Cocoa Brownies with English Toffee

I am back...We had a wonderful time with my family in Pacific City on the Oregon coast. We stayed at a fantastic house with amazing views of the ocean. The weather was stormy and cold but we still had the best time relaxing, reading, watching movies, eating tasty food and spending time together. I am looking forward to next years spring break adventures.


One of the perks of having a food blog is getting free products in the mail. See's Candies sent me some treats to try - how lucky am I!? I am looking forward to checking out all of the Easter candy they have this year, it looks like they have a ton of great stuff.


The Victoria Toffee (English toffee) is one of my all time favorite candies. It's crunchy, salty and sweet. I made a batch of cocoa brownies for my kids and wanted to add some of the toffee to them. I must say, they were RICH, decadent and delicious. My kids gobbled them up as well as my husband. I am not a huge chocolate person, I like it, but only in small doses. This was much too rich for me, but I was happy my family enjoyed it. Thanks for the treats See's.

• 1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cup of white sugar
• 3/4 cup PLUS 2 tbsp of cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 See's Victoria Toffee, broken up into small pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and make sure rack is in the lower third of the oven. Coat the baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large heat proof bowl, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt. Set the bowl in a large skillet of water and simmer over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and mixture is hot to the touch. The mixture will look slightly grainy. Remove from heat and cool until warm. Add vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time mixing thoroughly after each one. When the batter looks well blended, smooth and shiny, slowly add the flour and stir until it's combined thoroughly, then stir vigorously for 30 strokes. Stir in the toffee reserving a bit for the top. Pour into the baking pan and top with the remaining toffee.

Bake for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then lift up ends of the parchment paper and transfer brownies to a cutting board where you cut into bite sized pieces. Enjoy.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe