I’ve had some pretty outstanding Halloween costumes over the years. Thanks to my mom’s sewing skills, my homemade costumes were always something to be proud of. In kindergarten, I won first place in a costume contest at a local toy store for my Snow White costume, complete with a short black wig and a “poison apple”. Even Walt Disney would have been impressed. With some patient thrift store shopping and some temporary red hair dye, my mom helped me transform into Lucille Ball when I was in seventh grade. She’s even worked with me on a few costumes when I was in college, making me the best Wonder Woman La Salle University has ever seen. Though I still dress up for the holiday, I get more out of seeing all of the clever costumes the neighborhood kids are wearing and reward their efforts with candy.

I take my Halloween treats just as seriously as I take my costumes and we are well prepared with bags upon bags of chocolate candy for the 31st.  In an effort to make sure I don’t eat all of it, it’s hidden in a secure spot somewhere in the house, completely out of sight. Still, it’s hard to resist a craving when candy is practically falling off the shelves at the supermarket. Since it’s pretty much a guarantee we won’t have any leftover once the trick-or-treaters head back to their homes, I’ve whipped up a homemade treat for us to enjoy.

Chocolate Toffee Nut Bars

1 box of Club crackers

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Line 9 x 13-inch rectangular baking pan with one layer of Club crackers (you may need to break some to fit). Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add graham cracker crumbs, dark brown sugar, milk, and granulated sugar. Bring to boil. Boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat. Pour half of butter mixture over crackers in pan. Smooth surface with spatula. Arrange another layer of Club crackers over butter mixture. Pour remaining butter mixture over surface and top with another layer of crackers. Combine peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips in small saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over crackers. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate two hours. Cut into 2-inch bars. Bars will keep for two weeks, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

There really isn’t one healthy aspect to this recipe; most of the ingredients are rich on their own and, put together, create quite a dessert. The Club crackers add a buttery layer of crunchiness and the hint of salt on them complements the extremely sweet flavor of the other ingredients. The toffee taste is attributed to melting down the butter with the two sugars, milk and graham cracker crumbs. This combination would be delicious alone, and I had to keep myself from dipping my fingers in the bubbly mixture as it was cooking. Chocolate and butterscotch team up with peanut butter to give the treats a nice top coat that is so sweet it may create more work for your dentist, but it’s well worth every new cavity. In the end, the mixture has a strong chocolate taste with a hint of peanut butter – I would have enjoyed this snack even more had I melted down strictly dark chocolate and sprinkled the top with chopped nuts. Other than that, I have no complaints.

If you’re feeling generous, you could cut these up, wrap them nicely in Halloween themed parchment paper and pass them out to the trick-or-treaters. If you’re like me, though, they won’t make it past the point of refrigeration; after the two-hour mark it seemed it was fair game to hack at the tray  haphazardly with a butter knife and, over a day, the batch was whittled down to about 1/3 of its original size. I would love to brag about not breaking into the candy I had to hide from myself that was meant for the creative kids in their cool costumes but, as you can see, I had a better alternative.

Casey Ann is a local foodie and blogger. Check out her recipes and reviews at www.cleanpl8.com.