On the first night of Chanukah: Pecan Toffee Squares

pecan toffee bars stacked up 625 sqOn the first night of Chanukah I baked Pecan Toffee Squares for my true love. He thought they were pretty fantastic. I mean, what’s not to love? Buttery, crumbly shortbread base, crunchy toasted pecans in a sticky toffee filling, topped with a drizzle of milk chocolate and a light sprinkling of coarse salt, because that’s how we roll around here.ready to bakeHere’s a quick tutorial on how to line a baking pan with parchment paper.


flatten dough with bottom of measuring cupspreading toppingBecause the holiday of Chanukah lasts for 8 nights, I thought it would be fun to post sweet treats for 8 days in a row. The true meaning of Chanukah has nothing to do with sweets.on cooling rack The celebration of Chanukah is beautifully explained by Rabbi Andrew Jacobs, on “Blog Shalom”, “The Maccabees were a tiny group of Jews who should not have been able to defeat the powerful Greeks. But they did! And because of this miracle, Judaism survived and did not become consumed by Greek culture. This story of miraculous survival repeats itself many times throughout Jewish history. Despite tremendous powers that have raged against us, nothing has stopped the Jewish people. This is a miracle.”

In our family, gifts are not traditionally exchanged, although there was one year when my husband shocked me by giving me one perfect gift after another for each of the 8 nights. I was going through a bit of a dark time and he thought the gifts might cheer me up a bit. By the fourth night I became suspicious, and realized he had a bit of help in choosing the gifts. He had enlisted the aid of his sister to be his shopping elf! In all honesty, the best gift he gave me that year was an introduction to a great therapist who helped me work through this difficult time. I am forever grateful for that.pecan squares with milk

Click here to print recipe for Pecan Toffee Bars.a slice removed

 

12 thoughts on “On the first night of Chanukah: Pecan Toffee Squares

  1. themondaybox

    Happy Chanukah, Cindy! That top photo makes me wish I wasn’t allergic to nuts! I am thinking Toffee Squares hold the pecans for me. 🙂 I love the Rabbi Jacobs explanation and your personal Chanukah story. How very Chanukah appropriate that the introduction to the excellent therapist helped you out of darkness into a place where your light could shine. Wishing you and your family a beautiful Chanukah full of miracles and light.
    p.s. The parchment paper video isn’t working. I want to know your parchment secrets! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Mom

    So good! This looks better than my favourite recipe of yours(turtle bars)Can’t wait to try this recipe,
    Always with love and appreciation for testing my self control with your goodies.

    Reply
  3. Linda M.

    Lovely post Cindy, I will make this for my tea party in a few weeks. Looking forward to the next 7 days of treats! Happy Chanukah.

    Reply
  4. Julia

    Hi Cindy, I’ve missed you and your whole family this year. Time has gone by too quickly!
    I appreciate that you wrote about therapy and good intentions from our families. Those are the finest gifts!!
    Julia

    Reply
  5. Sunny

    Thanks for the recipe! I’m making these right now, but the recipe for the crust calls for 1 & 3/4 cup flour and then again 2 & 1/2 cup flour… I’m thinking this might be a little typo and the 2 & 1/2 cup flour are supposed to go in the filling? That’s what I’m doing. We’ll see what happens lol!

    Reply
    1. saltandserenity Post author

      So sorry Sunny. There is actually no flour in the filling. That second amount of 2 1/2 cups was an error. I hope I caught you in time. Recipe all fixed now. Sorry again for the screw up! Thanks for catching it.

      Reply
      1. Sunny

        No problem! I ended up leaving it out, they turned out great 😀 I’m sending some to my dad for Christmas. Thanks again for the recipe!

        Reply

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