Pecan Toffee Squares
My friend Jessica loves sweets about as much as I do. This past week, she shared with me her latest find, Marich Premium Chocolates Triple Chocolate Toffees. OMG, are these great. Actually, I should write these were great.
Jessica left them at Samuel’s school for me to pick up later in the day. Shoshana, my 16 year old who is fabulous for many reasons, one of which is the fact that she is not a chocolate lover, picked Samuel up that day. Unfortunately, Shoshana realized that there were a few chocolate covered blueberries and strawberries that made the delivery, so she claimed those even though they were drenched in chocolate. Truth be told, I don’t really love chocolate covered dried fruits so it was not a major sacrifice on my part and seemed like a fair trade for Shoshana’s driving efforts.
Back to MY favorite part: the bag of chocolates was devoured as if one were noshing on peanuts; one right after the other. Even after I knew I was a tad full, I simply could not resist the temptation to continue.
I wanted more, but realized that I had to find another way to satisfy my toffee craving, as the bag was most definitely empty. I immediately thought of my favorite Pecan Toffee Squares. The middle squares have more of a caramel pecan filling consistency, but the outside squares harden around the edge, which flashes me back to my yummy toffee candies.
How, you are wondering? The filling drips over the edge of the crust when pouring from the saucepan, then it bakes against the side of the pan. It really is the best possible combination within one recipe.
You just have to try it. While you’re at it, you may want to check out Marich Chocolates, too. Keep in mind that you have already been warned how incredibly addicting both these candies and Pecan Toffee Squares are. Good luck eating just a few!
| Pecan Toffee Squares | Print |
- Crust:
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Filling:
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1½ cups light brown sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 pound pecan halves
- Topping:
- 2 cups chocolate chips, semisweet or bittersweet
- For the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350° and set rack to the middle of the oven. Line 9" x 13" pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down as needed. Add the egg and vanilla. Lastly, add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until well blended.
- Press evenly into the parchment lined baking pan. The dough is very sticky. Use a spoon to help guide the dough while holding the parchment paper from the other side of the pan or flour the palm of your hand before pressing the dough into the pan. Bake at 350° for 24 minutes, rotating the pan front to back halfway through.
- For the filling:
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Bring the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and add the cream, stirring to combine. Lastly, add the pecan halves and stir well.
- Pour over the baked crust, evenly spreading the nuts and the caramel sauce. Return the pan to the 350° oven and bake for 18 minutes, rotating the pan front to back halfway through.
- Remove the squares from the oven and turn the oven off. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and place the pan back in the oven for 3 minutes.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack and gently swirl the chocolate over the squares. Immediately place both the cooling rack and the pan into the refrigerator and cool for 1¾ hours. Score the top of the bars with a sharp thin knife and return to the refrigerator to cool completely. This is done so that the chocolate does not break apart once it is completely chilled.
- Lift the parchment paper and transfer to a cutting board. Cut The Ultimate Pecan Toffee Squares into bars using a sharp thin knife, rotating the cutting board so that the square you are cutting is in front of you. Transfer to a serving plate.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- The parchment paper makes it much easier to cut the squares evenly. However, using a 9” x 13” ungreased and unlined pan will also work, but it is much harder to remove the squares this way.
- I prefer bittersweet chocolate chips on top of my squares, but semisweet will work just as well. For that matter, milk could also be fabulous if that is your favorite chocolate.
- When cutting Pecan Toffee Squares, cut one square at a time. I have tried cutting horizontally across all of the bars at once and have found that the top and bottom separate this way.
- These incredible treats are delicious served cold or at room temperature. They are much softer when they are at room temperature.
