Cocoa English Toffee Fudge Brownies

Yesterday was kind of a stressful day for me but today was quite the opposite, thankfully. I thought it would be the perfect excuse (as is any, really) to celebrate with some chocolate. I found this recipe quite a while ago and just got around to it today. English toffee is already a weakness of mine, so you can imagine how happy I am with the addition of fudgy chocolate. I am pretty sure you can gain 5 pounds from the smell alone. These are VERY rich -- just how I like them!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 sticks of butter
• 1 1/3 c white sugar
• 3/4 c PLUS 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c flour
• 1 bag English toffee pieces

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees and make sure rack is in the lower 3rd of oven.
  
• Coat baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a large, heat-proof bowl, combine butter, sugar and cocoa. Set bowl in a large skillet of water and simmer over low-medium heat. Stir occasionally until butter is melted and mixture is hot to the touch. Remove from heat and cool until warm.

• Stir in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time.
  
• When batter is smooth and shiny, slowly add flour until well-mixed.
• Stir in toffee, reserving a bit for the top.

• Pour mixture into baking pan and top with the remaining toffee.

• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

• Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
  
• Enjoy!