Brownie with Pretzels and Toffee

I saw this recipe on the blog, Crepes of Wrath, and I knew I had to make it for my church family. The texture of the brownie was very moist, almost fudgy, and the sweet/salty combination of the toffee and pretzel was excellent. Everyone just loved this new dessert today!

Thanks, Sydney, for posting this great recipe in your beautiful blog!

The recipes calls for Heath toffee chips, but I ventured out and made Macadamia toffee. Sugar and butter is dissolved and cooked until the temperature reaches 300 degrees F. Add macadamia nuts and quickly spread on a greased foiled pan.

You have the option to sprinkle some semi-sweet chocolate chips and melt to make candy, but for the brownies, I omitted the chocolate topping.


Coarsely chop the toffee, set it aside.

Pour the brownie batter in greased, foiled pan.

Sprinkle toffee and place pretzels on top of batter before baking.

Brownie top had a glorious shine and crackling from melted toffee, accented with a pretzel. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Easy Toffee

2 cups (1 pound) unsalted butter

2 cups (14 oz) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup of coarsely chopped Macadamia nuts

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

1. Cover large baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with oil. Set aside.

2. In a large cast iron pot, combine butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Bring mixture to boil, and cook until color becomes a dark amber, and the temperature has reached 300 degrees F. Stir frequently.

3. As soon as the reaches 300 degrees F, quickly add Macadamia nuts, stir, and pour it out on to the prepared baking sheet. Spread hot mixture thinly with a wooden spatula.

Optional: Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top, when softened, spread the chocolate into a thin layer.

4. Cool toffee completely until set. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Recipe from Crepes of Wrath with some modification:

The Baked Brownie with Pretzels & Toffee
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks, 8 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup toffee bits (or homemade toffee)
1/3 cup crushed pretzel bits

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Criss-cross two sheets of foil and line and grease sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

3. Put the chocolate and room temperature butter in a double boiler and melt. Off the heat, let rest for a few minutes.

4. Add granulated and dark brown sugar. Combine well. Then add your eggs, one at a time, until completely combined. Add in the vanilla and whisk until combined.

5. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour/cocoa mixture to the chocolate mixture until combined. Do not over mix. It's ok to have a little specks of flour.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a greased spatula. Sprinkle the toffee and pretzels over the top as evenly as possible. Bake in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.

7. Cool in pan. Lift the brownies out of baking pan and cut into squares. Makes up to 36 squares.

Note: For taste comparison, I made another batch of brownies the next day using store bought toffee chips and hands down, brownies made with homemade toffee had better texture and flavor.