Dorie's Toffee Bars

I have a sweet tooth. I think we've probably established that. But moreover, I LOVE to bake. It's therapeutic for me. Like one of those stress balls they used to give us at work. Oh, and licking the bowl is my favorite :) Don't get me wrong, massages and pedicures are nice too, but they get expensive.



Anyway, I now have 2 ovens instead of 1. Which means I can a) bake twice as much or b) bake faster. I'm still working on getting the hang of the convection oven but practice makes perfect eh!?!



So in the name of practice, here are Dorie's Carmel Crunch Bars. It was late, so the picture lighting is pretty much horrendous, but it will still taste good I promise! Cinnamony, dark chocolately, toffee crunch deliciousness. Behold...

Caramel Crunch Bars

From Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the base: 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. instant espresso powder or finely ground instant coffee
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 oz. bittersweet or premium milk chocolate, finely chopped

For the topping:
6 oz. bittersweet or premium milk chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup Heath toffee bits

Getting
Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line the pan with foil and
butter the foil. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the base: Whisk together the flour, coffee, salt and cinnamon.
Working
with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or a
hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until
smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another three
minutes or until the mixture is light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla
and turn off the mixer. Add all the dry ingredients, cover the stand
mixer with a kitchen towel (so you and your kitchen don’t get showered
in flour) and pulse the mixer on and off at low speed about 5 times- at
which point a peek at the bowl should reveal that it’s safe to turn the
mixer to low and mix, uncovered, just until the dry ingredients are
almost incorporated. Add the chopped chocolate and mix only until the
dry ingredients disappear. If the chocolate isn’t evenly mixed, finish
the job by hand with a spatula. You’ll have a very heavy, very sticky
dough. Scrape the dough into the buttered pan and, with the spatula and
your fingertips, cajole it into a thin, even layer.

Bake for 20
to 22 minutes, or until the base is bubbly – so bubbly that you can
almost hear it percolating – and puckery. It will look as though it is
struggling to pull away from the side of the pan. Transfer the pan to a
rack and turn off the oven.

To make the topping: Scatter the
chocolate evenly over the top of the hot base and pop the pan back into
the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chocolate is soft.. Remove from
oven and immediately spread chocolate over bars, using offset spatula or
the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the toffee bits over the chocolate and
press them down lightly with your fingertips. Place the baking pan on a
rack to cool to room temperature.

If, by the time the bars are cool, the chocolate has not set, refrigerate them briefly to firm the chocolate.
Carefully
lift out of the pan, using foil edges as handles, and transfer to a
cutting board. Trim the edges if they seem a bit thick. Cut about 54
bars, each about 2 inches by 1 inch, taking care not to cut through the
foil.