Chocolate Pecan Toffee Bars

I showed my husband a photo of these goodies from A Southern Grace, and at his insistence, 20 minutes later they were in the oven! Waiting for them to cool was the hardest part. They are insanely good - caramel, chocolate, and roasted pecans with a buttery crust.

I modified the recipe only slightly, using my preference of ingredients, and my changes are reflected in the recipe below. I used an entire bag of milk chocolate chips for extra decadence, and I always use salted butter. My pecans, which I purchased at HEB and toasted in the oven, are grown in Texas and so delicious. I have no idea what variety they are, but they are slightly sweet, crunchy, and have a rich pecan flavor.

Chocolate Pecan Toffee Bars

Crust:
2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Caramel:
2/3 cup salted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

Topping:
1 - 12oz bag milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place crust ingredients in food processor and process until fine crumbs. Pour into an ungreased 9x13 inch baking pan and pack very firmly and evenly to form crust.

Cook 2/3 cup salted butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar over medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Pour over crust. Bake 18-22 minutes, until entire caramel layer is bubbly. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips. Let set for 2-3 minutes, then spread melted chocolate chips with knife. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, pressing nuts gently into chocolate.

Let cool completely before cutting into bars.