It’s my fifth day as a puppy owner and things are going pretty well. Lizzie’s a great dog. Her only bad habit is biting feet and fingers, which I’m trying to control by saying “Ouch” a high pitched puppy voice. From what I’ve read, puppies are supposed to learn not to nip from their mom and litter mates, but young puppies who’ve been removed too soon may need extra training. So between teaching my puppy not to bite toes and following her around with potty training pads, I’m kind of behind on baking. Luckily, Fuzz will be home tomorrow and I'll have a puppy care assistant.
As for today, I'm posting a an English Toffee Bars recipe Sue posted in the comment section. Erin had mentioned an illustrator named Tasha Tudor, and Sue just happened to have the Tasha Tudor Cookbook.
Sue made these yesterday and said they were pretty good. I’m holding out until I can get some really good chocolate.
English Toffee Bars
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg yolk, room temperature
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
8 oz good chocolate, chopped up
½ c. English walnuts, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and egg yolk. Stir in the flour and mix well. Spread the dough evenly over the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned. Immediately cover with chocolate bits. When the chocolate has melted, spread it with a knife and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Score and cut while still warm.
Carrie says
I absolutely LOVE your puppy, Tasha Tudor and the recipe! Oh to be you 🙂 You keep on potty training and when she is ready I will keep her along with a batch of delicious cookies...K? Take care...good luck with the finger and toe nipping 🙂
Carrie
Katy says
I recognized this recipe immediately and I second Karen's vote for the Maida Heatter "original". I've been making it for 20 plus years and I like using toasted almonds as well. I toast and chop whole almonds for more crunch. I use Dove chocolate. Either milk or dark or a combo.
Jen says
Now that I think of it, I think mine has vanilla in it as well, along with salt (which I usually leave out since I use salted butter). But otherwise the same.
I do love the idea of using toffee bits though. I will try that sometime. Another variation on the chocolate that I have done is to swirl some white and semi-sweet chips. That looks pretty (just drop some here and there, and swirl them together as they melt).
Anna says
Since the chocolate is melted and spread across the top, I was thinking a bar chocolate like Ghirardelli or Green & Black might be good melted over the top....something with a different flavor than chocolate chips. But thats's only becuase I use chocolate chips all the time and wanted to make the bars a little different.
Another thought. Maybe milk or dark chocolate bar with toffee bits?? Something like a Symphony bar that is good, but not too expensive? Or maybe even a Cadbury.
I just want to use something different than my usual chocolate chips.
There's a similar recipe in The Wellesly Cookie Exchange too. I think it's called Parky Waugh's toffee squares.
Sue says
Oh Carrie!!! I loooove Bernese Mountain Dogs! Two different friends have them and they are wonderful dogs! I grew up with a St. Bernard, who was the greatest dog ever, but there are definite advantages to the Bernies!
Kelly says
I have had my pomeranian pup for five weeks and the biting/nipping is driving me nuts! So far she tore apart my laptop charger cord and my rainbow sandals! It is very hard to discipline when they look at you with the puppy dog face!
I do love toffee though, and am printing this recipe. I am setting a booth up at my local farmers market, but I need a few baked goods to do in advance. Would these work if stored properly?
Carrie says
The Monks of New Skete are located in upstate NY. They (in addition to being monks) train German Shepherd puppies. Here is a link to their books on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=886526
We used the Art of Raising a Puppy when we got our dog (a bernese mountain dog). I poured over the book and really liked their instruction. I also have the "Best Friend" book. Overall, I really liked them.
Good luck!
Cindy in Tempe says
This is not related to anything, but the King Arthur blog has a very interesting post today about baking with EasyBake ovens.
Sue says
Here is a link to the book I have.
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Raising-Puppy-Monks-Skete/dp/0316578398/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212627321&sr=8-1
If you have trouble with the link just go to Amazon and enter The Art of Raising a Puppy. There is a little bit about the monks and their philosophy there if you scroll down to where they describe the book.
Therese B. says
Hey Sue and Carrie/Anna-new puppy mom
First of all ladies...Sue and Carrie, could you please give more info on the Monks of New Skete and that puppy dog book. Where is New Skete?
Anna....how is that puppy??!!! OH..now my kids are asking for another dog!! We are seriously thinking about it. Your newest and my sister-n-law's new puppy are putting us in the mindset of another dog!
Karen says
There's a very similar recipe in one of my Maida Heatter cookbooks, using dark brown sugar and adding 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp salt and using a 9 x 13 inch pan. Baking time is longer, about 35 minutes. She uses 8 regular size hershey's milk chocolate bars. I've made these at least a dozen times with different combinations of chocolate and nuts and they are always wonderful. I especially like semisweet chocolate with chopped toasted almonds and milk chocolate with walnuts. This is one of my "go to" cookie recipes when I need to whip up something to bring somewhere.
p.s. congrats on the new addition to your family. What a cutie pie.
Carrie says
These look great. I'm going to make them.
Anna - what kind of chocolate is considered "good chocolate?" I always wonder when I read that in a recipe. What do you use? Your puppy is adorable. Have you read the Monks of New Skete? They have a great puppy book that we used with our dog.
Thanks,
Carrie
Erin Mylroie says
Anna:
I have the Tasha Tudor cookbook! I love the oatmeal bread and the blueberry coffe cake. She has the sweetest most beautiful picture book called "A Time to Keep." Keept it in mind for a birthday present for Fuzz. My kids look at it over and over again.
VeggieGirl says
Aww, Lizzie sounds like a typical puppy, haha - enjoy it though! :0)
Those toffee bars sound heavenly.
Sue says
Jen, I'm glad to know you make these all the time. Your holiday variation sounds yummy! I made these yesterday with things I had on hand. I subbed dark brown sugar for light, pecans for walnuts, and I used the Guittard semi sweet chocolate chips I had in the cupboard. I also added 1 t. of vanilla to the batter with the egg. I wonder what kind of chocolate bits Tasha Tudor used? These were good the way I made them. I liked them better completely cooled than I did when they were still warm.
Lisa, they were super easy. I work at home and I made them on my afternoon break, with plenty of time to put in a few more hours at work.
I wonder what changes Anna will make?
Anna, we have a dog that will turn two at the end of this month. The most helpful book I read is called the Art of Raising a Puppy, by The Monks of New Skete. We also attended a puppy class at our local pet store. There were good and bad things about that, but I did learn some helpful things. Good luck!!
Lisa Ernst says
These look super easy and excellent for an event. Will have to add this recipe to my growing list of "to make" items!
Jen says
I make these all the time - and my mom has made them for years. Very easy and a crowd pleaser. Around the holidays I will make with white chocolate, nuts & dried cranberries. Very festive looking and also a big hit.