Butterscotch Toffee Squares

Toffee Squares - made March 23, 2013 from Milk & Cookies by Tina Casaceli

I meant to get this post up yesterday since I'd already made it a week ago but on Saturday I discovered that OnDemand was showing the first 2 seasons of Game of Thrones for free until Sunday.  I'd already watched the first 6 episodes of Season 1 thanks to my local library but hadn't been able to get the others.  So "free" was the magic word.  Which meant I spent a good part of the weekend on my couch, watching more TV in a day and a half than I usually watch in a month.  Then it'll probably be a long dry spell until I can get my hands on the Season 3 episodes.  In the meantime, I have the books to keep me busy and am currently listening to the audio book of Book 3, A Storm of Swords, while I'm on the treadmill.  Workout's done for the day so I can finally get this up.

This is the bar recipe where I used the leftover coconut topping mixture from the Almond Joy Brownie Easter Baskets.  If you don't make that version, you can still follow the recipe below.  This is one of those rich, gooey, awesome bar cookies where it's hard to go wrong.  You can substitute different flavors of chips, add nuts, omit the toffee and do other creative things to make it the bar cookie of your choice.  I added toffee bits for the crunch and white chocolate chips to pair with the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.  These are pretty rich so you may want to cut them small.  Then try to talk yourself out of having a second or third piece.

2 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup (5 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled slightly
2 cups (14 ounces) light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup toffee bits
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup (4 ounces) sweetened coconut flakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Line a 10-inch square baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Cream the butter on low speed with the paddle attachment of a free-standing electric mixer. Increase to medium speed until butter is creamy, about 3 minutes.
4. With the motor running, gradually add the brown sugar, beating until very light and creamy.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla and, when blended, slowly beat in the reserved flour mixture.  While the dough is still streaky, remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape the paddle clean.
6. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the toffee bits and 1 cup of the chocolate chips, beating until evenly distributed.
7. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and, using your hands, carefully press into an even layer. 
8. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips over the dough, followed by the butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips and coconut. 
9. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the cookie crust is golden and the topping is bubbly and lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares. (Note: mine took ~1 hour to bake because I used a more liquid coconut topping from the Almond Joy Brownie Easter Basket recipe.)