Have you tasted Toffee-Topped Fudgy Brownies?  No?  Well, you’re in for a treat.  I just made a whole batch, and the chocolaty aroma is divine.  The good news is they’re not hard to make.  The bad news is, just like seeing delicious food made on TV, if you want them, you’ll have to make your own.  Read on for the recipe.

Chocolate is a universal love.  When my daughter’s violin teacher asked us to bring something sweet to the violin recital, I mentioned Toffee Brownies. Her eyes lit up, and with a knowing smile she declared, “Homemade is good, too!”

This Christmas season, you don’t have to compromise on a chocolate treat.  Make it yourself.  Your friends and family will thank you.  I will warn you, these brownies are decadent, delicious, and addictive. Even better, they are a dessert you can make ahead of time—so you have time for holiday fun!

This is a recipe given to me on a recipe card by my mother, origins unknown.  It’s old enough that I had to adjust the amount of Toffee Bits I added, since Heath had downsized the bag from 10 ounces to 8 ounces.  Ho ho ho!

Toffee-Topped Fudgy Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ sticks of butter (10 tablespoons)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ¾ cup Hershey or Ghirardelli unsweetened chocolate cocoa powder
• 3 1/3 ounces (or nearly ½ of an 8 ounce bag) Heath bits or Almond Toffee Bits
• ¾ cup Hershey Chocolate Mini Bits

Grease 13x9x2 pan.  Baker’s note: I sprayed Pam on my Pyrex dish.  Melt butter over low heat.  Pour the melted butter into a mixing bowl.  Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating just until blended.  Combine flour and cocoa; gradually add to butter mixture, stirring just until blended.  Do not over-mix.  Spread batter into prepared pan.  Sprinkle with Toffee bits and Mini Chips.  Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Cut into 36 squares.

If you want to freeze some or all of the brownies for later in the Christmas season, wait for the pan of brownies to cool on a wire rack.  Then cut them into 36 or more squares.  Take Saran Wrap and group nine or so brownies in plastic wrap.  Repeat three more times, so that you have all the brownies encased in plastic wrap.  Then place the brownies carefully in freezer bags and store them in your freezer.  I was able to get two of the wrapped brownie packages into one-gallon size freezer zip bag.  I now have two-gallon size freezer bags full of plastic wrapped Toffee-Topped Fudgy brownies in my freezer.

I sneaked one brownie before I wrapped and froze the rest. Oh. My.  Gosh. The chocolate brownie is fudgy on the inside and crunchy on the top.  Pair with milk, and you’ll be in chocolate heaven.

What are some of your favorite Christmas treats?