Rich and decadent chocolate brownies with a salty-sweet caramel drizzle on top. These brownies are RIDICULOUSLY good! They are gooey on the inside and crunchy on the outside with that delicious caramel on top.
The salted caramel is in the brownie batter and drizzled on top. There is caramel all over these brownies! Homemade caramel is the best and surprisingly easy to make. For caramel, you only need three ingredients sugar, butter, and heavy cream. It takes about 15 minutes to make on the stove and you can store a large batch for a future date. Brownies are my favorite dessert because I love the rich chocolate flavor and how soft and gooey they are to eat.
I made these because I was craving a sweet dessert filled with chocolate as I always do. I love that this recipe has an extra flavor element with the salted caramel mixed in the brownies and drizzled on top. It is the perfect dessert to make on the weekend because it will last the week to enjoy. Brownies are great to enjoy with friends because you can cut them into bite-size pieces.
Why are these brownies so good?
These brownies are thick squares that are fudgy and gooey on the inside. Baking the brownie batter in an 8x8 baking pan makes the brownies taller and thicker than a classic brownie in a 9x13 baking pan. Brownies can be hard to make and when I first started making brownies they would come out too cakey or dry. The key to this recipe is using melted chocolate and butter folded into the fluffy egg batter. This helps lift the brownies while they bake and creates that extra fudgy consistency.
A few tips to success:
Salted caramel - when you make salted caramel over the stove the key is that you must watch it at all times. You can easily burn the sugar as it melts and then the caramel is not salvageable. The sugar crystals will melt and become completely liquid so don't worry if it looks chunky at first. After you make caramel squares in the freezer you can melt them back to a liquid consistency in the microwave. I poured the caramel after I cut the brownies into square however, you can smooth out the caramel on the full brownie and then cut into squares.
Storage - the brownies can store in an air-tight container for 4-5 days. If you want them to last for longer you can keep the brownies in the fridge.
Chocolate - I used a rich semi-sweet chocolate bar (Guittard brand) for the melted chocolate. Any type of semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate will do for these brownies. I prefer high-quality chocolate because it makes the brownies extra rich and decadent.
Baking - the brownies take about an hour to bake depending on your oven. Since the brownies are in a thicker pan it does take longer to make. I stick a toothpick in the center to see if it comes out clean. If the brownie batter isn't jiggling anymore and the toothpick comes out clean then it is ready to be taken out of the oven.
Parchment paper - I would recommend using parchment paper in the baking dish to make it easy to remove the brownies after baking. These brownies do stick to the pan and it is challenging to take out after baking. I made the mistake of not using parchment paper and it took me a while to remove the brownie squares.
Check out how to make these brownies in the video below:
Salted Caramel Drizzle Brownies
Serving size: 16 brownies
Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Source: Adapted from kickass baker
Brownies:
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
4 eggs
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Salted Caramel:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Step 1: Make the caramel first. In a saucepan, heat sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly. The sugar will begin to melt and turn an amber-gold color as the liquid forms. Always keep an eye on this step so you don't burn the sugar.
Step 2: Once sugar is completely melted, add in butter. Let the mixture boil for a minute until the caramel starts to form. Add in the heavy cream while stirring the mixture. Boil for one minute then remove from the heat and stir in the salt.
Step 3: Pour into a baking dish or tray and place in the freezer to firm up, while you make the brownies.
Step 4: Make the Brownies. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper or grease the baking dish with butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 5: Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Let cool. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until light yellow. This took me about 5 minutes. Add sugar, chocolate, and butter mixture and mix well. Add vanilla then add flour and beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Step 6: Remove the salted caramel from the freezer and lift the parchment out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut the caramel into squares. Place the caramel squares on top of the brownie batter. Don't use all the caramel and save extra squares to drizzle on top after the brownies are baked.
Step 7: Bake the brownies for 45-55 minutes or until a fork or toothpick comes out clean. Let the brownies cool. Cut the brownies into squares. Then warm up the caramel squares in the microwave and drizzle the caramel on top of the brownies. Enjoy!
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