Chocolate Toffee Pecan Bars

These bars are perfect for the lazy baker like me. They require just a handful of ingredients and a little elbow grease, and voilà—you have a decadent treat that’s perfect for a party, potluck, or just because.

I recommend cutting these into small pieces because they’re really rich. A few bites is honestly all you need.

For the Crust

3 cups flour
2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Don’t skip this step—I did, and getting the bars out of the pan afterward was a little more difficult than it needed to be.

Add the flour, brown sugar, and salt to a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter in three batches, pulsing after each addition until the mixture becomes crumbly. Don’t worry if you still see little specks of butter throughout the mixture. That’s exactly what you want and will help give the crust a delicious, crisp texture.

Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven and immediately sprinkle the semisweet chocolate chips evenly over the hot crust. Use one bag for a slightly lighter chocolate layer or two bags if you want these extra chocolatey. Let the chocolate sit undisturbed for about 10 minutes.

Once the chocolate has softened and melted, use an offset spatula or cake spatula to spread it evenly over the crust. It will be more of a smearing situation than spreading, but that’s perfectly fine. Just aim for an even layer and set the pan aside while you make the toffee.

For the Toffee

2 sticks butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and salt and increase the heat to medium-high. Once the mixture begins to gently bubble, start stirring and add the cream.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and takes on a smooth caramel-like consistency. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t scorch.

Pour the hot toffee evenly over the chocolate layer and spread it with a spatula.

Finally, roughly chop about 1 cup of pecans—or your favorite nut—and sprinkle them evenly over the top.

Place the pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the layers have set. Cut into small bars and serve.

A little warning: These are dangerously easy to eat. That’s why I recommend the small pieces. 😉