Salted Toffee Shortbread

Shortbread
3 C (15 oz/425 g) all-purpose flour
¾ C (7 ¼ oz/148 g) granulated sugar
½ t (3 g) salt
1 C (2 sticks/224 g) unsalted butter, chilled
½ C (2 ½ oz/68 g) finely chopped toffee bits*
½ t coarse salt, for topping

Toffee
½ C (1 stick/113 g) unsalted butter
½ C (3 ½ oz/98 g) granulated sugar
2 T (30 ml) water
Pinch of kosher salt

*Note: I’ve included a recipe for making homemade toffee. It isn’t hard but in lieu of making it, you can always use store bought toffee such as Heath© English Toffee Bits. Both work equally well.

Place oven rack in middle position and heat to 350° F (177°C). Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.

Toffee – Place all toffee ingredients in small sauce pan and bring to boil over medium heat, approximately 5 minutes. Continue cooking, without stirring, for 8 more minutes or until mixture reaches 300° F (148°C) and begins to turn brown. Carefully pour mixture on to Silpat lined baking sheet and spread thin. Allow to cool completely. Place in plastic bag and break into small bits with a rolling pin.

Shortbread – In bowl of food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Pulse a few times to blend. Cut butter into large chunks and add to food processor. Process approximately 1 minute, until dough appears sandy and starts to clump together. Remove from food processor and stir in toffee bits.

Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Using flat-bottomed glass, press down dough firmly, creating a smooth surface. Score dough lightly with sharp knife, marking 4 by 8 rows of shortbread pieces. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until shortbread is very lightly browned all over and set. Rotate pan one half turn midway through baking.

While shortbread is still hot and in pan, use sharp knife or bench scraper to cut shortbread all the way through along lines you scored prior to baking. Allow shortbread to cool completely in pan once it has been cut. When cooled, pieces should break apart easily. Serve or store in an airtight container.

Makes 32 pieces

4 Oct 18 – Could not find toffee bits in any grocery store, including WinCo and Albertsons so I decided to make it myself. I found several recipes which all looked similar and picked one that looked like it made the right amount of toffee. As it turns out, it made approximately 1 cup, chopped which could be used for 2 batches of shortbread. I combined toffee ingredients in small Al Cad sauce pan and heated it on the induction plate. The only problem I ran into was controlling/determining the temperature of the mixture because it was such a small amount. A smaller sauce pan would have helped. Also, the temperature shot up from 271 to 300 quickly when I increased the induction level from 3 to 4 maybe causing the toffee to be slightly over done. I cooled toffee for approximately 1 hr before breaking it up into small pieces. The cooled toffee wasn’t a hard as I thought is should be, maybe because I it stirred it early on. Taste was OK, but maybe a little over done.

I followed the recipe as written using Tillamook butter in both toffee and shortbread. The dough came together as described in food processor which I emptied into a large glass bowl and mixed in the toffee bits by hand. Once mixed, I emptied bowl in to prepared pan and firmly pressed down into a nice even surface which I scored, did not dock, and then sprinkled with course salt. I baked it in the island oven on convection heat for 37 mins. The top surface turned a little brown. While still hot and with a serrated knife, I cut all the way through the scored lines. The center pieces seemed a little soft to me. Once cooled, all pieces, including center, firmed up nicely. Texture was about right and the shortbread flavor good. The salt provided a good contrast with the shortbread and toffee flavors. Gave some to neighbors who thought it was excellent.