Heath Bit Bars

This week at the office, my purchase of a Twix precipitated a discussion about favorite candy bars. There was great debate; some folks are Milky Way and Three Musketeers fans, while others (including me) favor Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers bars, or those ingenious Take 5 bars that include a pretzel, caramel, peanut butter, peanuts, and milk chocolate all in one delicious little package.

I’m also a big fan of the Heath bar, and with that ind mind, I picked up some Heath Milk Chocolate Bits in the baking aisle yesterday. There’s a great recipe on the bag for Heath bit peanut butter cookies that I fully intend to bake sometime, but because I also had the Twix bar on my mind, I decided to make a treat that would sort of combine the best of both worlds: a bar with a shortbread-like crust, milk chocolate chips, and Heath bits.

This recipe is adapted from one that I found on the Hershey’s website that used plain toffee bits, rather than Heath Milk Chocolate Bits. Next time, I’d like to sprinkle on some chopped pecans, or maybe even chopped salted peanuts, to add another dimension of flavor. You’re supposed to wait until these bars have cooled completely before you cut them, but as you can see by the glossy chocolate in the photo above, I simply couldn’t wait.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce package milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup Heath Milk Chocolate Bits

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter at medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy.

Add brown sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well.

Add flour and mix until combined.

Press crust mixture into the bottom of a 10 x 15 x 1 jelly roll pan, smoothing with an offset spatula as best you can for even browning.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Remove from oven and sprinkle immediately with chocolate chips. After about 5 minutes, spread melting chips with an offset spatula to cover the crust completely. Sprinkle on Heath Milk Chocolate Bits and let stand for just a moment, then spread with an offset spatula.

Allow to cool completely before cutting.