Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares

When I asked my mom what she wanted me to make for Christmas dinner, she asked me to bake some cookies to go along with her other dessert dishes.  I had just baked nine dozen cookies the weekend before so I wasn't exactly thrilled with this assignment.  I did perk up pretty quickly when I realized that it gave me an excuse to make super decadent Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares, which I had clipped from Everyday Food in May of 2010.

First I gathered my ingredients:

• 12 graham crackers (the original recipe calls for 13 but I went for an even dozen)
• 1 bag toffee bits
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted natural almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped (you can also use bittersweet chocolate chips)
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.  I lined a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.  I placed the graham crackers in a single layer with the edges touching.  I sprinkled the toffee bits and almonds over the graham crackers.  (Thanks Bret for chopping up the almonds!)

In a small saucepan, I brought the sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high. I reduced the heat and cook the butter-sugar mixture at a rapid simmer, stirred occasionally, until the mixture was thick and syrupy.

Once the butter-sugar mixture was ready, I spooned it over the graham crackers.

The graham crackers went into the oven for twelve minutes until the sugar topping was bubbling.  I immediately sprinkled the chopped chocolate and salt over graham crackers.  Since the squares were right out of the oven, the heat helped melt the chocolate down.

With a sharp knife, Bret cut the graham crackers into two-inch squares.   I let the salted-toffee chocolate squares cool completely before moving them to a serving platter.

While these were a bit messy to eat, these were a big hit on Christmas!  Everyone love the salty and sweetness of these squares.  And the squares had the perfect crunchy texture.  Since they were super easy to make, I'll definitely be making these squares again in the future.

If you celebrate Christmas, did you bake or make anything for the holidays?