Mini Brownie Sandwiches with Toffee Crunch

I keep stunning myself with brownie possibilities.

Not just any brownie, though- The World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie. But you knew I was going to say that.

I have already made 753 different flavor variations to the brownie recipe (remember the Bailey’s Irish Cream ones? Oh, and what about the Panko and Sea Salt Crunch ones, for the sweet & salty types out there?), which is all fine and dandy, but the fun really starts to be had when the form of the brownie gets toyed with. You might recall the Rocky Road Brownie Pie. Fond memories of that decadent brownie disguised as a pie. I’ve also dabbled with the W.G.F. Brownie Cookie, but I had yet to sandwich something glorious in between two yielding, fudgy cookies. The cookies bake like thin brownie crusts, asking to be filled with something sinful. I am happy to answer their request.

So what to use as the sandwich glue? Ganache? Sure, but I’ve been kind of killing the ganache lately. Marshmallow Fluff? Did that recently too. Vanilla frosting would look spectacular, of course. The only thing that would look better than vanilla frosting would be vanilla frosting with toffee bits sprinkled liberally around the edges of the cookie, sticking to the gooey frosting glue. Sold, so sold.

Adapted from my World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie recipe…

BROWNIES:

4 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate

(the better the chocolate, the better the brownie)

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla (use the real stuff)

3 lightly beaten eggs

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Optional: 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

VANILLA FROSTING FILLING:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened to barely room temperature

3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 – 4 tablespoons milk or cream

TOFFEE EDGES:

1 cup toffee bits (Heath or Skor)
1. Preheat oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or grease tin-foil lined sheets).
2. Melt chocolate & butter in microwave for 2:15 minutes and stir.
3. Stir in sugar, then vanilla, then eggs, then salt, espresso powder (optional) & flour.
4. Stir in nuts &/or chocolate chips if you so desire.
5. Scoop by the heaping teaspoonful onto prepared pans, about 2 – 3 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes, until just set around the edges.
6. Cool on a wire rack. Cookies will be a bit soft (and wonderfully pliant) when cooled.
7. FROSTING: In a large bowl, beat butter for 3 minutes at medium speed. Add 3 cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat on low until combined. Add vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 more minutes at medium speed. Add remaining sugar if you are looking for a stiffer frosting, and add remaining milk/cream if you’d like a thinner frosting.
8. Spread a generous amount of frosting between two cookies, and roll edges of frosting into a bowl with toffee bits.
9. Indulge!
Tips:
- Like your cookies fudgy? Under-bake. If you like them crispy, over-bake a bit. Duh.
- These cookies are small, so you’ll have enough batter for many many many of them. Do what I do- make some small cookies, then some bigger, just so you’re not spending so much time scooping. Never… enough… time… be smart about it- make a skimpy batch of brownies (maybe in an 8″ pan) AND a dozen cookies in the same batch. We all like variety.
- Feeling lazy and want to skip a few steps? Skip the toffee bits… and if you’re really lazy, just bake the brownie batter in a 9 x 13″ pan for 27 minutes or so and cut off pieces to eat. No scooping required!
- Feeling ambitious? Make the toffee yourself and then crumble it into bits. Use my Milk Chocolate & Toasted Almond Toffee recipe! (Just skip the chocolate step and the almonds, if you want.)
- Get creative! Why not spread peanut butter or Nutella between the cookies? Hmm. I might need to next time.
- Make sure you use a lot of frosting in between the cookies. If you don’t, you’ll end up with a really measly line of frosting that hardly any toffee bits will stick to. Go to town! Don’t skimp, skimper!
- Want more brownie blather? Check out the Tips section of the original post.
- Of course these freeze well!
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July 28th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | 4 Comments | Tags: Brownies & Bars, Chocolate, Toffee, World's Best

4 Responses and Counting...

Mary Beth 07.28.2013

i cannot WAIT to try these! excellent idea! cookie sandwiches/whoopie pies are hard to do right… the cookies are usually too hard or soft. this looks like the perfect solution. and i am a fellow brownie-lover so your style is right up my ally. ;)
More Sweets Please

So glad you like the looks of these… the good news is that even if they are underbaked or overbaked, they still go down well with a big glass of milk. You can’t possibly screw them up!!
Helen Morgan

I love your tips, Jodi! The tin foil lined baking pan makes life so easy when I make your marvellous brownies. Think I should try this recipe…
More Sweets Please

Yes- the foil has saved me on many occasions. Just leave edges that are long enough on the sides to act as a sling to lift them out… and voila. No brownies left behind in your pan- so more for you to eat!