Gluten-Free Toffee Brownies

I love the way that baking is the perfect blend of art and science.

On the one hand, you get to indulge your creativity–decorating, coming up with unique flavor combinations, and adding special touches to sweet treats.

On the other hand, baking is most definitely a science–you get to learn how ingredients interact, and rushing or skipping steps can completely change the outcome of your recipe.

Our gluten-free toffee brownies recipe is a great example of both of these! These delicious brownies have combine gorgeous flavors with a few simple techniques to give you AMAZING results–you get fudgy, rich brownies, crisp bits of toffee, and caramel-like notes of flavor from brown butter and vanilla.

They’re as delicious as they are special, and the best part is, the ingredients list is simple and straightforward. Let’s dive in!

Simple Ingredients To Get Started

If you’ve been here a minute, the ingredients list might look familiar! This new recipe is based on my favorite brownie recipe (our Brown Butter Brownies!) with just a few adjustments. Let’s take a look:

• (Brown) Butter. To mimic the caramel-y flavor of the toffee, we’re actually starting with brown butter! This simple technique caramelizes the milk solids in the butter, turning them into a caramel-like brown with a sweet, nutty flavor that’s a perfect complement to the toffee.
• Chocolate Chips. Dark chocolate chips and semisweet chocolate chips do triple duty in these gluten-free brownies! You’ll melt some for the brownie batter, fold some into the batter, AND sprinkle some on top of the finished brownies. We recommend a quality brand like Guittard for the best flavor.
• Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar. This combination gives the brownies a fudgy, moist texture, with crackly, glossy tops. (aka my ideal brownie!)
• Eggs. To help bind, enrich, and puff the brownies.
• Vanilla. Always a must when I’m working with chocolate!
• Gluten-Free Flour. We’re keeping things simple with a gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend. We love this one from King Arthur, but if you use another brand, make sure it contains xanthan gum or the brownies won’t turn out properly. We don’t recommend other gluten-free flours (like almond flour or coconut flour) for this recipe. 
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. I prefer the flavor of a natural cocoa powder (like Hershey’s) rather than Dutch processed cocoa powder (dark cocoa powder) for these brownies, but either will work, since we’re not using any leaveners.
• Salt. A must for balancing the flavor!
• Toffee Bars. Last, but not least, is toffee! This star ingredient needs a proper intro…

How To Make Gluten-Free Toffee Brownies, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. Preheat & Prep. To start, heat oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 metal pan with parchment paper. 
2. Brown Butter. In a light-colored medium saucepan, melt butter cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until the butter foams and the butter underneath the foam caramelizes and deepens to a honey color and the butter smells sweet and fragrant.
3. Mix in Chocolate Chips. As soon as you remove the brown butter from the heat, mix in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and stir until melted and glossy. Set this mixture aside to cool slightly while you mix the sugar and eggs. 
4. Beat Sugar & Eggs. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs to a large bowl. Use a whisk or hand mixer to beat the sugar and eggs 3-5 minutes, or until about tripled in volume and much lighter in color. The sugar should be almost completely dissolved–if you rub the mixture between your fingers, you shouldn’t feel almost no grit. Do NOT rush this step or your brownies won’t get those nice, glossy tops! 
5. Stir in Chocolate Mixture & Vanilla. Slowly whisk in the melted chocolate mixture and the vanilla extract and stir until smooth. 

6. Add Dry Ingredients. Then, add the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, and salt and mix until just a few floury patches remain. 
7. Fold In The Mix-Ins. Add 1/2 cup chopped toffee and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Fold in until just evenly distributed. (The batter will be pretty thick at this point!) 
8. Bake Brownies. Transfer the brownie mixture to the prepared pan and smooth out the surface. Bake in the preheated oven 22-24 minutes, or until the tops are glossy, the centers are just set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. (If you prefer a less fudgy brownie, you can add 3-5 minutes to the bake time, but I much prefer these brownies on the fudgy side!) 
9. Top & Cool Brownies. As soon as you remove the brownies from the oven, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup toffee and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Let the brownies cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares with a sharp knife. (I recommend chilling them before cutting for the smoothest, most perfect slices!) 

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Toffee Brownies

Use A METAL Pan. We recommend a light-colored metal square baking pan over glass or ceramic because these materials conduct heat differently. An aluminum pan conducts heat gently and evenly, helping your brownies rise and cook through as expected. If you use ceramic or glass pans, your brownies will rise differently than mine and will almost certainly take longer to cook.

How To Get A Shiny Crust On Your Brownies. For the signature glossy brownie tops, the big secret is to dissolve the sugar properly before baking. Don’t rush the step where you’re mixing the eggs and sugar, since this is the key to pretty brownies!

Can I Use a Box Mix Instead? Probably! I can totally appreciate the convenience of box mix brownies, and this would be a fun way to jazz up a boxed mix. That said, you’ll just never compete with the flavor these homemade brown butter brownies add!

Try Them With Ice Cream! These brownies are definitely rich, but if you cut smaller squares, you can make a little sundae with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. It’s unreal!