¼teaspoonkosher 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 are melted.
Scrape half of the thick batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Drizzle about 2/3 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 sort 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
If your remaining caramel sauce firms up while the brownies are baking, just reheat it in the pot over low heat, stirring, until it is pourable for the final step. Then, allow it to firm up on the cooled brownies before serving.
To spread the top layer of the brownies over the caramel filling, dollop the thick batter over the brownies once the caramel sauce has been drizzled over. Use the back of a spatula or a butter knife (or your fingers!) to smooth the top of the brownies. If you see some of the caramel peeking through the top layer of chocolate, that is just fine; it will blend together perfectly as it bakes.
These will last for 2 days at room temperature in a tightly covered tin. Or keep them in the fridge for up to a week. Bring to room temperature before serving. These brownies can also be frozen for up to 6 months.