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Caramel Brownies
The perfect marriage of salty and sweet has been around forever (chocolate covered pretzels, anyone?), but it may have found its perfect format in a salted caramel brownie. The delightful sweet warmth of melty caramel mingles with the fudgy depth of a chocolate brownie , accentuated with the right amount of flaky salt. It’s an ideal union of flavors and texture, and it’s barely more work than making plain brownies.
In this recipe some of the caramel is layered into the brownies, and some is drizzled on top for the ultimate chocolate caramel experience in every bite.
Salted Caramel Brownies: The delightful sweet warmth of melty caramel mingles with the fudgy depth of a perfect chocolate brownie.
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Easiest Caramel Recipe
This caramel recipe is a total shortcut, a cheat, if you will. You simply melt packaged caramels with a bit of heavy cream over medium low heat. Using packaged caramels means that you don’t have to worry about caramelizing sugar, which can be a little tricky. With this method you will get thick smooth caramel that isn’t at all grainy and is very easy to work with.
What Kind of Salt to Use in Salted Caramel Brownies
In a perfect world you would use flaky sea salt, like Maldon in the brownie batter and for sprinkling at the end. If you have only kosher salt, you can use that instead. In the brownie batter it doesn’t matter all that much, but when you are sprinkling it on top the flaky sea salt really makes this dessert. But again, don’t NOT make these because you only have kosher salt; you’ll still be as pleased as punch with the results!
Salted Caramel in Brownies
Adding salt to caramel creates a beautiful ying/yang of salty sweetness. The small amount of salt really elevates and emphasizes the sweetness. In these brownies there is a bit of salt added to the brownie batter itself, and there is a bit of salt in the packaged caramels. Then, once the remaining caramel is drizzled over the top of the brownies a final sprinkle of salt can be added.
What to Serve with Salted Caramel Brownies:
Other Brownie Recipes:
- Best One-Pot Fudgy Brownies
- Butterscotch Brownies
- One-Pot Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies
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Salted Caramel Brownies
Ingredients
For the Brownies:
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher or flaky sea salt , plus more for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
For the Caramel Sauce:
- 1 (11-ounce bag) caramels
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon kosher or flaky sea salt , plus more for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 9–inch square baking pan or spray it with nonstick cooking spray.
Make the Brownie Batter:
- Place the butter and chocolate in a medium size saucepan over low heat and let melt together, stirring frequently. When the mixture is melted, stir in the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt, then blend in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, stirring to mix quickly so they don’t have a chance to cook at all before they are blended in. Blend in the flour.
Make the Caramel Sauce:
- In a medium heavy saucepan, melt the caramels with the cream over medium lo-heat. Stir frequently until the caramels have melted.
- Scrape half of the thick batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Drizzle about ⅔ of the caramel mixture over the top of the first layer of brownie batter somewhat evenly – don’t worry if it doesn’t over the whole surface. Use a tablespoon to dollop the rest of the brownie batter – it is very thick, so you will have space between the spoonfuls. Use an offset spatula or a butter knife (or your fingers) to gently pat and spread the spoonfuls of brownie mixture over the layer of caramel below. Use the back of a spatula or a butter knife (or your fingers!) to smooth the top of the brownies; you will probably see some sport of caramel peeking through the top layer of chocolate, which is just fine.
- Bake until the edges just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let the brownies cool in the pan on a wire rack.
- When the brownies are completely cool, drizzle the rest of the caramel over the top. You may have to rewarm the caramel slightly to make it loose enough to drizzle. Let the caramel set for at least 15 minutes, then sprinkle with a last tiny bit of flaky salt. Cut the brownies into 16 squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
