Christmas Cookie Baking: Toffee Bars and Chocolate Ganache Thumbprints

After three mostly spicey flavored cookies, it was time for some chocolate! Starting with one of the easiest sweet recipe I've ever made: Grandmere's Toffee Bars! This recipe has been around in my family for years. I don't think I've experienced a Christmas without them. Grandmere doesn't bake anymore, but my uncle Tom and my mother still make them. This was my first try.

Toffee Bars

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 cup flour

1 egg yolk, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1 8 oz. bar milk chocolate

Chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar, mix until light and fluffy, add beaten egg yolk, then add flour. Spread on a cookie sheet, bake 15 to 20 minutes.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler, spread on warm cookie layer, sprinkle with chopped nuts while still warm.

Wasn't that easy? I didn't have milk chocolate so I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. I definitely recommend using a higher quality chocolate. I usually buy generic but for stuff like this, you'll be glad to have something a little nicer.

The second cookie that I made is these yummy Ganache Thumbprints! Made with chocolate dough rolled in crushed candy cane pieces (I ran broken candy canes through my food processor) and filled with ganache.

The recipe is from Martha Stewart and can be found here: Ganache Thumbprints