Toffee Almond Squares

It looks like this recipe is complicated but it really is not.  It goes together rather quickly.  I like the idea of drizzling bittersweet chocolate on top as regular sweetened chocolate would be too sweet.  These bars had the perfect amount of sweetness to them.  They were delicious!

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8 TBS unsalted butter, melted
1 TBS water

Toffee Layer:
6 TBS unsalted butter
1 cup Heath Toffee Bits (Make sure you purchase the bits that do not have the chocolate on them)
6 TBS granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup whole raw, unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

For the crust:  Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Make a foil sling for a 9x13 pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil; first sheet should be 13 inches long and second sheet should be 9 inches long.  Lay the sheets of foil in the pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil handing over the edges of the pan.  Push foil into the corners and up the sides of the pan, smoothing foil flush to the pan.  Spray lightly with vegetable oil spray.

Process flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor until combined, about 3 seconds  With processor running, slowly pour in melted butter and water and process until dough resembles wet sand, about 20 seconds.

Transfer dough to prepared pan and press into an even layer with your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup.  Bake until just golden around the edges, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.  Transfer to a wire rack.

For the toffee layer:  Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add toffee, sugar and salt and cook, whisking frequently, until toffee pieces are melted and mixture comes together, about 3 minutes.  It may appear separated at first but it will come together though constant whisking.  Pour toffee mixture over the crust and spread evenly with the back of a metal spoon.  Sprinkle chopped almonds evenly over the top.  Bake until the toffee bubbles in the center, about 12 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Cool bars on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Using foil overhang, lift the bars from the pan and place onto a cutting board; discard the foil.  Microwave chocolate in a bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 1 to 2 minutes.  Using a fork, drizzle chocolate over the toffee bars and let sit until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.  Cut into 24 pieces to serve.  (Toffee bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days)

**Instead of drizzling the chocolate over the bars with a fork, I spooned the chocolate into a Ziploc bag and snipped a small piece of the corner of the bag.  That worked much better. 

Because these are rather sweet, I cut my bars smaller into 32 squares instead of 24.

Makes 24 - 32 squares

Source:  Cooks Country Magazine

Janice