Name: Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: ½ Cup Salted Butter ((1 Stick)); ¾ Cup Light Brown Sugar; 2 Large Eggs; 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract; 1 ⅓ Cups All Purpose Flour; 2 Tablespoons Instant Espresso Powder; 1 ½ Teaspoons Baking Powder; ½ Teaspoon Salt; ½ Cup Toffee Bits; 7 Ounces Milk Chocolate (Cut into Chunks, Divided); ½ Teaspoon Flaked Sea Salt

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Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies are ultra-rich espresso blondies loaded with milk chocolate, toffee bits, and a sprinkle of flaked sea salt.

Who said coffee and dessert can't mix? ...and... When is a blondie not blond? When it is loaded with espresso coffee, chunks of milk chocolate, and toffee bits! These chewy blondies with layers of rich flavors are better than chocolate chip cookies warm from the oven.

Gooey salted toffee espresso blondies are stacked 3 high on a square of parchment paper.

Toffee, espresso, and chocolate -- for many of us, these ingredients are a great combination and sound like the perfect dessert. Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies combine these delicious flavors into one decadent treat. Not only are these bars sinfully delicious, but they're also surprisingly easy to make.

This original recipe is super easy to make. Plus, I've got pro tips for re-heating and storing your salted toffee espresso blondies.

Oh, and if you want to level up these decadent bars, try serving them warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Jump to:

Why We Love Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies
What is a Blondie?
Why This Is The Best Espresso Blondie Recipe!
Ingredient Notes
How to Make Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies
My Top Tips
Substitutions
Make-Ahead, Storage, & Reheating
More Delicious Treats
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

Why We Love Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies

Salted Toffee Blondies are a Bakery Quality Treat
They are Deliciously Unique
Easy One Bowl Recipe
Prep Time is Quick - Just 15-Minutes
They are a Perfect Treat with a Cup of Coffee or Glass of Milk.

What is a Blondie?

A blondie is a bar cookie like a brownie without melted chocolate or cocoa incorporated into the batter.
The batter's butter, brown sugar, and vanilla give it a flavor profile similar to butterscotch.
Blondie recipes also typically include the addition of chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit.

Why This Is The Best Espresso Blondie Recipe!

I love Autumn... it brings such fond memories of baking and sharing and I have always loved a toffee blondie. Certain foods seem to remind me of a particular season and toffee always reminds me of autumn.

Maybe it is from dreams of past Halloween candies... or puddings and treats on crisp November evenings. But a toffee-flavored blondie bar is and always will be a Fall treat to me.

Like brownies, the best blondies can be cake style or "candy bar" style. The cake-style blondie has less sugar and butter. While the candy bar style blondie is loaded with twice the sugar and butter as cake style and has just a little less flour.

These salted toffee blondie bars straddle the two styles. The center is more set and less gooey than the straight-up candy bar style, which I like. It's still rich and decadent, but less cloying. I like to double down on flavor, so I add both toffee bits and coffee to the batter to boost the brown sugar and butter flavors.

A mixer in action creaming butter and brown sugar.

But my rich toffee blondies also have a good helping of instant espresso coffee that turns the golden blondie batter dark while they bake. Then, chunks of chocolate, toffee bits, and a sprinkling of flaked sea salt make a complex flavor profile that you just can't resist.

Despite being loaded with many flavors, these coffee and toffee blondies are super easy to make in one bowl using the basic creaming method and are ready for the oven in just 15 minutes.

So, let's cook!

Ingredient Notes

Salted Toffee Blondies ingredients, clockwise from top right: light brown sugar, eggs, instant espresso, salt, flaked sea salt, toffee bits, milk chocolate bar, baking powder, a-p flour, vanilla extract, and salted butter.

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before beginning. Here's what you need to make these Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies:

Salted Butter - I generally have salted butter on hand and for this bake, it's a good choice to help balance the sweetness.
Light Brown Sugar - A touch of caramel flavor from light brown sugar is amazing in a blondie.
Large Eggs - I only use large eggs when I bake and I prefer eggs from vegetarian-fed hens. Eggland's Best is my go-to brand.
Vanilla Extract-Because this recipe has many complementary flavors, you can save a little money by using artificial vanilla.
All-Purpose Flour - Any all-purpose flour will be fine. I generally buy what is on sale.
Instant Espresso Powder - Use your favorite brand of unsweetened, no creamer, instant espresso powder. My favorite is Medaglia d'Oro.
Baking Powder - I always use an aluminum-free baking powder to avoid a bitter flavor in my bakes.
Salt - Just plain iodized salt from the round box is perfect for the batter of this recipe.
Toffee Bits - These are toffee pieces and bits and not chips from the famous Heath brand.
Milk Chocolate Bar - One word. Hershey's. I always buy Hershey's chocolate for its distinctive sweet but slightly sour taste. It is delicious and not cloying.
Flaked Sea Salt - Flaked sea salt sprinkled over the top of the blondie batter has an amazing texture that makes these blondies fantastic. For the wow factor, don't substitute any other type of salt for this flaked sea salt.

Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities.

How to Make Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies

Preheat and Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Measure all ingredients and chop the milk chocolate bar into small chunks.

Butter and brown sugar are the bowl of a stand mixer and ready to be creamed together.

Cream Butter and Sugar. Using a stand mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together until the color is lightened and the mixture is fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

Eggs and vanilla extract are added to the creamed butter and brown sugar.

Add Eggs and Vanilla. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and continue to beat until all is well combined.

The sifted dry ingredients are added to the creamed ingredients.

Sift and Add. Sift together flour, instant espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until it is incorporated.

Toffee bits and chopped chunks of chocolate are added to the bowl and ready to be folded into the batter.

Fold in Toffee and Chocolate. Remove the bowl from the mixer and with a rubber spatula, fold in the toffee bits and ⅔ of the chocolate chunks. Spread the blondie batter in the prepared pan and scatter the reserved chocolate chunks over the top of the blondies. Lightly press the chunks of chocolate into the top and sprinkle with flaked sea salt.

The batter is spread into a parchment lined pan, additional chocolate is scattered over the batter, and flaked sea salt is sprinkled over all.

Bake. Bake the blondies for 30 minutes. Please note this is a timed bake. The top of the blondies will feel set, but a toothpick might not come out completely clean. Cool the blondies completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Cool the blondies completely in the pan on a wire rack. Using the parchment paper, lift the blondies from the pan, place them on a cutting board, and cut them into squares or bars.

My Top Tips

♡ About the Chocolate - Hershey's makes a 7-ounce extra-large milk chocolate bar just the right size for this recipe. I hand-cut the large milk chocolate into ¼" to ⅓" chunks. Even though you can buy milk chocolate already in bags "chunk" style instead of "chips" or morsels, I prefer cutting the chocolate myself. You get all these little jagged bits of chocolate that melt beautifully inside the bars.

♡ Flaked Sea Salt - The flaked sea salt is the one ingredient that brings out all the flavors of this blondie recipe and it only takes a sprinkling of it to transform the toffee, coffee, and chocolate flavors in your mouth into something "more". I do not advise substituting another salt and recommend Maldon Flaked Sea Salt for the best flavor.

♡ Baking Pan Sizes - An 8-inch square pan can be substituted for a 9-inch. However, the bake time will need to increase by 5 minutes making the total bake time for an 8-inch square pan 35 minutes.

♡ Do Not Double - Doubling the recipe and using a larger pan (13 x 9 inches) is not recommended, as the blondies will not bake and set properly.

♡ Reduce the Instant Espresso Powder. These blondies have a strong coffee flavor. If you prefer a lighter coffee flavor reduce the powdered espresso to 1 Tablespoon.

Substitutions

This recipe was specifically developed with the ingredients stated. For best results, please do not substitute any ingredients.

Make-Ahead, Storage, & Reheating

Make-Ahead & Storage: The blondies are best when eaten soon after baking. If not eaten immediately, wrap each cut blondie individually with plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container.

These blondies will keep up to two days at room temperature or you can refrigerate them for up to one week. I do not recommend storing them in the freezer.

Reheating: Warm these chilled espresso blondies gently in the microwave or oven to improve the flavor.

Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies cut and placed on parchment paper.

Once baked and cooled, Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies can be cut into perfect squares. I hope you enjoy them!

More Delicious Treats

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Salted Toffee Espresso Blondies