Brown Sugar English Toffee

• Tags: bars, brown sugar, chocolate, english toffee, cookies

I’m now in the possession of a large stack of faded, spilled on, scribbled on, spiral books from my grandmother, Eleanor Drew Hooper, and my mom, Ann Hooper Muncaster. Both have passed away, Grammy so long ago I can barely remember her warm embrace, but my mom so recently I can still hear her voice on the phone. Sure, I have photos and memorabilia… I take my mom on every hike via her old camelback… but I’m finding that recreating their recipes- from reading their writing and imagining them planning a meal to the sights, smells, and taste of their favorite creations- is the best way to feel their presence in my home. I’m not sure what I’ll do with them. I have a handful of aunts, nieces, and sisters hoping SOMEONE will do something with them. Like Julia did for Julia… do I do a recipe a day? For now I’ll just dabble, experiment, photograph, and enjoy.

There are a couple of recipes in mom’s cookbook. I’m not sure which was her favorite but the brown sugar one is awesome. I’ll list the 2 variations—Polly’s traditional one, and the one from he Diamond Walnut bag stuck inside. My opinion is the brown sugar is chewier and more, uh, homey.

Polly’s English Toffee
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg yolk
2 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Diamond Chocolate Walnut Toffee Bars
1 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces or a couple Hershey Bars

The basic process is the same. Preheat the oven to 325. Beat the butter with the sugars, add egg and vanilla and beat until creamy. Add flour and salt. If using walnuts, add 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts now. Press into a lightly greased 13×9 inch pan.

Bake for 25 plus minutes until lightly browned and firm. Do not overcook. When the pan comes out of the oven sprinkle with chocolate chips, let melt, and spread over bars (this is a great, easy thing for even the youngest kid to help with). Sprinkle with remaining walnut pieces and cut into bars while warm. Yum!