Milk Chocolate Chunk Toffee Bar Cookies and breakfast-for-dinner night...

We are big fans of bittersweet or dark chocolate... I rarely have anything else in the pantry, but I do like the occasional creamy smoothness of milk chocolate. So, I'm sure you already know that I got some baking done today for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day and you guessed it, milk chocolate was one of the key ingredients!

This past weekend while we were out running errands, I picked up a block of Callebaut milk chocolate and chopped it into chunks today (with our handy Chocolate Chipper we got as a gift) to use for these Milk Chocolate Chunk Toffee Bar Cookies. While I was in the chopping mode, I also coarsely chopped up a few (I used 6) milk chocolate toffee bars (I used Heath) and some walnuts that I then toasted.

Those chunky ingredients are folded into a batter that includes just a couple tablespoons worth of Dutch-process cocoa powder in it to add a touch of chocolate flavor. Once scooped into a large baking pan, we smoothed over the top to make sure it was evenly covering the bottom of the pan. After these come out of the oven, set them on a wire rack and let them cool slightly... just about 30 minutes or so.

At this point, you'll want to gently, but with a firm hand, cut the baked slab into bars. Since the toffee candy bars soften and slightly melt into the bars, those uneven pieces will begin to solidify as they cool, so you'll save yourself any headache if you get them cut/scored now. Reminiscent of blondies with their moist, dense and chewy interiors, these bars are pretty sweet, but not tooth-achingly so, with rich toffee flavor infused into each bite.

I've been craving a breakfast-for-dinner night, so this evening I prepared a batch of these aromatic Cardamom Sour Cream Waffles. I used an equal combination of all-purpose and whole-wheat pastry flour for the dry ingredients, but as I often mention, don't let this scare you away from the recipe - you can just as well use completely all-purpose if you desire. You could get away with using white whole-wheat flour as well, but regular whole-wheat flour might be a bit too heavy for these waffles. Because we quite enjoy the spice, I buzzed up some green cardamom that I removed from their pods (I picked up a small supply at Penzey's a couple weeks ago) to push the strongest flavor into these waffles. If you already have pre-ground or it is a bit old, you may want to increase the amount slightly or leave it the same if you prefer a more faint flavor.

To ensure the waffles are tender and light, tangy sour cream and milk are combined with just a drizzle of honey to offer a mild sweetness. Besides adding flavor, the melted butter that is added will help give these waffles a classic crisp exterior that you expect. Jeff asked for "American-style" waffles, so that is the machine we used tonight. If you enjoy the deeply-pocketed Belgain waffles, just adjust the amount of batter/cooking time to your machine. We topped these off with a shower of confectioners' sugar, but I wouldn't shy away from letting loose with a river of warm pure maple syrup or even adding your favorite preserves on top.

Recipes
Milk Chocolate Chunk Toffee Bar Cookies
Cardamom Sour Cream Waffles