Karen's Coffee-Toffee Bars

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Coffee-Toffee Bars

2 ¼ cup flour                                                    

½ tsp. baking powder                                       

¼ tsp. salt                                                             

1 cup butter                                                         

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 tsp instant coffee

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts/pecans

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  Cream together butter, brown sugar, almond extract and coffee.  Add chocolate chips and walnuts.  Press dough into 9x13 greased pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Do not over bake.  Cut while warm.  Top with sugar glaze if desired.  Freezes well.

Marsha's Notes: I made this as a special treat for Mom and Auntie in the Christmas of 2022. It was my first time personally making it. The "dough" is quite dry and crumbly before you press it into the bottom of the pan, so don't panic. There is not really any liquid in this recipe. Don't overmix! Just whip the butter/sugar mixture really well to get some air in it, sift the dry ingredients to get more air in it, and then blend everything together just until combined so you don't make the cookies tough. Also, at 350 on convection, it baked almost perfectly at 20 minutes, but I might even try 18 next time. If the bottom and edges are just going brown, it's DONE! Be sure to run a knife around the edge after it has cooled for about ten minutes or so and cut into your desired piece size because you will have a hard time cutting them after they are cooled.

If using pecan pieces, make sure they are in small pieces. Straight from the package, some of mine were still pretty big.