On a baking bender!

Whenever the holidays begin, I start going 200 mph in my kitchen, whipping up anything and everything i can. Thanksgiving really gets me going, and even though my belly is entirely too full (yes, 5 says later) I cannot, for any reason, step away from the rolling pin and my brand new Kitchenaid! So my blog will probably see new posts very often throughout December, especially when the semester is finally over (2 weeks!!) so get ready, y'all!


Anyway, to start off, a little about me: I'm 22, and a soon to be graduate (may 2010) with a History Degree. I love any and all things baking, cookies, cakes, pies, and any recipe that includes my beloved puff pastry! The name of my blog, in English, roughly translates to "The Wonderful Mix (or mixture) and I thought, as a Spanish minor, a little Spanish alliteration would be fun! I live in Denton, TX with my wonderful boyfriend and our little girl, Marley (the dog, not baby!)


Isn't she the cutest?
Alright, so back to baking... I'm fairly busy, I'm in school full time, and I work nights in a bar, so my time spent in the kitchen generally is quick, unless I have the whole day off (thank you Sundays!) so for my first post, here's a super quick, super easy recipe for Toffee Bars. But beware, these things seriously pack a punch (of sugar!) and are a little too sweet for my tasting, but others love them!



Toffee Bars
adapted from Betty Crocker Cookbook


1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 egg yolk
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (i used walnuts)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Mix butter, brown sugar, egg yolk and vanilla on low speed until mixed well
(this can be done by hand too, I'm just obsessed with using my mixer at all times!)
Add flour and salt and continue to mix until everything is mixed in well.
Press dough into a 13x9 inch pan
Bake about 30 minutes or until very light brown (keep crust soft!)
Quickly add the chocolate chips, evenly, then let stand for about 5 minutes, or until your chocolate is melted
With a spatula, spread the chocolate evenly and then sprinkle with nuts
Now the hard part, let sit, in the pan, on a wire cooling rack for 30 minutes
Then cut 8 rows by 4 rows and serve!



So easy!
Also, if you want to take these with you to a holiday party, I suggest lining the pan with foil or parchment paper so you can easily lift the bars out and display them or pack them up to take with you, but if doing so, refrigerate for a while so you don't have chocolate everywhere!

And bare with me on the poor photography skills I have! Soon I'll have my amazingly talented friend, Amanda, coming over to help me out! My creative juices are dedicated to the makings of treats, not takin' their pictures!


Happy Baking!!