This recipe for Easy Salted Toffee Bars makes fantastic bars filled with delicious layers that are gooey, crunchy, and simply sumptuous!
Toffee Bars With A Twist
Traditional Toffee Bars are made with a brown sugar shortbread base with a soft layer of toffee and dark chocolate topping.
I’ve always loved Toffee Bars, but make mine with salted toffee to cut down on the sweetness. The end result is absolutely fantastic!
Why This Recipe Works
- The brown sugar in the shortbread gives the base depth of flavor.
- Using Sweetened Condensed Milk to make the toffee keeps things quick and easy.
- Placing semi-sweet chocolate chips on top of the warm toffee makes a simple, foolproof chocolate topping.
The Perfect Middle Layer
Did you know that cooking condensed milk with a little butter results in a soft, delicious caramel-like toffee? If you’ve never tried it, you need to try this recipe!
I’ve seen a lot of recipes that use butterscotch chips to make the toffee, but the end result that tastes really artificial. This toffee is buttery, indulgent with just the right amount of sweetness!
Perfect For Holiday Baking
Like most cookie bars and squares, Toffee Bars are perfect for holiday baking as they are easy to make and keep well for a couple of weeks in an airtight container. In fact, I find with time, these bars only get better!
Step by Step Instructions
To make the base, start with beating the butter, superfine sugar, brown sugar, and salt until light and fluffy.
Using a wooden spoon, mix in the flour. The dough may be crumbly, but as long as it presses together and holds its shape, it’s ready to go in the pan.
While the base baked, I started on the toffee which is made from sweetened condensed milk, butter, vanilla, and salt.
Spread over the baked base.
Bake until golden brown. Scatter the chocolate chips over the warm toffee.
Let stand 2 or 3 minutes to melt and then spread evenly across the top.
Leave to set before slicing into bars.
Serve and enjoy!
For Best Results
- Allow the Toffee Bars to cool completely before cutting.
- Refrigerate to cool if you wish, but let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature after removing them from the fridge so the chocolate can soften.
Did you make this?
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Let’s Make Easy Salted Toffee Bars
Ingredients
For the base:
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup superfine sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup flour
For the toffee:
- 28 oz sweetened condensed milk (two 14-ounce cans )
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the topping:
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350f/170c
- Grease a 12×9 inch baking pan
- In a medium mixing bowl beat the butter, superfine sugar, brown sugar, and salt until light and fluffy.
- Using a wooden spoon, mix in the flour. The dough may be crumbly, but as long as it presses together and holds its shape, it’s ready to go in the pan.
- Press into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan heat the condensed milk and butter over medium heat stirring constantly until bubbly.
- Cook and stir for 5 minutes until the mixture becomes smooth and thick. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Spread over baked base and bake for 12-15 minutes more or until golden.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the hot base. let stand 2-3 minutes to soften and then spread evenly over the toffee layer.
- Allow to cool completely before serving.
Diane says
Make sure that the sweet and condensed milk layer is as dark as the picture. When I made it, it was 90% that dark although when I put the chips on, they did not melt very easily and the sweet and condensed milk layer came up when I tried to spread the chips. Looks disappointing.. They taste ok. I ended up pointing it back into the oven for 4 more minutes at 350 to get the chips to melt. Thank you.
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you for trying the recipe and sharing your experience! It sounds like the sweetened condensed milk layer didn’t reach the desired consistency, which made spreading the chocolate chips difficult. Here are a few tips to help you achieve the best results next time:
Ensure the Toffee Layer is Thick and Golden: When cooking the sweetened condensed milk and butter mixture, make sure it thickens and becomes a rich golden color before spreading it over the baked base. This might take a bit longer than the suggested 5 minutes, depending on your stovetop.
Spread the Chocolate Chips Quickly: Once you remove the toffee layer from the oven, immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Let them sit for a few minutes to soften before spreading. If they don’t melt easily, you can pop the pan back in the oven for another minute or two just to help them melt.
Avoid Lifting the Toffee Layer: Be gentle when spreading the chocolate chips to avoid lifting the toffee layer. A silicone spatula can help with spreading the melted chocolate evenly.
By making sure the toffee layer is thick and golden, and handling the chocolate chips with care, you should get the perfect butter toffee bars. I hope these tips help, and I’m glad they still tasted okay! Enjoy your next batch!