Five-Ingredient Graham Cracker HEATH Bar Toffee

Have you started your holiday baking yet? This past weekend I realized that I hadn’t baked anything yet (hello, 3 kids including one 4-month-old who wants to be held all the time plus a full-time job) and decided to change things immediately. When B offered to take the baby with him when he went out on Saturday, leaving me home with just the 3 and 5-year-old, I knew it would be the perfect time for baking!

One of my favorite things to make this time of year is graham cracker toffee. There are so many recipes for it, but my favorite is easy and very few ingredients – chocolate chips, butter, brown sugar, graham crackers and HEATH bar bits. If I make it during the holidays, I also add some festive sprinkles, but that’s it! Easy peasy as my preschooler would say. And yes, it is easy- she even helped me!

graham cracker toffee_i crashed the web

Five-Ingredient Graham Cracker HEATH Bar Toffee

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 15-18 graham crackers (enough to fill the baking sheet you have)
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup HEATH bits o’brickle
  • Optional: festive sprinkles for sprinkling all over

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Line a large jelly roll baking sheet (mine was about 11×15 inches) with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Place graham crackers side-by-side, face up, in a single layer on the baking sheet. To help you reach the end, you may need to break graham crackers in half – this is okay because you’ll be breaking everything at the end.
  3. In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, until it starts to boil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, and stir so to ensure it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat, and pour mixture over graham crackers.
  4. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the graham crackers. Let the chocolate chips sit for a few minutes so they’re able to melt. Spread melted chocolate with a knife or rubber spatula. Sprinkle HEATH bites and sprinkles (optional) on top.
  5. Let the toffee harden in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. After it’s hard, break the toffee into pieces or cut with a knife. Enjoy!

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My three and five-year-old helped spread the butter/sugar mixture on the graham crackers before they went into the oven.

Some questions for you:

  • What’s your go-to holiday cookie or treat you like to share?
  • Are you baking up a storm right now?

Chocolate Dipped Heath Bar Shortbread Cookies

Have you been baking Christmas cookies yet? If your schedule has been anything like mine, you’ve been busy baking up a storm for cookie exchanges, holiday parties and office gatherings.

For this year’s work cookie exchange, I opted to make these cookies. I knew I wouldn’t have time to make them completely the night before, so I actually made the dough, froze it, and then baked and dipped them in chocolate and sprinkles the night before. These cookies are good – not too sweet, but delicious and festive (if you add rainbow sprinkles)! A great cookie exchange addition.

Chocolate Dipped Heath Bar Chip Shortbread-icrashedtheweb

Chocolate Dipped Heath Bar Shortbread Cookies

Recipe from the kitchn. The original recipe says it makes 70-75 cookies. Don’t know what I did differently, but mine made about 45. If yours makes 70, PLEASE let me know what you did!

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup Heath toffee chips
  • 1 cup chocolate melting wafers

Here’s what you do:

  1. Cream together butter, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth. Add vanilla.
  2. Using a hand or stand mixer on, low speed, mix in the flour until combined and a dough is formed. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips and the Heath Bar chips.
  3. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a log about 10-12 inches long. Wrap both logs of dough in parchment or plastic wrap. Refrigerate the rolls until firm (a few hours, or up to three days). The logs can also be frozen if you don’t plan on baking them within a few days, just make sure to thaw in the fridge overnight before baking.
  4. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, cut the logs into 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick slices. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange slices slightly apart on the baking sheets.
  5. Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes, until the edges just start to brown brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets before removing from the pan.
  6. Melt the 1 cup of chocolate melting wafers in the microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring between each interval. Dip one end of each cookie into the chocolate and use a butter knife to scrape off the excess chocolate. Place the dipped cookies on parchment paper. Optional: while still wet, add festive/colorful sprinkles. Wait until set before storing or tasting.
  7. Enjoy!

Chocolate Dipped Heath Bar Chip Shortbread~icrashedtheweb

Some questions for you:

  • What twists on traditional cookies do you make to give them more of a holiday appeal? I like to shape them into fun holiday shapes (candy canes, snowmen) or add red/green sprinkles (like these!).
  • What’s your go-to cookie for cookie exchanges?

Peanut Butter Heath Bar Blondies

I must be on a peanut butter and chocolate baking kick lately. Or maybe I always have been? Anyway, if you’re a fan of peanut butter cookies, cookie bars, and chocolate, these bars are for you. That’s right – no fancy introduction needed for these bad boys. Just make them for the peanut butter cookie lover in your life and I promise he or she won’t be disappointed!

peanut butter heath bar blondies - icrashedtheweb

Peanut Butter Heath Bar Blondies (from my Magnolia cookbook)

Here’s what you need:

For the cookie bars: 

  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
  • 2 3/4 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temp. (I used Egg Beaters because that’s what I had on hand and they came out fine!)
  • 2 Tbs vanilla
  • 3 cups self-rising flour

For the topping:

  • 1 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup  coarsely Heath bar bites (they sell them with the chocolate chips)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped unsalted peanuts

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat your oven to 325 and grease a 12 x 18 jelly roll pan.
  2. Beat butter and peanut butter until fluffy.  Add in the sugar & mix until smooth.
  3. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat thoroughly.
  4. Gradually add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mixing well after each admission. Mix until well incorporated.
  5. Spread batter evenly in pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges start to brown.  Cool to room temp.
  6. Make the topping: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the peanut butter chips and the cream until smooth.  Pour the mixture over cooled blondies.  Sprinkle with heath bar and peanuts.

Variations: I also made some with semi-sweetened chocolate chips melted (instead of peanut butter, as well as chopped up peanut butter cup (instead of Heath bar bites)

peanut butter heath bar blondies - i crashed the web

Some questions for you:

  • Are there any nut butters you don’t like? Which have you tried? I’ve never tried cashew butter! But I do like peanut butter, sunflower butter (or sunbutter) and almond butter. And cookie butter – does that count as a nut?
  • What other topping would you put on these bars besides peanut butter or chocolate? I’m wondering how white chocolate would taste. I know I would like them (I like white chocolate Reese’s!) but not sure how others may enjoy them.
  • What’s a new cookie bar recipe you’ve tried recently? I need some new ones to try!

 

Chocolate Heath Bar Pecan Cookies

I love Heath Bar. I know, I’ve professed my love for all things Heath Bar before – and told you it was probably my favorite candy, thanks to my early love of Ben & Jerry’s Heath Bar Crunch ice ream (which is no more:(). But seriously – a cookie or candy or dessert with Heath Bar is deadly around me – I just can’t say no!

Which is why when I was perusing my Magnolia Bakery cookbook and came upon this recipe, my eye immediately was drawn to the page with the Chocolate Drop Cookies. Even though I don’t really like chocolate cookies (I know, I’m weird), I knew I had to give these a try. Heath Bar AND white chocolate chips? Count me in! At least I could share them, right?

Chocolate Heath Bar Pecan Cookies

Chocolate Heath Bar Pecan Cookies

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/3 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons milk (I used unsweetened original Almond Breeze almond milk – it’s what I had on hand)
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped
  • 1 cup Heath Bars cut up into small chunks (I bought the pre-diced bars from the baking aisle)
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients – flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt – in large bowl and set aside.
  3. In another  bowl cream the butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs and beatwell. Then, add the milk and vanilla. Blend for another minute or until no lumps remain.
  4. Stir in flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the pecans, chopped Heath bar and the white chocolate chips.
  5. Refrigerate batter until firm, about 45 minutes (or freeze for 25-30 min).
  6. Drop tablespoon size dallops of dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.
  7. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven, cool cookies on the sheet. Remove the cookies after 1 minute and cool on wire cooling rack.
Chocolate Heath Bar Pecan Cookies

Enjoy! Milk optional.

 

Some questions for you:

  • What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
  • What’s your favorite candy to add to cookies?
  • Almond milk, regular milk or soy milk? Almond milk all the way. Yum!
  • Besides traditional chocolate chip cookies – what’s your favorite kind? I need suggestions 🙂

Oatmeal Heath Bar Cookies

I think Heath Bar should also be called the Forgotten Candy. I LOVE love LOVE Heath Bar. It’s one of my favorite candies. Growing up, Heath Bar Crunch Ben & Jerrys was my favorite ice cream and was almost always in my family’s freezer (yes, I know I’m lucky). But it’s also a candy I forget about when I think of candy. If I’m craving something sweet and want to buy candy, too often I’ll choose something like a peanut butter cup, peanut M&Ms or Reese’s Pieces – and leave Heath Bar forgotten. So, this is an ode to my favorite, forgotten candy bar- Oatmeal Heath Bar Cookies. These are based one of my favorite recipes – Special K cookies – but have a few different ingredients.

Oatmeal Heath Bar toffee Cookies - i crashed the web

Oatmeal Heath Bar Cookies

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 1 c granulated sugar
  • 1 c brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla extract
  • 2 c all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 c. uncooked old fashioned oats
  • 2 c Special K cereal
  • 1 c. Heath Bar, chopped into pieces (OR buy a bag of Heath Bar that’s pre-diced/crumbled and ready for baking)
  • 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Here’s what you do:

  1. Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, mix Special K, oats, Heath Bar and chocolate chips. Set aside.
  3. Beat butter and sugars until fluffy.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each egg is added.
  5. Stir in flour mixture slowly, mixing well.
  6. Stir in oat mixture and mix with wooden spoon until well blended.
  7. Make tablespoon sized scoops on greased baking sheets.
  8. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Got a chocolate lover in your life? These aren’t THAT chocolatey so you may want to add more chips. OR chop up a HERSHEY’S bar and add to batter as well! That’s what  did for the one in the pic above.

Oatmeal Heath Bar Cookies omg - i crashed the web

 

 

Toffee Nutella Rice Krispie Treats

As I mentioned earlier,  when I found myself with a brand new jar of Nutella last week, I knew there was only one thing to do  – eat it with a spoon – bake with it!

Since B isn’t a huge Nutella fan, I chose recipes with only a hint of Nutella. The second (and sadly, last) of my Nutella baking bash (aka the jar was finished) was borrowed from one of the best bloggers in the entire world … The Pioneer Woman! When I saw her Nutella Krispie Treats, I knew I had to try them. I admit, I was a little nervous – I had never made Rice Krispie Treats before. But I felt a little better when B informed me that “rice krispie treats are the easiest things to bake in the world and even children make them” (yes, he instills confidence in me).

Here’s my spin on them. It’s a little different, and includes my FAVORITE CANDY in the world (besides Reese’s .. and cookies and cream bars … and white chocolate … and jelly beans) – Heath Bar!  Enjoy.

heath bar toffee nutella rice krispee treats

Toffee Nutella Rice Krispie Treats

Here’s what you need:

  • 5 tbsp butter
  • 1 10-oz bag marshmallows
  • 1/3 cup Nutella
  • 1-2 tbsp milk (I used almond milk because that’s what I had on hand)
  • 6 cups Rice Krispies
  • 1 1/2 cup Miniature Marshmallows
  • 1  c  crushed Heath Bar
  • 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Here’s what you do:

  1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add marshmallows and salt and stir until melted. Halfway through the melting process, add Nutella and milk. When smooth, turn off heat.   
  2. Meanwhile, melt semi-sweet chocolate over a double boiler, until smooth. Remove from heat and let it cool quite a bit. 
  3. Add Rice Krispies to the saucepan. When the Rice Krispies are well covered, add in the  mini-marshmallows and continue folding until everything’s combined. 
  4. Immediately press mixture into a thoroughly greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Sprinkle with the Heath Bar candy and then drizzle the melted chocolate over the bars. 
  5. Allow to cool and set completely before cutting.  Enjoy!! They go well with other Nutella baked goods … including these Peanut Butter, Nutella, Chocolate Pretzel Bars. 

heath bar toffee nutella rice krispee treats 1