Almond Toffee Bars

Course #4 - Dessert: Part One.

Now, it's time for the after-party. Woo...

I remember tasting something similar to this at Cakery Bakery in La Canada, CA. Though it didn't have any toffee. I fell in love with it from the moment I laid eyes on them. Yes, love at first sight can happen with food.

Rather than driving there and paying $.85 for a small piece, I tried my hand on making my own batch. I totally took a wild guess as to what the ingredients might be. Dissecting it as I took a bite. I had a good feeling as to what they may be. Bakeries don't usually divulge their secrets unless you're really super-duper nice and do favors for them or you work there.

I made this with a graham cracker base similar to making a pie crust and added the toffee bits.





Almond Toffee Bars


Graham Cracker Base:

22 Whole Honey Graham Crackers (crushed)
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c unsalted butter or margarine (1 stick - softened)
1 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon

Preheat oven 350˚F

Combine ingredients thoroughly together in a bowl and mix until it can easily be molded in your hand. Place the mixture into a lightly greased 13x9 baking pan. Press firmly into a leveled layer.

Bake for 8-10min and let cool. The crust will harden after cooling.


Almond Toffee Filling:

7 oz Almond paste (mashed into bits for easier mixing)
3/4 c unsalted butter or margarine
1 1/2 Tbsp Vanilla
2 Eggs
4 Tbsp Sugar

1 c sliced almonds
1/2 c toffee bits

Combine the ingredients together in a bowl until the mixture is of a creamy consistency.


Pour the mixture over the graham cracker base. Spread into an even layer then sprinkle the sliced almonds and toffee bits on top.

Bake for 30 min. The top should have a caramel color to it. Let it cool completely before cutting or else graham cracker will slightly crumble.

Cut into desired sizes and enjoy.

Peep S'mores

Easter. Bunnies. Chocolate. Eggs. One of my favorite things about this time of season is the abundance of Peeps. These little marshmallow goodies covered in a sugar coating of the classic yellow, pink, purple or blue. Here's a fun way to take a classic campfire snack and give it a little flair for the Easter holiday. It's a nice treat for the kiddies, too.

I ended up getting a bit of a sugar high after eating a few of them. But they were soooo good. The chocolate oozing from the side. Besides, it's only once a year and I've been good on my Lenten sacrifices. I had tried heating the marshmallows in the oven, but it took long and burnt the graham cracker underneath. I didn't want to do the conventional way by heating them over a fire. I still wanted to keep the sugar coating of the peep in tact. My only other option was the microwave. The peep gets hot enough that when you place the chocolate on top, it instantly begins to melt.

It's finger-lickin' good!





Peep S'mores

Peeps (any color/bird or rabbit)
Hershey's milk chocolate bar (divided into squares)
Honey Graham Cracker (halved)


Take one half of the graham cracker and place a peep on top.

Microwave for 20 seconds in two 10-second intervals. The peep will puff up like a balloon, but won't explode.

Remove the microwave and add a nice chunk of chocolate on top then place the other half of the graham cracker. The heat from peep will instantly melt the chocolate into liquid goo.

Then enjoy.

Warning: This snack will get messy, so have plenty of napkins on hand.