Caramel Chocolate Nut Bars

*Note:

• dark or semi sweet chocolate makes a wonderful substitute for a little less overwhelming 'sweet' factor in your bar.
• you don't 'have' to go through the shaving of the chocolate off the brick, just use chocolate chips, it may not 'look' as nice but the taste is the same...

What you'll need;

• Parchment (wax) baking paper
• A large casserole dish (glass or tin, doesn't matter as you will be lining it with wax paper)
• A hand mixer (or good ol' arm muscle with a spoon works too)

Ingredients; *can be optional or varied per your taste or ingredients on hand (different nuts, low fat versions etc)*

• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 pkg Butter (453 grams)
• 1 & 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
• 1 & 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 4 Cups Flour
• 1 lb (3 cups) Milk Chocolate (brick) chopped fine or shaved
• 1 Cup Toasted Walnuts
• 1 Cup Toasted Pecans
• 1 170 Gram Package caramel candies (cut into small pieces)

Preheat your Oven 350 degrees

Using your mixer, (or spoon), cream the Butter & Sugar and Vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in Egg Yolks.

In a larger Bowl add your Flour, make a well in the center and add in your first bowl of creamed ingredients to the flour well. Mix it all up until it has formed a thick batter.

Line your baking dish with parchment, (wax) paper; (extra paper up the sides is fine it doesn't have to fit precisely). Press your batter into the paper along the bottom of your pan and smooth out until as even as possible. BAKE 25 minutes in the oven.

Remove from oven when time is up...

Immediately after removing from oven sprinkle on chocolate shavings covering the entire tray as evenly as possible. Add all of your toasted nuts (mixed together in a bowl evenly), then your toffees (interspersed to cover as much of your tray as possible).

Place back in oven until your caramel melts sufficiently to spread out somewhat, 5 - 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, shut off oven; allow tray to cool in air until safe to put in refrigerator. Refrigerate in tray covered loosely in saran wrap until cool, (several hours, or overnight).

Remove when cooled and lift bars out by the parchement paper and placing on a cutting board. Carefully remove paper, and slice into bars.

Notes:

• A serrated knife works best for cutting,
• These are quite sweet so cut small squares, a little goes a long way!

Bars are good in fridge up to five days, and can be individually wrapped and frozen in a freezer bag for easy treats on hand as you need them, (up to six months).

TIP: Fabulous snack to bring to a friends for a play-date, (provided nobody has nut allergies of course;)