Fat Witch Bakery’s Legendary Chocolate Caramel Brownies are soft, crisp, gooey, chocolate-y, chewy, decadent, rich, fudgy and cakey all in one bite. I know what you’re thinking, “Sure they are, they’re just brownies, how are they ALL of those things?!” The only thing I can say is these aren’t legendary for being one dimensional average brownies. There are lines and fanatics for this bakery because what they do is magic. These brownies may as well be magical they are so good.
The better you get to know me you’ll understand my love/eh relationship with chocolate. In its most basic form I could take or leave chocolate (I’m a fried/salty craver), but in its most pure and delicious forms, I LOVE it. Fat Witch Bakery Brownies, Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies, Jacque Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies and my all time favorite David Lebovitz’s Chocolate Idiot Cake. Put any of those things on a table in front of me (even next to some In ‘n Out!) and it is no contest, I will eat the whole plate of chocolate.
Every time my husband and I would visit New York when we lived in Washington DC we would head to the Fat Witch Bakery in the morning for fresh brownies with our coffee (I would grab two caramel ones and my husband would get an original) and then on the way out of the city in the evening we would pop by for happy hour. Seeing one of these caramel brownies at happy hour is like spotting a unicorn, but I did one time! I bought 4 of them for half off, promptly took them home and froze them! These brownies are worth hoarding!
If you haven’t been to the bakery it can be hard to understand why a brownie might be worth the effort these take. Like the 36 hour chocolate chip cookies, these are worth the effort!
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9×9 baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper. These brownies are STICKY when they cool, you’ll need help getting them out! In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate, in 30 second increments.
After two rounds the butter should be melted. Let the bowl sit for 2-3 minutes and the heat will melt the chocolate.
Stir them together until fully combined and let cool. Put the caramels in a microwave safe bowl with the water.
Microwave for 1 minute, let sit for 2-3 minutes.
Stir until smooth and fully combined.
In a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light and creamy, for 2-3 minutes. Add the cooled chocolate and mix until combined. Add in the flour and salt until fully combined.
Pour half of the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan.
Pour the caramel sauce onto the brownie layer, leaving a half inch border all the way around with no caramel, this will help prevent as much caramel leaking as possible (we will still have some though).
Place the pan and the remaining brownie batter in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, to allow the caramel to harden.
Remove the pan from the refrigerator and add the rest of the batter.
Spread the rest of the batter evenly over the caramel in an even layer.
Bake for 35 minutes. Do not over bake, the brownies will dry out. Cool for an hour before removing from the pan. The caramel may cause stickyness even with the parchment and the spray, so you may have to be careful cutting them.
Ingredients
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter (look, I said legendary, not light!)
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon bittersweet chocolate disks (I use Guittard)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch of Kosher salt
- 30 caramel squares , unwrapped and in a small bowl
- 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Spray a 9x9 baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper.
- These brownies are STICKY when they cool, you'll need help getting them out!
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate, in 30 second increments.
- After two rounds the butter should be melted. Let the bowl sit for 2-3 minutes and the heat will melt the chocolate.
- Stir them together until fully combined and let cool.
- Put the caramels in a microwave safe bowl with the water.
- Microwave for 1 minute, let sit for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir until smooth and fully combined.
- In a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light and creamy, for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cooled chocolate and mix until combined.
- Add in the flour and salt until fully combined.
- Pour half of the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan. Set the pan aside.
- Pour the caramel sauce onto the brownie layer, leaving a half inch border all the way around with no caramel, this will help prevent as much caramel leaking as possible (we will still have some though).
- Place the pan and the remaining brownie batter in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, to allow the caramel to harden.
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator and spread the rest of the batter evenly over the caramel in an even layer.
- Bake for 35 minutes.
- Do not over bake, the brownies will dry out.
- Cool for an hour before removing from the pan.
- The caramel may cause stickyness even with the parchment and the spray, so you may have to be careful cutting them.
Notes
Nutrition
I wish I could give you tips on how to make this better. The best thing I can say is stick 100% to the recipe. At least for the first time you make it. I know it is is a lot of butter. TRUST ME, my second spin class that day was because I ate two more of these than I thought I would! But to truly appreciate the wonder that these brownies are, give them a fair chance to impress you the first time you make them. 🙂
Sabrina can I used a jarred caramel sauce and if so how much would I need?
Thank you Marla
I’m glad you asked Marla. I wouldn’t recommend using sauce. It will be too runny when baked. Let us know if you try the recipe!
I would like to make the brownies thicker and would like to know if you think it would work to either double the batter ingredients or increase the batter ingredients by 50%? If you think that would work, approximately how much longer would I need to bake them?
Perhaps you’d like to try my Super Rich Chocolate Brownies.
https://dinnerthendessert.com/super-rich-chocolate-brownies/
Decadent and delicious!!! I added 3/4 C roughly chopped pecans on top of the caramel (before the top layer of chocolate). The result was a scrumptious, soft turtle-like brownie! My new favorite!!!
Ooh ooh these look DeVine ???I going to have to try this recipe out, my husband will devour them up???. Just a question for you miss Sabrina Snyder, do you melt the butter and then the chocolate or do you melt both together in a bowl?
when changed to metric it’s 2.2 kg sugar ??
The recipe does not say to refrigerate the batter before adding the caramel layer so my caramel sank into the batter. It only says to refrigerate it after adding the caramel later. I didn’t realize my mistake until I read the comments. I’m sure this batch is ruined.
On the written recipe there is a ? for amounts needed of flour and chocolate discs. Can you tell me how much flour and chocolate I need.
Thank you,
Patty
Sorry about that there was a glitch in the recipe card, I fixed it.
Your recipes doesn’t state the amount of flour needed for the recipe. there is a “?” for the amount
Sorry about that there was a glitch in the recipe card, I fixed it.
Not worth making. It didnt seem like there was enough batter to cover the pan or the caramel. They didnt taste that great either.
I have a block of caramel. Can that be used and what woukd the conversion be?
I think you’ll need about 8-9 ounces of caramel.
I’ve made these numerous times. They are absolutely thee best brownies out there. Rich, delicious and oh so YUMMY??
They’re the best!!
I want to make these yummy looking brownies. I am curious if you can use the Smuckers caramel that comes in a jar rather than caramel squares. Thanks for the recipe.???
I’ve not tried it but I would think you would need to use a sauce and not a syrup (just googled it and saw it comes as both). If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!
These look OMG-AMAZING!! ? DEFINITELY making these!! Just out of curiosity (definitely not picking or being difficult ??)……is there a specific reason the caramels are combined with water, and not milk? Just wondering as my thought process is…caramels are made with milk, so why not use milk to melt them. I’ve wondered this about other recipes too, not just this one. Thanks! ?
No real specific reason, it’s just how I’ve always done it. I hope you enjoy them!
Hi, I like to make these incredible good looking brownies, but I have one question: how heavy are those 30 caramels? Because I live in Iceland and I´m not sure they are the same size as yours and knowing the weight would help a lot 🙂
I would guess about 8 ounces. Hope this helps!
I too thought these brownies looked delicious so I went ahead and made them. I actually thought they were a little ‘bleh’. They just didn’t have much chocolate flavor. Typically I love brownies and caramel, but it was pretty easy to pass on a second piece of these. I plan to try them again but will use a full cup of the chocolate chips and hope for better results.
Hi There,
So I just made these exactly according to the directions and it came out runny like it needed a lot more time. What did I do wrong? They were delicious but more of a brownie pudding. I’m new to more complicated baking so I’m sure it’s me, I just want to make them again and want them to come out more like the picture. Thank you for your time and recipes.
Oh no! It sounds like the caramel wasn’t cool enough, an incredibly important step of this recipe. Or another reason could be that it possibly wasn’t cooked long enough. I’m glad they were still delicious but definitely try again! Good luck!
I made these and baked them as instructed. They were runny and raw. so disappointed.
Hi Melissa, are you referring to the caramel being runny? This means you may not have refrigerated the caramel long enough. There is a chance maybe you added too much water to the caramels or it could be the caramel seeped out of the side if not sealed well enough. This recipe has a few spots where there can be a pitfall, but when it works (we make these often) the results are worth it. I’m sorry this did not work out for you. The recipe (and the bakery it came from) is a favorite.
I really want to make these tonight problem is I don’t have the bittersweet chocolate also I live forty min away from a store and it’s storming outside I have a bag of semi sweet Chocolate chips and a bag of ghiradelli unsweetened chocolate powder
The depth of flavor from the bittersweet chocolate will be noticeable but I guarantee swapping it with a bag of semi sweet will still produce a DELICIOUS brownie! 🙂
I made these yesterday, and they were INCREDIBLE! My only problem was…I had to bake them longer than the time posted on the recipe. About 20 minuets longer. These make great “Girls night in” snacks!
So glad you enjoyed them, Ava!
do you know if these can be kept in the freezer for a week or two after baking?
Yes, you definitely can though I will tell you to make sure they’re fully thawed before biting into it because the caramel inside stays harder and you don’t want to break a tooth biting into one. Speaking from experience on that one, lol!
I followed the directions to a tee. My batter was runny like cake, but i kept going. When i put the caramel on top it sank. Is this batter only suppose to have 1/2 cup of flour?
I’m so sorry I missed your comment! The flour amount is correct but I’m thinking that maybe it should’ve been left in the fridge longer for the caramel not to sink as much.
I would chew off my own leg for one of these right now. It’s just after 2:00 am – a perfectly reasonable time to head down to the kitchen and toss it up for a good cause. Brownie lust, indeed.
If I manage to avoid a caramel coma, I will be back to let you know how they turned out.
Haha! Love your way of thinking! Hopefully, your caramel coma is temporary and I hear back from you!
I was trying to find out if I could use 4 oz of bittersweet bar chocolate in place of the discs?
Absolutely!
Hello, I have a 4-oz package of bittersweet chocolate (not the chips), do you think that would work in place of the chips?
Absolutely 🙂
I just made a batch of these brownies. They are definitely worth it, even my neighbors agree! My hubby and I absolutely love them!
These look soooo delish. Can I use semi-sweet chocolate instead of Bittersweet? I want to throw in some pecans also!
absolutely! I just super love bittersweet, semi-sweet would be absolutely delicious.
Can I use the caramel that I made boiling sweetened condensed milk instead of the candy?
Without knowing your recipe for caramel, it’s hard to say, but if the caramel doesn’t set in the fridge then it will be absorbed by the batter when you bake it.
HI I found your from Pinterest. I am doing a Round Up blog post later in March for National Chocolate Caramel Day (the 19th) and am interested in including this recipe in that round up. I would like to use a picture from the post, with links back to your site/this post. I would promote it on my all my social media platforms and would share the link with you so that you could do the same if you wish. If you are not interested, I understand, I will not use your post/images without your permission.
Thank you for your time.
I’d be honored 🙂
Thank you so much!!! I will be sure to send you a link to it when it is finished so that you can share as well if you wish.
caramels that you used are chewy or hard toffies? i am from pakistan and here it is difficult to find caramel squares. if you would tell me the exact thing then i can replace it with chewy candies or hard ones
Chewy 🙂
thank you so much 🙂
I made these tonight, followed the directions exactly and when I went to cut them they were still liquid on top underneath a crisp crust?! Any ideas what could’ve gone wrong? they are back in the oven forr an additional 30 minutes we will see if I can salvage this batch…
The top was totally liquid and the bottoms were burnt? The crisp bottom tells me your caramel sank. That would happen if they weren’t chilled enough. Did you refrigerate the caramel until it had hardened? I’d be happy to troubleshoot with you, email me at sabrina @ dinnerthendessert.com
Don’t have a 9×9 pan right now, I have a 9×13 pan can I use that?
If you use that double the recipe. The brownies will be way too thin otherwise. I frequently make this in a 9×13 with double the ingredients. If you don’t have the ingredients available, use a muffin tin, bake for 15-18 minutes but keep an eye on them to see if it takes a few more minutes for the tops to set. Definitely don’t bake these in a 9×13 with the single quantities, the caramel would not have a chance to be in the middle and it would bake on the bottom and make a hard pancake. Hope that helps 🙂
Question: I made these yummy things and my caramel all sunk to the bottom. Is it supposed to do that? Or is it supposed to stay in the middle-ish?
So it is almost impossible to avoid a tiny bit of it shifting but all of it? I’ve never seen that. Did you put the caramel in the fridge to harden after pouring it on? If you skipped or shortened that step and the caramel was still really liquidy it would definitely mix in/sink more. If you want to troubleshoot I am always around! [email protected] 🙂
It’s possible that I didn’t refrigerate it the full 20 min, I forgot to set the timer so had to ballpark it. I’ll try it again setting the timer. I just didn’t know if maybe the caramel was too warm when I put it on or something. Or if it was just supposed to sink. 🙂 Thanks for your reply!
Yeah you really need that caramel to not be warm. If it is it sort of melts away into the batter. There are times I have made these for large client events, I even leave it in the fridge for an hour. It really only helps the harder that caramel is before going into the oven. PS, when I do that I keep the batter for the top half in the fridge too because I am doing many trays of them so I want everything as cold as possible. If you want to troubleshoot some more definitely feel free to email me at [email protected] 🙂
Can I make this the night before and keep it refrigerated until the next day? I don’t want it to dry out. Thank you!!!
Won’t dry out! Trust me. I have kept these in a closed container for 4 days and they are just amazing even on day 4. With all that butter….haha.
Would these travel well? I’m thinking of making them the Wednesday before thanksgiving-we will have about a 5 hour drive Thursday morning.
So sorry for not responding sooner – your message accidentally ended up in the spam folder! Yes, you can keep them for up to four days and they should be just as moist as the day you made them!
I made these for my teachers for writing me recommendations. I didn’t spray the pan enough and they came out as a mess, but still, my teacher spent half of class talking to me about them and getting the recipe from me rather than teaching 🙂 She said they were the best brownies she’s ever had (and I’m pretty sure her daughter owns a bakery??). I agree.
Thanks, Sabine!!!
Aww thanks Shoshy! I’m so glad she enjoyed them!
Would these turn out okay if I double the recipe & bake in a 13×18 jelly roll pan? I need to make for a large crowd.
To be honest, I would triple it. 13×18 is huge so I would triple it 🙂 Man I want to come to your party!