Brownie Heaven

Lately, I've been wanting my brownies a little more dressed up. So, when I saw this recipe for microwave homemade caramel on Pinterest, I thought I'd combine it with my family's go-to brownie recipe, courtesy of my dad's mom, to make an even more decadent treat.

The outcome was good, but though my grandma's brownies are delicious and hold a special place in my heart (they were the first recipe I memorized as a child, we made them so often), they are a little more cakey than go well with caramel, which I think needs a gooier base.

So, I did another Pinterest search and found this brownie recipe, which I halved and combined with the microwave caramel one. The brownies came out amazing! They are the best caramel brownies I have had. Warm, they are very gooey and reminiscent of caramel lava cake.  Chilled, they are a bit more solid and the flavors are more distinct. I like the taste of the homemade caramel so much more than the stale, store-bought wrapped candies. And, it probably takes about the same time to actually make the caramel as it would to take the wrapping off of 50-odd pieces. I also substituted honey for the corn syrup, which gave it a nice, fragrant flavor.

I highly recommend trying these. My altered/combination recipe is below:


Decadent Caramel Brownies

For the brownie batter:

1 stick butter or margarine
6 oz. plus 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt

For the caramel:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease an 8" square pan. For the brownie batter, beat eggs in a mixing bowl. Add sugar. Melt butter and 6 oz. chocolate chips on the stove top or in the microwave and stir until smooth.  Add chocolate mixture to sugar and eggs while stirring. Mix in flour, vanilla, and salt. Fold in half of the remaining chocolate chips. Pour half of the brownie batter in the pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly set but still underdone.

A few minutes before the bottom brownie layer is done baking, combine all caramel ingredients into a microwave-safe container. Stir to combine. Microwave for approximately 6-7 minutes, stirring after each 2 minute interval. Caramel is done when it becomes smooth and is slow to drip off a spoon. Let caramel sit for a few minutes until it thickens slightly.

After caramel is slightly thickened, pour about 3/4 of it over the bottom brownie layer. Drop and spread the remaining brownie batter over caramel layer as best you can, covering most of the surface. Drop part or all of the remaining caramel over the brownie batter and draw a knife through the surface lightly to marble. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top. Note: I saved about 1/4 of the caramel batch to eat as candy by pouring it into a container while still warm. It can then be chilled and cut into squares. Putting all of it on the brownies will result in a lot of caramel. Amount of caramel used can be left to the baker's discretion.

Bake for 20-25 more minutes, until top brownie layer is set. Molten caramel will appear very runny, so check only the top brownie layer for doneness. Cool at room temperature for 45-60 minutes, or in the fridge for 20-30 before serving.