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My mom used to make toffee bars from an old Betty Crocker cookbook as part of her big Christmas cookie bakes, and being a child of sophisticated tastes, they were the ones I looked forward to the most. I never knew why they were called “toffee bars” though? The crust tastes like brown sugar shortbread because that is basically what it is.

While sheltering-in-place I’ve been baking a ton, but because it’s just me and my spouse (happily) trapped here together, I have been adapting recipes to produce smaller amounts. I took one third of the old recipe and swapped out the egg for Greek yogurt to make the right amount for baking inside a loaf pan.

The original recipe, as my mom used to make it, called for a topping of chopped walnuts. But I find that flakey salt is the way to go if you are gonna top a slab of melted dark chocolate with anything. Because I had some edible flowers that I’d purchased from the farmers market, plus more growing in my own back yard, I decided to add some of those plus some bee pollen to really dress these up. This ingredients have minimal impact on the taste, and are entirely optional. Just don’t skimp on the flakey salt.

This recipe was adapted from Betty Crocker.

Ingredients for Toffee Bars

1/3 cup butter, softened at room temperature
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp plain Greek yogurt
2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks*

Toppings

flakey salt
bee pollen
food-safe flower petals

* You could also chop up a baking bar or use chocolate chips. The less stabilizers in your chocolate product, the better it will melt.

Procedure

Cut a strip of parchment paper to match the width of your loaf pan and use it to line the pan lengthwise, allowing the excess to hang over the top. (While the pastry does not really stick after baking, it is helpful to have this as handles for lifting it out of the pan.)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine butter, brown sugar, vanilla, Greek yogurt, and salt in a mixing bowl and cream until smooth. Mix in flour. Press into the loaf pan in a smooth layer. (I like to place a piece of wax paper over it and use the back of a spoon to smooth it out.)

Bake for 25–30 minutes until golden brown but still soft. Immediately sprinkle chocolate on top and allow it to start melting. Spread the chocolate evenly.

Sprinkle flakey salt and other toppings, if using, evenly over the chocolate. Allow chocolate to set for at least 30 minutes before lifting out of the pan, and then allow the chocolate to fully set and cool (about 2 hours at room temperature) before cutting into bars with a large knife.