Storms Bring in the Prettiest Shells

I have walked the beach on this island for years. More years than I'd like to admit. And you know what? It never gets old. Up to the left, past Resident's Beach and the Marriott. To the right all the way to the tip of Tigertail Beach. The sand that once was shells crunching beneath my bare feet, the morning sun warming my arms, the gulf breeze sighing gently with me. The sheer beauty. The peace. Nature's wonder on display as I search for the most colorful shells or that rare find, a whole sand dollar.  

I talk all the time about how I bake to relieve stress. And lets face it, there's been a lot of it lately. The best way I can generally find to just take a break from it all is to grab some chocolate and hit the kitchen. Baking not only requires concentration and therefore the respite my mind needs, but it invariably culminates in sweet results and the appreciation of friends and family.

Mocha Toffee Bars

But there has never been, in my life anyway, anything that clears my mind and nourishes my soul like walking the beach. No, it never gets old.

It does get new though. Just after a storm.

I don't want to get all warm-and-fuzzy and feel-goody here. A storm is by no means a cleansing. It is undoubtedly the result of an ugly, harmful, churning, upheaval. A disruption of the peace that had become the daily norm. There is fall out, even some destruction in it's wake. But we do not have to look below the surface to find what is there in the aftermath. 

We just have to let go of our anger at the storm itself. At its disturbance of our stagnant complacency.

We have, many of us, railed against the whipping winds that signaled the incoming storm. We have convinced ourselves that it would diminish, not make landfall. We shook our collective fists at the heavens as the sky opened up and dumped on us.

It is now the day after. We can no longer deny that the storm has hit. It does us no good to continue to shake our fists. The time has come to walk the beach. Not with an air of naivete though, be vigilant about where you step. There will be an occasional man-of-war. 

But there is also beauty. Not hiding, right there in plain sight. All we really need to do is stop seeking and start seeing. 

Because storms bring in the prettiest shells.

Mocha Toffee Bars         
                                    ©www.BakingInATornado.com

 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1 stick margarine
1 stick butter, divided
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules, divided
1 cup brown sugar, divided
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup toffee chips

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 X 13 baking pan with nonstick spray.
*Melt margarine and 1/2 stick of the butter. Mix in 1 tsp of the coffee granules. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool a bit.
*Beat in 3/4 cup of the brown sugar, then the egg. Carefully beat in the flour, baking cocoa and salt. Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes.
*In a microwave safe bowl, heat the corn syrup, remaining 1/2 stick butter, heavy cream, vanilla and 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tsp coffee granules and microwave 2 more minutes.
*Mix and pour over the crust. Return to oven for 25 minutes.
*Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/4 dark chocolate chips over the top of your bars and return to the oven for 1 minute. 
*Spread the melted chocolate over the top of the bars, sprinkle with the toffee chips and allow to cool completely before cutting.