Dark Chocolate Pecan Toffee Food

DARK CHOCOLATE PECAN TOFFEE BARK

Steps:

• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a glass bowl, microwave melting wafers in 30 second increments, stirring until melted. Alternatively, melt using a double boiler on the stove top.
• Add pecans and toffee to melted chocolate. Stir to coat.
• Pour mixture onto parchment paper. Using a spatula, spread chocolate into a thin, even layer. Your bark should be about 1/4" thick and make about a 10 to 12 inch circle with no holes.
• Place cookie sheet into refrigerator to harden, about 10-15 minutes. Break into pieces and store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.

CHOCOLATE PECAN TOFFEE

Steps:

• Butter 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan.
• Combine sugar, butter, water and salt in heavy 4-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 7-9 minutes, until mixture comes to a full boil.
• Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, 18-22 minutes, until candy thermometer reaches 300°F or small amount of mixture dropped into ice water forms a hard brittle strand. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
• Pour mixture onto prepared pan; spread to desired thickness. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot candy; let stand 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate evenly over candy; sprinkle with nuts.
• Cool completely; break into pieces.

CHOCOLATE PECAN TOFFEE

Steps:

• Butter sides of heavy saucepan.
• Cook the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and water over medium heat until it reaches 290 degrees, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat.
• Spread coarsely chopped nuts evenly on a 9x9" baking pan.
• Pour sugar mixture onto baking pan.
• Spread to edges with a wooden spoon.
• Place finely chopped nuts on sugar mixture.
• Place chocolate chips on top of sugar mixture, then wait for them to melt.
• Once the chocolate chips melt, spread them evenly around sugar mixture and nuts.
• Put in cool place to harden.
• Break into pieces, and store covered in a refrigerator.

DARK CHOCOLATE-PECAN TOFFEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a rimmed baking sheet.
• Spread pecan halves on a second rimmed baking sheet and toast just until fragrant, 7 to 8 minutes; cool. Arrange 1 cup toasted pecans, flat side down, in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, leaving a 2- to 3-inch border along sides of baking sheet. Chop remaining 1/2 cup pecans; set aside.
• Combine butter, sugars, salt, vanilla, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 290°F, 18 to 20 minutes. Slowly pour hot caramel mixture over pecans, making sure to fully cover each nut and leaving the 2- to 3-inch border around baking sheet.
• Sprinkle chocolate evenly over toffee; let sit until slightly melted. Spread chocolate, in an even layer, with a small rubber scraper or offset spatula. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and sea salt. Let stand 20 minutes, then refrigerate until cool and set, 40 to 45 minutes. Break into small pieces.

CHOCOLATE-TOFFEE PECAN TART

Steps:

• Make the dough: Pulse the flour, cocoa, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Add the egg and pulse once or twice. (Stop before the dough gathers into a ball.) Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Place the dough on a large sheet of lightly floured parchment paper. Roll into a 12-inch round, no more than 1/8 inch thick. Invert the dough over a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and peel off the parchment; press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. (If the dough tears, just pat it back together.) Trim the excess dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
• Position racks in the middle and lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line the crust with foil, then fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake on the middle rack, 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Prepare the filling: Coarsely chop 1 cup pecans. Combine the butter, granulated sugar, vanilla and kosher salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture turns dark amber, 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately stir in the chopped pecans and cook 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the corn syrup and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool until lukewarm, then whisk in the eggs and bourbon until combined. (The tart can be made 1 day ahead up to this point; cover and refrigerate the filling and wrap the cooled crust in plastic wrap.)
• Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and pour in the filling up to the brim. Arrange the remaining 1/2 cup pecan halves on top. Bake on the lower oven rack until the tart is evenly browned and slightly domed in the center, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.