This English Toffee Bar recipe is an old one that has been passed down to me from my Mom.  She has made these bars for Christmas for as long as I can remember.  The name is a little misleading because they are more like a buttery short bread cookie than a piece of toffee.  But, they are simple, easy to make, and delicious.  The extra fun thing is that it’s easy to decorate one tray of the bars with a lot of different toppings to make for a nice variety on a cookie tray.  I always promise not to post a recipe unless I think it’s worth your time!  I sift through what I do in my kitchen each week to share my best recipes with you.  I hosted a dinner the other night and made these bars and as simple as they are to make, they are always a big hit.  So when you are hosting a dinner and you’d rather put more time into cooking your meal than baking your dessert, try these….easy to make ahead of time and pretty too!

English Toffee Bars (Makes 2-3 dozen)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla (plus a little more for vanilla icing)

2 cups flour

for topping:

semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 -2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tbsp milk or cream

walnuts, candy pieces, sprinkles

DIrections:

Mix butter, brown sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and flour in mixer until smooth.  Place on a 15×10 inch cookie sheet and pat out flat.  (You can cover the bottom of a glass with butter and pat out so the dough doesn’t stick).  Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-9 minutes (do not over cook!).  Sprinkle chocolate chips on half of the toffee bars and return to oven for about 30 seconds or until chips are melted; spread until smooth.  In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and start with 2 Tbsp milk or cream.  Whisk together.  Add more milk or cream if you need to thin it a bit; add more powdered sugar if you need to thicken.  Spread vanilla icing on other half of the toffee bars.  Add different colored sprinkles, crushed walnuts, or other candies.