Yuletide Toffee Bars

I suppose these toffee bars are intended to be similar to a Heath Bar or Skor, but I personally don't see the resemblance. However, I do think they're wonderful to munch and simple to make. I used toasted, chopped almonds in mine, but use whatever nuts you prefer. The folks at King Arthur Flour ended up with 96 pieces from this recipe; I ended up with more like 24. Whatever the size, you'll probably want to eat another one. :)

Yuletide Toffee Bars

4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
~1 cup chopped almonds, toasted

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly grease a 15 x 10-inch pan.

Combine the oats, sugar, butter, corn syrup, vanilla and salt and mix well. Press the mixture into the pan, using your lightly greased hands to help the process along.

Bake the squares for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they're a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

In a medium saucepan set over very low heat, melt the chocolate and shortening together, stirring constantly until smooth. Spread the mixture evenly over the oat base and sprinkle on the chopped nuts. Cover very loosely and chill the squares in the refrigerator until the chocolate is firm. Remove from the refrigerator and cut into squares.*

*Note: The KAF folks state, "The easiest way to do this is to use a chef's knife to cut the bars into long strips while they're still in the pan and then transfer each long strip to a cutting board to cut into bite-sized pieces. Yield: 96 small pieces (but feel free to cut them into whatever size works best for you)."


Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour