking dish with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. To make the shortbread, combine the flour, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl; stir to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugars and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate until evenly distributed.

Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish and press into an even layer covering the bottom of the pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the shortbread is bubbling. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.

Sprinkle the 6 ounces of chopped chocolate evenly over the top of the cookie base. Cover the pan with foil and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove the foil and use an offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate evenly over the crust in a thin layer.  Immediately sprinkle the toffee bits over the melted chocolate and press down gently to adhere. Let the bars cool to room temperature. Once the pan has cooled, you may speed chilling by transferring to the refrigerator or freezer.  When the topping is set, remove from the pan, transfer to a cutting board and

slice into bars.

(Servings: 30 bars, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy)

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foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  7/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  2/5

Dishwashing Effort:  3/5