Oatmeal Toffee Bars

Oatmeal Toffee Bars - made June 15, 2020 from 125 Cookies to Bake, Nibble and Savor by Elinor Klivans

I was on a baking spree but exclusively making brownies and bar cookies for awhile. There were a lot of mail stop dates (MSDs) for deployed service members coming up on August 1 and, as volunteer bakers, we have to mail 30 days in advance of the MSD to make sure it'll get there in time. I had to switch to mailing in smaller priority mail boxes as it was getting cost prohibitive to mail in the larger boxes ($19.21 for a Regional B box vs $11.31 in a Regional A box to ship from where I live) but I wanted to mail as many boxes as I could afford.

When I mail in the larger box, I can fill it with a good number of cookies like Snickerdoodles, M&M cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies or even mini loaves of chocolate cake. When I switched to mailing in the smaller Regional A box, I didn't want to send that much less so I switched to brownies and bar cookies because it was easier to fit more of them in the smaller box. I made tried and true brownie recipes to include but, to mix it up and have something non-chocolate, I tried out this recipe for Oatmeal Toffee Bars. It was high time to go through my baking books and start using them again.

I'm glad I did because this turned out to be a great recipe. Surprisingly, out of all the things I baked for this round of care packages, this turned out to be my favorite. Yes, even eclipsing fudgy, rich brownies. I know, I was almost shocked. But this is a simple, just-plain-good bar cookie. Nothing fancy, just delicious.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped and toasted
2 cups (about 10 ounces) coarsely crushed toffee candy, such as Heath Bits

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until combined. Add egg and vanilla extract; beat until combined. Stir in the oatmeal. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Stir in the pecans and toffee bits.
4. Spread into an even layer in the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out sticky but not dripping with batter and the edges are lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting with a sharp knife and serving,