SALTED CARAMEL BROWNIES...

So I fell in love over the weekend. This is a big deal people. You know why? It's a big deal because before Sunday (when I made these) I was not a big fan of caramel- at all. But over the long weekend, I was flipping through cookbooks for inspiration. Anything with chocolate always stops me from flipping pages, so I stopped when I saw these brownies in Ina's Garten's latest cookbook. I'd seen them several times before, but eventually would keep flipping because of the caramel. But this time I stopped flipping, put some clothes on (I was in my pj's) and headed to the grocery store for some caramel. I love brownies, A WHOLE LOT, and I just felt like these needed to be made despite my feelings about caramel...

So I baked them, let them cool and almost stopped there. But I kept going cautiously drizzled the caramel on top and sprinkled it with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes - an ingredient that will be in my kitchen for the rest of my life. I heart it. And I must say that I heart these brownies. The marriage of the rich and  very moist chocolate brownie with the caramel and flakes of salt are absolute perfection. Beyond perfection. I could have easily killed the whole batch, but I left that up to my co-workers - who killed it for me in about five minutes. So very good I tell ya...

Here is what you need and what to do:

8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter

3 oz unsweetened baker's chocolate

1 cup + 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3 eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Caramel sauce (store bought)

Flaked sea salt (I used Maldon Sea Salt)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9x2 baking pan with parchment paper and spray the paper with cooking spray. Set aside. 

2) Melt the butter, baker's chocolate and 1 cup of chocolate chips in a double boiler. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes. 

3) In a large bowl, mix the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla extract and 1 cup of the sugar together. Sift 1/2 cup of flour, baking powder and salt together over the egg mixture and stir. 

4) In a small bowl, mix 3/4 cup of chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of flour. This will keep the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom of the pan as the brownies bake.

5) Once the melted chocolate mixture is cooled all the way, add it to the egg mixture and stir. Then, add in the chocolate chip-flour mixture and stir. 

6) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

7) Right after the brownies come out of the oven, heat the caramel sauce in the microwave. Remember to remove the lid first! Drizzle the sauce over the warm brownies, then sprinkle with the sea salt. 

8) Let the brownies cool completely before cutting into squares. Enjoy!!

Image by me