salted caramel fudge brownies
This masterpiece arrived as a result of fucking up another and needing to pivot on the fly.
Happily, it all worked out.
Brownies and cookies (or cookie bars) are my favorite baked goods of present. They feel therapeutic to watch progress from nothing to something. Plus, I’m a sucker for swiping a chocolate chip here or a taste of dough/batter there. Salmonella be damned.
I mangled part of another brownie recipe I was trying to create (I’ll revisit it, there’s definitely promise, but lordy it did not work out the first time around) and needed to quickly think of how to redeem the project since I had this glorious brownie batter waiting in the bowl to be used. Thankfully, I had some salted caramel sauce hanging out in my fridge, and I figured Why not salted caramel brownies?
Definitely not mad these came to fruition.
Soft and gooey, with a caramel layer and plenty of chocolate chips mixed within. If you’ve got a craving and you’ve got it bad, let these take care of your tastebuds.
Salty Like My Personality
Homemade caramel is not difficult, but it is finicky. You need to give it some love and attention, and the result is unbeatable.
Grab a little saucepan, and gently heat sugar until it melts and turns golden. Stir it frequently. Once it hits that nice color, throw in some butter and stir. The liquid will jump a bit, so take care not to be in the line of fire.
Slowly stream in the heavy cream and let the mixture simmer until it thickens a bit. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Let cool. The caramel will thicken more as the temperature falls.
Brownie Bonanza
And now, the brownies.
My formula for fudge brownies is very consistent, so if you’ve made any of my recent brownie recipes, you probably recognize the breakdown. Very simple to do, and perfect every time.
First, melt some butter with lots of chocolate chips until silky-smooth. Whisk in sugar and brown sugar. The slight amount of brown sugar lends an extra caramelization, and hence a fudgier texture, to the baked brownies.
In another bowl, beat your eggs to death until frothy and bubbly. Doing so gives the brownies that flaky, crackly top. A few minutes should do the trick here.
Lower the speed on the mixer and stream in the chocolate-butter-sugar mixture. Then, stir in some vanilla and instant espresso. The latter is not required, but I love a little coffee to boost the richness of the chocolate.
Finish with your dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a little salt. Mix until just combined, then fold in some more chocolate chips with a spatula. The batter will be very decadent and rich, and yes, you will want to plunge your whole face into it.
Wearing Layers
The anatomy of the brownies is as follows: batter, caramel, batter. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Spread half the batter into a parchment-lined 9 x 9 cake pan. Then, smooth some salted caramel overtop. Finish with the remaining batter. Don’t sweat if some of the caramel pokes through. I actually love when it hardens on the edges – adds a nice little crunch.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until your toothpick isn’t sweaty with raw batter. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool the brownies. They need a little time to solidify or else you’ll have brownie crumbs on your hands when you try to slice them. Delicious, but not practical.
Serve immediately, with extra salted caramel sauce and/or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I recommend that duo.
If you’re storing the brownies for later, let them cool completely to room temp, pack ’em up in an airtight container, and anticipate deliciousness for 5 days at room temp, a week in the fridge, or a month in the freezer. Emergency brownies are always a good time.
As for the salted caramel sauce, it keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Perfect if you’d like to whip up a batch of Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate on a chilly day. Wink wink.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Brownie points:
salted caramel fudge brownies
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp instant espresso (optional)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce (recipe below), plus more for drizzling
salted caramel sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the caramel sauce. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar until melted, whisking frequently. Toss in the butter. Let it melt, stirring occasionally – take care, as the liquid will sputter. Slowly stream in the heavy cream, whisking constantly until thickened slightly, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Let cool – the sauce will thicken further as it cools.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 9 inch square pan with parchment, leaving some to overhang the sides.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and 1 cup of chocolate chips for 1 minute. Stir until the bowl is no longer warm. If needed, heat 20-30 seconds longer until the mixture is very smooth. Whisk in the sugar and brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until very frothy and bubbly, about 3-4 minutes. Lower the speed and stream in the chocolate mixture. Whip in the instant coffee (if using) and vanilla.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir until just combined. With a spatula, fold in the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.
- Spread 1/2 of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Gently pour the salted caramel sauce overtop (you will not use all of it) and spread from edge to edge. Add the remaining brownie batter on top. Don't worry if some of the salted caramel sauce pokes out.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the center is set and an inserted toothpick emerges with just a few moist crumbs. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool at least 30 minutes. Slice into bars and serve, topping with additional salted caramel sauce, as desired.
