This recipe is adapted from the 1961 version of Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cook Book, with a couple of alterations. More on these after the recipe.
Per Betty, this is a “Rich cooky that looks and tastes like toffee candy. Especially good at holiday time.”
Betty Crocker’s Toffee Squares
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
3-4 Milk Chocolate Bars 2/3 cup milk chocolate pieces
½ chopped nuts (if desired)
Heat oven to 350°. Cream butter, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt until dough is well blended. Spread in a rectangle about 13×10″ on greased baking sheet, leaving about 1″ all around edge of baking sheet. Bake 20-25 12-18 minutes or until nicely browned. Crust will still be soft.
Remove from oven. Immediately place chopped chocolate on top. Let stand until soft; spread evenly over entire surface. Sprinkle with nuts. Cut in small squares while warm. Makes 6 to 7 doz. squares.
Revelation and Technology
This version of this book, originally owned by my Nana, was how I learned to bake. My mom had a bunch of cookbooks, but this and The Joy of Cooking were the only ones that stayed in the kitchen. Despite its title, The Joy of Cooking looked anything but joyful to child-me. It was about 6 inches thick and heavy, with tiny print and few photos. No thank you.
In contrast, Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cook Book had a pink-frosted cake on the cover, was a manageable size and weight, the print was easy to read, and it had illustrations and pictures throughout.
I remember flipping through my book and having a revelation: I could just follow these instructions and, when I was done, have a delicious treat? And be considered a hero by my four siblings? As someone helpful, analytical, patient and detail-oriented (not that I would define myself as that until I joined The Omnia Group many years later) and as a kid with a sweet tooth and no allowance, this was a dream come true!
Now we come to the first alteration: I figure the ovens of the early 1960s were far less powerful than the ones that came after. Never in all the years I’ve been making this recipe has it taken anywhere near 25 minutes for them to bake, a fact I have forgotten almost every time I baked them. Luckily, they smell done well before they smell burned, and I haven’t lost a batch yet. But I adjusted the time in this rewrite of the recipe for safety’s sake. They change from done to almost overdone quickly, so it’s best to check on them regularly near the end of the baking time.
The New Year’s Twist
This is one of my favorite recipes in the book, but in a house with five kids, it was pretty rare to find 3-4 bars of chocolate just hanging around. Chocolate chips work in a pinch, but we only ever had semi-sweet, and I prefer milk chocolate for this recipe. As a result, I didn’t get to make (or eat) these as often as I would have liked.
One year, Santa was particularly generous with the candy in our stockings. By New Year’s Eve day, my older brother and I were tired of the little chocolate bells, trees, snowmen, and Santas. Somehow, we weren’t tired of sweets, though. We set to work shucking the foil off the candies so they could be sacrificed as the topping for Betty Crocker’s Toffee Squares.
It worked even better than I thought it would. There was something so satisfying about seeing Santa melt onto the hot cookie surface, especially since the time after Christmas can be a bit of a bummer for kids. All that leftover candy was a sad reminder that we had to wait almost a whole year before the season came around again.
Those squares were a huge hit at our family New Year’s Eve party.
If you find yourself with an abundance of leftover Christmas (or any other kind of) chocolates, consider these Toffee Squares as a fun way to use them up. As fun as it was to watch Santa melt, I would recommend chopping the chocolates into similarly sized pieces for faster and more even melting.
Also, use whatever kind of chopped nuts you prefer. Personally, I prefer none, which is why, as a rule-follower, I’m glad Betty added “if desired” to that part of the recipe.
Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
