Toffee Bars

Well hello there. I'm glad I didn't scare you away with my recent posts on chemicals in cosmetics and the problems with bottled water. I didn't mean to alarm you in the least bit. I just figured you were getting to the point where you were thinking, "No! Not another food post, Julie."

So I thought I'd startle you out of the rut with a few random posts, so then you'd be saying, "OK, bring back those darn food posts already."

Sneaky, aren't I?

Today's recipe isn't fancy or complicated or time-consuming. In fact, it's one of the first recipes I ever made in my life.

You see, when I was little, My Mom used to make these toffee bars for a quick treat when there wasn't time for full-fledged cookie-baking.


And as soon as I was old enough, I helped her make them.

Then I took over toffee bar making and claimed the recipe as my own. It was even my contribution to the Collins family cookbook compiled for one of our reunions when I was in elementary school.

I don't make these babies nearly as often as I did back then, but the recipe is still an old standby. So when I was poking around in the cupboard and spotted a half-used bag of chocolate kisses the other day, I said, "Aha!"

(Really, I did. Then Butter gave me a rather puzzled look.)

And this is what happened next.

I thoroughly mixed 1 cup butter (softened), 1 egg yolk, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.


Then I blended in 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt.


I pressed this mixture evenly in the bottom of a greased 13x9-inch baking pan.


Then I baked it in a 350-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust was very light brown and still soft.

While the crust was still warm, I removed it from the oven and littered the top with all those Hershey's kisses.


I will warn you, though, that the recipe actually calls for 1 bar of milk chocolate candy, which you break into pieces. The little chocolate squares are much easier to spread than the chocolate kisses, which ended up being a big pain in the rear end.

But, alas, the result was still delicious.

(One last note: It's best to cut—and eat—the bars while they're still warm. Although they're tasty cool too.)


The end.

Now I must go wash my hands, as I may or may not have eaten one of these babies while typing.

Messy.