Today’s DoAhead Dining recipe is from my sweet sister-in-law. Whenever she comes to stay with us she brings this amazing coffee cake. It’s such a hit my kids can no longer wait for Aunt Mary to arrive! (And yes…they do love her for more than her coffee cake!) This spring she shared her recipe and I set forth with eager hands. I could almost taste the toffee bits! Alas! I was such a smarty pants I didn’t read through the recipe in its entirety. I ended up with a coffee cake covered in a layer of toffee that hardened and made cutting virtually impossible! Mercy!

So take it from me…read through the recipe, follow the instructions carefully (set aside a portion of your first mixture) and don’t over-bake. If you do these things you will have a coffee cake that is out of this world!

Here you go ladies!

Mary’s Toffee Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter (soft)

1 Cup Firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 Cup White Sugar

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Buttermilk

1 Egg

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Bag Heath English Toffee Bits

1/4 Cup Chopped Pecans (optional)

In a mixing bowl, blend butter, sugars and flour. Set aside 1/2 cup of this mixture.

To the remaining butter mixture, add buttermilk, egg, baking soda, salt and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a greased and floured 9 X 13 pan.

Combine chopped candy and pecans with the reserved butter mixture; sprinkle over coffeecake. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.