Chocolate and Valentine’s Day seem to go together. It is a sentimental holiday; deserving of a special valentine for those close to your heart.  My mother sent homemade valentine cards to her young grandchildren for years. Now she has Alzheimer’s Disease and can no longer do this. So I’ll treasure this tattered valentine which she thoughtfully made years ago. Here are some delicious Walnut Toffee Brownies to go along with her valentine.

My mother liked to make homemade cards for her young grandchildren on special occasions and expressed her affection through these cards. She was great at hunting and finding clover with 4 leaves–a sign of luck–in the backyard and would dry the clover and add these to cards for birthdays. My 93-year-old mother always has had and still has a lively, positive spirit–even though her memory is failing. And so I treasure this valentine which she made years ago.

Walnut Toffee Brownies

For Valentine’s Day this year, I’m making Walnut Toffee Brownies. There are hundreds of brownie recipes and so many variations–some are fudge-like and chewy and others are cake-like. I’ve tried many, many brownie recipes. Here is one of my favorites.

The key to making brownies is getting the right combination of chocolate flavor and sweetness and then baking the brownies so they are still soft and/or chewy; not over cooked. This recipe comes close. It is a traditional cake-like brownie recipe with just a little baking powder so the brownies rise. It is rich–made with real butter–and includes both baking chocolate squares and cocoa powder. It uses brown sugar rather than granulated sugar.I added walnuts which give a nutty taste–don’t omit the nuts, this makes the brownies special. I located Lindt 70% cocoa dark chocolate baking squares in a drug store. The Ghirardelli cocoa came from a grocery store. The Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Toffee for the glaze also came from a drug store.

Making the Brownies

To make the brownies–cream the softened butter and brown sugar. Then beat in the eggs one at at time. (I’m down to one beater on my mixer which is too old to locate replacement parts.) Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl from time to time.

Add the melted dark chocolate bars, cocoa powder, vanilla extract.

Then fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt. Add in toasted, chopped walnuts. Pour into oiled 8″ x 8″ baking pan and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.Don’t over bake; the edges of the brownie should pull away from sides of pan but it should still be soft in the center.

Let the brownies cool in the pan. Then melt the milk chocolate toffee squares in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute and spread on the brownies as a glaze. Cool, then cut into squares.

These are delicious and rich brownies. The walnuts and toffee add a special flavor treat. The brownies will taste great with some ice cream as a dessert with a special Valentine’s Day meal.

Enjoy a sentimental Valentine’s Day dessert!