Daring Bakers Challenge: Ecliars

I am sorry to the Daring Bakers that I ran out of time in August to make the little puffs of golden goodness that are Eclairs. I will absolutely make the September challenge, however :) On to September!

Toffee Studded Brownies

My sister's brother in law was mistakenly diagnosed with Celiac recently, and upon discovering that he was mis-diagnosed, they decided to send me all of the special food they bought. I am super grateful, but I'm not sure why they didn't just keep it and eat it. It's not like gluten free specialty food is cheap. And it sure doesn't taste bad. They didn't even make me pay for it, either!

Either way, I was happy to take it and see what I could do with it all. They sent me a Whole Foods Brownie Mix that I wanted to mess around with, and I remembered seeing a Paula Deen Recipe for Symphony Brownies that looked so good! I decided that I would make my own toffee, complete with toasted almond slices to layer in the brownies. What a grand treat!



Toffee Studded Brownies:


So rich and delicious, it's quite obvious why we could only eat one at a time! Scoop some ice cream on top for a nice summertime treat.




Toasted Almond Toffee


1/3 C Water
1 1/4 C Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter (preferably unsalted)
A couple of handfuls of Toasted Sliced Almonds

On medium heat, combine the sugar and water then bring it to a boil. Wash the sides of the pan down with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent the sugar from crystallizing. Cook until you have reached your desired caramel color. Add in the butter and stir quickly to combine. Please remember that this mixture will be upwards of 300* and will burn you if you are not careful. Mix in the almonds quickly and pour onto a Silpat lined sheet tray. Once cooled, break the toffee into pieces.


Brownies


Follow the directions on the back of the box, or make your favorite homemade brownie recipe. Once the batter is made, grease up a square pyrex dish and line it with parchment paper. This is super important-do not skip the parchment paper!! Pour in half of the batter and smooth it out. Lay the toffee pieces over the batter in an even layer. Make sure to fill all of the empty spots with little toffee bits. Pour the 2nd half of the batter over the toffee and smooth it out. Bake according to the package directions. My brownies needed a little bit longer in the oven to bake through.


Once finished baking, let the brownies cool for a bit. Run a knife around the edges and flip out onto a cooling rack. Pull off the parchment and eat 'em up!


*Make sure when cutting to use a sharp knife to get through the toffee easily.