About 7 years ago, Starbucks had a pastry called Fantasy Bars. The chocolate chunk filled dough tasted like a chocolate chip cookie but also incorporated the taste and texture of crunchy toffee. My son adored these bars. Once a week, after middle school, a Fantasy Bar was his after school snack.
For some reason, Starbucks discontinued carrying them. Back then, it didn’t occur to me to try to make them myself. To be honest, it still hadn’t occurred to me when I made these Chewy Chocolate Toffee Marshmallow Cookie Bars and sent them off in a Monday Box. I had simply been attracted to the bar’s ingredients and chewy consistency.
Sometimes when I send new recipes in a Monday Box, its not easy getting feedback. In all fairness, I suppose that classes and homework should take priority over test recipe analysis. But by the time I have an actual conversation with my son (beyond a cryptic text letting me know he is alive and well and living in Chicago), he can’t remember having eaten a specific cookie. It came. He ate it. He thinks it must have been good.
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So, I was surprised to get a call specifically about these Chewy Chocolate Toffee Marshmallow Cookie Bars. My enthusiastic reviewer reported that they tasted a lot like Fantasy Bars, but with less toffee taste. Hmmmm. Being that there was no toffee at all in the original recipe, I wasn’t sure where ANY toffee taste was coming from (other than maybe some melted marshmallow crème). Next round, I threw in toffee bits and our version of Fantasy Bars was born.
When cutting Chewy Chocolate Toffee Marshmallow Cookie Bars for a fancy platter or crunch-adverse consumers, trim the crunchy edges around the outer edge of the pan before cutting into bars. We love the crunchy with the chewy, so I leave the edges on. It makes for a kind of funky shape but it tastes good.
Chewy Chocolate Toffee Marshmallow Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup salted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup brown sugar I use dark brown
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chunks
- ½ cup toffee bits
- ¾ cup marshmallow creme
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and lightly flour a 9”x 13” baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda.
- In the bowl of the electric mixer, combine the butter and sugars.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until fluffy.
- Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until combined and a crumbly dough forms.
- Fold in the chocolate chunks and toffee bits.
- Barely fold in marshmallow fluff, leaving stripes of fluff visible in the dough.
- Press the dough into the baking pan, spreading evenly.
- Bake for 25 minutes then cover loosely with foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Cool for 30 minutes in the pan and then cut into bars. For flat, even bars trim outside edges before cutting into bars.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Helen
These were great except for me they didn't need to go in again for the extra 5-10 minutes. I made two batches, and the first one came out a little overcooked on the bottom and were very hard when they cooled, not chewy. So the second batch, I just took out at the 25 minute mark, and they were perfect! I also felt that the chocolate overwhelms the marshmallow and toffee flavors, so next time I will find toffee bits that don't have a chocolate coating and maybe cut back on the chocolate chunks just a little bit. Still all in all, very delicious! I'm excited to try them again with these few minor changes to balance the flavors more.
The Monday Box
Hi, Helen! I am glad you enjoyed these bars. 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to comment on your experience with the recipe! Baking times can vary widely due to oven temperatures and types of pans used. I try to give a visual (like "until the edges are golden") as well as a time to help. You were right that the hard first batch was caused by over baking the marshmallow. We were trying to duplicate the Starbucks Fantasy Bar and so the chocolate was "required". Actually, most desserts for my son have chocolate "required"! 🙂 Tweaking a recipe for personal tastes makes baking fun! 🙂
kinder bueno
Found this on Pinterest. I just made these and they were incredible. I omitted the toffee because it's hard to find it in my country but I went crazy with the chocolate. Surely one is not enough but I'll try my very best in the future when making these (for sure) and leave some for my family 🙂
themondaybox
I am so glad you enjoyed these bars! I appreciate your letting me know! 🙂 Chocolate Toffee Marshmallow Bars are a favorite of my son and I make them often. I agree that leaving out the toffee doesn't effect the deliciousness of the bar. If you are interested in trying it with the extra crunch that toffee provides, I have a recipe for homemade toffee bits here https://themondaybox.com/2013/01/17/biscoff-oatmeal-toffee-crunch-cookies/. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment to let me know you enjoyed these!
Sandra Jonas
These sound too good! Anything with Toffee...
themondaybox
Thanks. We love them. I hope you'll give them a try! I agree about toffee 🙂
Ashley
I love chewy bars. These look and sound delicious... I'm all about toffee these days : )
themondaybox
There is something especially appealing about toffee in the winter. The smell. The taste. The crunch. Yum. 🙂