I have vivid memories of laying out trays full of graham crackers (glutinous ones at the time – this was pre-Celiac-diagnosis and pre-anything-other-than-cardboard-gluten-free-snacks) to make these heavenly graham cracker toffee bars. Toffee has always been that guilty pleasure treat for me – though the real stuff always sticks in my teeth or just about breaks them with that first glass-shattering crunch. That’s why these graham cracker toffee bars are the answer to my life-long desire and the most dangerous cookie-sheet full of goodness you could put in front of me. I definitely almost ate the entire bowl of butter+brown sugar while making them, every time.
Now that I’m an adult and have a firm grasp on all food urges and sugar highs, I’m careful to make one, and only one, of these trays every few months (or weeks, or days…) because otherwise, I might as well cancel that gym membership entirely. But once in a while, why not throw caution to the wind and get up from weekend Netflix (or Prime, or Masterpiece, or YouTube) and make an entire tray of toffee bars even though no one’s coming over to join you and you’ve got the rest of a beautiful Saturday in front of you. We approve of this life choice if you choose to make it.
In all seriousness, though, these toffee bars are the perfect guilty pleasure treat. They won’t break your teeth because the graham crackers soak up the butter+sugar sludge to create a chewy, melt-in-your-mouth celebration of sweet and salty, topped by richly-dark chocolate and just enough crunch from chopped almonds. Sound like a good weekend baking idea? We think so too. They’re also ridiculously easy to make – as in, you won’t have to stand in your kitchen for longer than it takes to actually pick a show to watch (unless you have a planned marathon, in which case, we commend your preparation). If you do make these, top them with whatever sounds good – almonds, walnuts, more toffee bits, pecans, nothing at all because who needs more than butter, sugar, grahams and chocolate?
Gluten Free Graham Cracker Toffee Bars
Equipment
- Cookie sheet
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 2 boxes of gluten free graham crackers – must be enough to cover an entire cookie sheet
- 1 Cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 Cup 2 sticks salted, good butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 16 oz good quality dark or milk chocolate
- 3/4 Cup raw almonds finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and butter the foil. Place graham crackers on the pan to completely cover it (feel free to break crackers into small pieces first so that it’s easier to cut toffee into pieces later! You’ll need to break some of them anyway to fit smaller pieces into the leftover space). Make sure the entire pan is covered in a single layer of crackers.
- In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until completely melted. Add sugar and salt and stir continuously until the sugar and butter are combined and thick – about 2-3 mintues total (don’t overcook!). Carefully pour the mixture over the graham cracker tray, being sure to coat each cracker completely – use a spatula to smooth mixture over all crackers so tray is completely coated.
- Bake tray for 7-8 minutes until caramel mixture is bubbling, then remove from oven and set on a cooling rack. Immediately toss chocolate chunks evenly over the tray so that each cracker has a fair amount of chocolate on it. To melt the chocolate, return the tray to the oven for another 2 minutes. Remove and reset on cooling rack. Using a butter knife or spatula, carefully spread the chocolate (it should be melted now and spreadable, if not, let it sit for a minute) so that each cracker is evenly coated. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds (to your taste – you can use chopped pecans or walnuts or other topping), and let cool completely before breaking or cutting apart and serving. I used a large knife to cut apart the squares, but you can break it into small shapes if you want too!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your toffee bars!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
One Comment
Tristan
Sooo indulgent and addicting – if you’re trying to avoid sugar, don’t make these. And they’re not too hard like normal toffee – way too easy to eat!