These chocolate toffee bars have a crispy toffee shortbread crust and a thick, chewy layer of toffee chocolate chip cookies, with a rich, fudgy chocolate layer in between. It’s a fun recipe that’s easy to assemble and great for cookie exchanges and bake sales!
Cookie bars are a fuss-free and fun alternative to baking actual cookies. For another easy dessert bar recipe, try my congo bars and these classic magic bars, a.k.a. 7-layer bars!
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If there’s one thing you’ll bake this week: make it these chocolate toffee bars! These are similar to my shortbread toffee cookie cars, taken to the next level with a soft and chewy top layer of gooey chocolate chip cookies. There’s chocolate, toffee bits, crunchy shortbread, and even a hint of peanut butter in every chewy, fudgy bite. A lot is going on in the BEST possible way!
Why You Need These Chocolate Toffee Bars In Your Life
- Layers of yum. This recipe starts with a toffee shortbread crust and ends with a thick and chewy chocolate chip and toffee cookie. In the middle is a rich, creamy filling that falls somewhere between peanut butter fudge and chocolate fudge.
- Easy to make. While there are three layers to prepare, they’re easy to make and the ingredients are standard pantry items.
- Great for sharing. These chocolate toffee bars keep well for days and they’re perfect for parties, cookie trays, gifting, and bake sales. They’ve made an appearance on countless occasions over the years and everyone always raves about how sweet and gooey they are.
Ingredients You’ll Need
These toffee chocolate chip cookie bars only need a few pantry staples, and many of the ingredients overlap between the crust, fudgy filling, and cookie topping. I’ve included my notes here. Scroll down to the printable recipe card after the post for the full recipe amounts and details.
For the Crust
- Butter – Melted before you start.
- Shortbread – Choose your favorite store-bought shortbread cookies and grind them into crumbs using a food processor, or a ziplock bag and a rolling pin. My favorite is Lorna Doone, or you can use homemade shortbread cookies. You can also crush up graham crackers to make a graham cracker crust.
- Toffee Bits – Again, use your favorite. I use Bits O’ Brickle.
Cookie Dough Layer
- Butter – This time, the butter should be at room temperature.
- Sugar – Since we’re making a variation of my chocolate chip cookies, I recommend a combination of white sugar and brown sugar for extra moisture.
- Eggs and Vanilla – The eggs can also be at room temperature.
- Dry Ingredients – You’ll need all-purpose flour, plus baking soda and salt for leavening. Make sure that your baking soda isn’t past its expiration date.
- Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips – You can use the same toffee bits that you used in the crust, and semisweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips.
Fudge Layer
- Peanut Butter Chips and Chocolate Chips – These can be the same chocolate chips that you used for the cookie dough, along with your favorite brand of peanut butter chips.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – Not to be confused with evaporated milk, which isn’t sweetened. You could substitute heavy cream in a pinch.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted butter works in all parts of this recipe, it’s up to you.
How to Make Toffee and Chocolate Bars
There are a few steps to making these chocolate toffee bars. It’s nothing difficult, but they aren’t one of those quick-to-prep desserts, like, say, my chocolate peanut butter bars which come together in about 10 minutes in a food processor. However, these toffee bars are totally worth it!
The fudgy, chewy layers are easy to make following the instructions below. You’ll find the printable version in the recipe card.
- Make the crust. Start by melting the butter for the crust. Combine that with the cookie crumbs and ¾ cup of toffee bits, and mix well. Press the mixture into the bottom of a lined 9×13” baking dish and par-bake the crust for 10 minutes at 350ºF. Afterward, set the crust aside to cool while you prepare the other layers.
- Prepare the cookie dough. Meanwhile, make the cookie dough layer by creaming the butter and sugars together, followed by the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients and fold in the toffee and chocolate chips.
- Make the fudge layer. In a saucepan, melt your peanut butter chips and chocolate with sweetened condensed milk and a bit of butter. Stir frequently until it’s smooth.
- Assemble and bake the bars. Lastly, spread the fudge evenly over the prepared crust. Drop cookie dough by the spoonful over the fudge layer, until that’s completely covered. Bake your chocolate toffee bars at 350ºF for 25 minutes until the cookie layer is set. Cool the bars completely before cutting and serving.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough. Fold in the chocolate chips and toffee bits just as the dough comes together, and mix until the dry ingredients are just combined. Avoid overmixing as it makes the cookie layer tough rather than soft and chewy.
- Avoid scorching the fudge. Keep an eye on the chocolate peanut butter fudge mixture as it heats and stir frequently so the bottom doesn’t burn. Overheating the melted chocolate mixture can cause it to seize.
- Let the bars cool completely. As tempting as it is to slice into these toffee and chocolate bars while they’re still warm, wait until they’re at room temperature before cutting. I often even wait until the following day! This gives the layers time to set up and keeps the slices clean.
- Add-ins. There are so many ways to adapt this recipe, but some of my favorite easy add-ins include chopped nuts (like pecans), M&Ms, toasted coconut, and mini marshmallows.
How to Store
- Refrigerate. I recommend keeping these chocolate toffee bars in the fridge. Stored airtight, they’ll last for 4-5 days. Take the bars out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature ahead of serving.
- Freeze. Alternatively, you can freeze these cookie bars for up to 2 months. Thaw them in the fridge and then on the counter before serving.
Chocolate Toffee Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 30 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These chocolate toffee bars have crispy toffee shortbread layered with rich chocolate fudge topped with a thick and chewy toffee chocolate chip cookie. So dreamy, and SO easy to make!
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
- 1 1/2 cups shortbread cookie crumbs (I used Lorna Doone)
- 3/4 cup Toffee Bits (Bits O’ Brickle)
Cookie Dough Layer
- 2 sticks room temp butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Toffee Bits
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Fudge Layer
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup peanut butter chips
- 1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Make the crust: Melt 1/2 cup butter. Add the butter to a bowl with the crushed shortbread cookies and 3/4 cup of Toffee Bits. Stir to combine and press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes until just starting to golden up.
- Make the cookie dough: Cream butter and sugars together until smooth. On medium add in your eggs and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and add in your dry ingredients (baking soda, salt, and flour) stirring until just combined. Now add in your toffee chips and chocolate chips.
- Set this aside.
- When your crust is done remove it from the oven and let cool on a wire rack while you prepare the filling.
- Prepare the fudge layer: In a medium saucepan melt your peanut butter chips, semi-sweet chips, butter, and sweetened condensed milk over low stirring frequently until completely melted.
- Assemble: Pour the middle fudge layer over the crust and spread evenly to coat. Then, drop the cookie dough by the spoonful evenly over the fudge layer.
- Bake for 25 minutes until the topping is set.
- Let cool completely before cutting.
Notes
- Store up to 3 days in an airtight container
why don’t you get a big pair of scissors and cut those wires off ! Pull the plug first !
Oh my! I made these recently for a dessert contest at my hubby’s work, and I won 2nd place!!! They were oh so rich, but oh soooooo gooooood! I had a little problem with the bottom layer, it was way too “wet” so I had to double the amount of cookie crumbs, but otherwise these are worth the time …. YUM
These look delicious, but for a recipe with homemade, creamy toffee:
http://trialbyfirewin.blogspot.com/2011/11/chocolate-toffee-bar.html
I love your style great pictures recipes and your really have a way with words, I feel ya! thanks for sharing and I sure hope those wires get resolved…we still have our Christmas from last year, in the garage! I told my husband we’ll just use it again this Christmas! ha!
Your jedi mind tricks worked I made the bars…
But a little background info, I just moved to Mississippi for a 2 year teaching program I am doing (kind of like Teach for America but for Catholic schools). Teaching is hard, being in the south in hard (I’m from Chicago), and making a small stipend is also hard, so its been a bit of a struggle the last month or so.
(This is where you come in) BUT, I absolutely LOVE your blog and due to stress and bad teacher habits (using treats as incentives for students) I have been baking up a storm since I got to Mississippi, almost all your recipes. So I wanted to thank you for your blog, I love your hilarious stories and your to die for recipes, its one of those small things that always brightens my day. So I’m sending some gratitude and admiration all the way from Mississippi, hope it can brighten your day a little.
That is the sweetest thing! Thank you so so much!
the simple truth is that any time i’m in the check-out line at the grocery store and a heath bar catches my eye, i buy it. it’s an addiction, and i’d definitely be appeased in any argument with these bars.
I have a friend who hung a tv on the wall in her bedroom, and to hide the wires she put a curtain behind the tv and let the wires hang down behind the curtain…and then the tv looked like a little window. I thought it was a super cute idea!
I hear you about the wires. We got our flat screen TV right before Christmas 2009. Yes my husband’s Christmas gift to himself. The TV guys placed it on the wall and tucked all the wires in. It was like this for about a week and then my husband decides we need to get an upgrade to an HD DVR So the dish guy comes and has to take all the wires out and do his thing. And no he did not hide them away when he was finished. I have asked several times when he is going to put the wires in and he usually says when someone comes over that can help me lift the TV off the wall. When there have been many such people over, but the TV never gets lifted off the wall and so one year and 9 months later, I still have cords hanging down. I actually think I have gotten used to them as part of our decor. So I feel your pain. Thanks for letting me share and vent! Love your blog and all the goodies and stories you share.