I haven’t been posting as many recipes around here lately because often times when I bake I am baking something I know and love. My millionth loaf of banana bread. So easy to make I could do it with my eyes closed almond butter cookies. Olive oil brownies that make me swoon every single time without fail. I can’t keep posting the same recipe over and over again, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to bake the same thing over and over again.
There are tons of recipes here on the blog, and I hope you find all kinds of inspiration for baking as well as recipes you return to time and time again. It should give you confidence that I too return to my blog and the search feature to find things I haven’t made in awhile and want to revisit or things that I have run out of yet again.
Because I am a creative person, sometimes the desire to make something new and exciting still strikes. Enter these sticky toffee brownies. So I was out of brownies and I did want to make a batch, but I wanted to do something different. I picked up dates at Costco (they have the absolute best dates I have ever had), and I felt like I needed to make something sticky toffee – an idea was born!
I wasn’t entirely sure how I would feel about dates in brownies. I like brownies. I like dates, but together would the dates crash the party? It turns out they do not at all. I love how dense and rich these brownies are. The dates add sweetness, depth, and an extra chew to the texture. I just might put dates in my brownies regularly from now on, especially if it means they get topped with toffee sauce.
I’ll take toffee sauce on everything. Like the dates, it has a complex sweetness that pairs with the brownies so well and doesn’t sink in too much so that they become off in texture. I even put a few dates in the sauce. They are little nuggets of joy with the melt in your mouth texture.
Just like me, once you make these brownies, they will be on repeat in your house!
Sticky Toffee Brownies
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 9 brownies 1x
Description
Decadent olive oil brownies taken to the next level with dates in the brownies and a rich toffee sauce on top.
Ingredients
Brownies
4 ounces carob or dark chocolate
10 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1 cup dates, roughly torn apart
1 ½ cups coconut sugar
1/3 cup carob or cocoa powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup paleo flour blend (2 cups almond flour, 1 ¼ cups tapioca starch, ¾ cup coconut flour) or all-purpose flour
1 cup carob or dark chocolate chips
Toffee sauce
2 teaspoons espresso powder
½ cup coconut oil
¾ cup maple sugar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod included
¼ cup dates, torn apart
½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
Instructions
Make the brownies. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ 325 degrees F convection. Oil an 8 inch square pan.
In a large microwave safe bowl, stir together the carob or dark chocolate, oil, espresso, dates, sugar, and carob or cocoa powder. Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until fully melted. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the salt, vanilla, and flour. Finally, stir in the carob or chocolate chips, and pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until mostly set in the center.
While the brownies bake, make the sauce. In a medium saucepan, place the espresso, oil, sugar, syrup, milk, vanilla, and dates. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens and reduces by almost half. This can take up to 15 minutes. Stir frequently during this process. Once cooked, stir in the salt and pour over the baked brownies.
Cool brownies completely before serving. Brownies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
Brownie recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
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