“Mrs. Lombardo Squares” Are the Easy Dessert My Whole Neighborhood Loves

For showers, funerals, and everything in between, there was never any question about what dessert my family—and most of the neighborhood, honestly—would bring: Mrs. Lombardo Squares. With their simple press-and-bake shortbread base and a glossy chocolate-toffee topping, they’re like a more approachable, low-lift version of millionaire bars.

These legendary squares came into my life by way of my elementary school’s fundraiser cookbook from St. Marguerite D’Youville. That book is full of some truly questionable recipes, but the standouts have made it a dog-eared staple in my kitchen for 20 years. I still reach for it when I’m making pouding chômeur (a Québecois maple bread pudding), my favorite apple crumble, and, of course, these squares.

Officially, the recipe is called “butterscotch toffee bars,” but over time they’ve simply become known as Mrs. Lombardo Squares. Mrs. Lombardo was my childhood neighbour; I went to school with her three boys, saw her at book clubs and PTA meetings, and passed her almost every morning on the walk to school. The nickname stuck, and at this point, none of us could imagine calling them anything else.

What are Mrs. Lombardo Squares?

They’re essentially a no-fuss riff on millionaire bars—but instead of standing over the stove coaxing caramel to behave, you melt together chopped toffee bars and Caramilks (or whatever chocolate-caramel bar you’ve got on hand). The result is sweet, sticky, and dangerously easy to eat.

Ingredient Substitutions

While most of the ingredients in this recipe are pantry staples, you may have to do a little searching—or substituting—for two. The original recipe calls for McIntosh toffee bars, a hard English toffee that I can sometimes find in specialty stores, online, or tucked into the international aisle around the holidays. These days, I swap in the same amount of Skor pieces since they’re more widely available. You could also use any hard caramel candy, like Werthers hard caramels.  

The topping also calls for chocolate-covered caramels to really amp up that toffee flavor. In Canada, I rely on Caramilks—the milk-chocolate bars with the gooey caramel center—but they can be tougher to find in the U.S. If your grocery store doesn’t carry them, try Rolos, Milky Way Simply Caramel, Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel Squares, or Dove Caramel Promises. 

More Bars To Bake

• Oh Henry Bars
• Mud Hen Bars
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bars
• Monster Cookie Bars