Tuesday, May 20, 2008

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.

10 comments:

  1. They bouth look good Joe, but I would go for the breakfast for dinner item. I also do that a lot! I love love love cardamom, I'm sure it tastes great on waffles!

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  2. My boss is obsessed with "chunk chocolate" and doesn't realize that "chunk chocolate" is chocolate that has been chopped up with a knife. FYI I am a personal assistant to a wealthy psychiatrist so he's a little out of touch. Anyway so his birthday is coming up - that Chocolate Chipper is going to be a PERFECT gift for him :)

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  3. I think that chocolate chipper looks lethal....

    Quinn

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  4. CC - We don't do B-F-D nearly as often as I would like!

    Lauren - hee hee... I know just the type of person you are talking about!

    Quinn - All in how you use it I guess! :-)

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  5. Basically Joe, I'm jealous of your kitchen gadgets. Especially that panini press. Big time!

    Quinn

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  6. Hi Joe, thank you so much for the Toffee Bars. I just made them this afternoon. They are so delicious. I spoiled my supper now, because I could not stop eating them. I promise, I will share the rest. Bought enough ingredients to make them twice this weekend. Probably tomorrow, because the other 6 Heath Bars are beckoning to me. I want to have them in the Bars, not just out of the wrappers. thanks again for a great recipe, Rita

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  7. The Milk Chocolate Toffee bars look like they are right of my alley. Since I am not a fan of walnuts, do you think macadamia nuts would be an OK substitute? Or maybe some white chocolate as a sub? (maybe that would be chocolate overload) Just wanted to get your thoughts . . .
    thanks,
    Michelle

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  8. Quinn - The press is a fun gadget that we use for many other things too!

    Rita - Fantastic! I'm glad you liked it!

    Michelle - I would probably try it with the mac nuts before using white chocolate.

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  9. I finally got around to making the delicious Milk Chocolate Toffee Bar cookies. My whole family loved them! I did leave out the walnuts -- I kept forgetting to buy some macadamia nuts to sub. So, I was naughty and added the white chocolate instead (ended up using the toffee bars, semi-sweet chocolate, and white chocolate). Can you really have too much chocolate? Anyways, they were delicious. We'll be making them again soon (with the macadamia nut version)!
    Michelle

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  10. Anon - I'm glad to hear they went over well!

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