Salted Caramel Brownies are rich and fudgy made with chocolate chips, flaky salt, and gooey caramel in less than 45 minutes!
Our ovens are BUSY over here while we’re gearing up for the weekend, prepping everything to serve my famous Award Winning Gingerbread Cookies and Christmas White Chocolate Trash Snack Mix!
SALTED CARAMEL BROWNIES
These Salted Caramel Brownies have become a new favorite in our baking rotation. They are the perfect indulgent weekend treat, and the kids absolutely love helping me bake them. They get to drizzle on the melted caramel and make fun swirl patterns in the baking pan, while I handle all of the real mixing and baking.
The brownies have a gooey caramel center, with fudgy chocolate that’s topped with more drizzled caramel and flaked salt. The chocolate and caramel are melted in the microwave, which is perfect for little helpers learning how to cook. You can use a prepared salted caramel for this recipe, but the candies will be more firm.
One thing you must resolve before baking these brownies, you will have messy fingers when serving them, and when eating them. These aren’t neat brownies, but they are very indulgent, delicious and gorgeous when plated. Your guests won’t mind caramel on their hands.
What Makes Brownies Fudgy
Fudgy brownies have a rich chocolate texture and are more dense than other types of brownies. They’re made with more eggs and chocolate than flour, which gives them that amazingly chewy texture we love about fudgy brownies. When you pair that with caramel, you’ll swear you woke up in heaven.
I’m making caramel brownies, when do I add the caramel?
What you want here is a layered brownie. First you add half of the brownie mixture to your pan. Then you add half of the caramel in a thin layer to your pan, topped with the rest of your brownie batter. The remaining caramel is drizzled over the brownies, and topped with flaked salt. This will give you a nice looking layer of caramel right in the middle of the brownie, which will definitely impress anyone you serve it to.
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Can you make caramel brownies with hard caramel?
I prefer to make this caramel brownies recipe with hard caramel because when they cool you get a perfect caramel middle layer and topping that stays put. It’s also way easier to melt caramel candies instead of making it from scratch. You can use a homemade caramel sauce, but make sure it’s one that isn’t too runny, or your middle won’t harden correctly.
How to Store Caramel Brownies
Do not stack these brownies, since the caramel on top is liquid, you’ll ruin the topping to stack them.
Store caramel brownies in an airtight container, or wrap them tightly with plastic or tinfoil. They’ll last on the counter for up to a week. You can also wrap them individually with plastic wrap and freeze for 3-4 months. That way you can have caramel brownies any time you want!
Tips for How To Make Gooey Caramel Brownies
- Melt your chocolate in the microwave until there are no lumps. Be careful not to over cook it. Doing this in the microwave in 30 second increments helps prevent overcooking so you can keep a close eye on how far it’s melted without burning.
- Make sure you let your melted chocolate cool before adding it to your batter. Nobody wants scrambled eggs in their brownies. It helps to also bring your eggs and butter to room temperature before starting.
- Brownies can keep baking once they’re out of the oven, so make sure to watch them closely once they get close to the end of the cook time.
- Let your salted caramel brownies cool down completely before cutting into them. It may be tempting, but they’ll come out of the pan and cut much smoother once they’re at room temperature.
- If you don’t have flaked salt you can swap it out for sea salt. You can also sub in heavy cream for the milk if you want to make these extra decadent. I meant it is the holidays right?
- If you don’t have parchment paper, grease your baking dish with cooking spray, then dust it with all purpose flour or cocoa powder to keep the brownies from sticking.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips divided
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup flour divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 11 ounces wrapped caramels unwrapped
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons flake salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
- In a large microwave safe bowl add the butter, half the semisweet chips, unsweetened chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second increments until fully melted and mixed.
- Let cool while (in a separate bowl) you add eggs, instant espresso, vanilla and sugar into a bowl and whisk well.
- Add ½ cup flour, baking powder and salt and combine with the the cooled chocolate mixture.
- Mix the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate chips the rest of the flour in a small bowl and add the chips to the chocolate batter.
- Add milk to the caramels and microwave in 30 second increments until melted and fully whisked together.
- Add half the batter to the pan, pour over half the caramel in a thin pour, then top with remaining brownie batter.
- Bake for 35 minutes, then remove from the oven, drizzle the rest of the caramel over it (you may need to melt again in the microwave) and sprinkle with salt.
Notes
Nutrition
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Do u have to use espresso?
No, instant coffee would be good too!
Can you freeze these bars?
Yep 🙂
When do you add the eggs, instant espresso, vanilla and sugar mixture to the chocolate batter? Do you add it before or after the flour/baking powder step? Or after the 2nd chocolate chip/flour addition?
You’ll add the flour, baking powder and salt to the egg, espresso mixture and then add all of that to the chocolate mixture. Hope this clears things up!
I did something wrong. The caramel is too hard and they fell apart. To clarify, the extra 1/4 flour that goes with the last 7 oz of choc chips goes in the mixture, or just the chocolate chips dredged in flour goes in the mixture.
My caramel was too hard to really eat. It didn’t stay gooey. I used about 3 tbsp of heavy whipping cream. Any insight would be helpful
Yes, you’re correct about the extra flour part. I’m so sorry you had issues with the caramel. I sitting her racking my brain trying to figure out what might have happened. I didn’t have any issue with it getting hard with this technique. The only thing I can think of is that my caramel was “chewier”?? Sorry I don’t have a better answer.
Quick question, the semi sweet chocolate is it 14 ounces? It says 14 ounces divided but then the recipe states add remaining 6 ounces, so is it a total of 12 ounces? Thank you.
Thanks for catching that! Yes, it should read 12 ounces. I hope you enjoy them!
Sill question… what does it mean “leave behind excess flour?”
I’m not quite sure how that got added as it shouldn’t be in there. Thanks for catching it. I’ve updated the recipe card so hopefully, it doesn’t pop up again.
Love! Definitely gooey and delicious. I can’t believe that these will take less than 45-minutes too!
So glad you enjoyed them!
These are gooey & incredible!! Who wouldn’t love adding caramel to brownies?! I love caramel & chocolate together!
They are a perfect combination!
These were a huge hit! My kids loved it!
So glad you hear, Toni!
These are so perfect – love that hint of salt with the caramel!
Thanks, Erin!
This is pure decadence!
Thank you!
Recipe does not include the step to combine the two bowls of ingredients: one with chocolate mixture, one with egg/sugar mixture. I want to make sure I am doing this correctly. Your help with this is appreciated……
So sorry for the confusion. You’ll add the flour, baking powder and salt to the egg/sugar mixture and mix it in with the cooled chocolate. Hope this helps!
I’d like to make the salted caramel brownies, but you neglected to say what size pan to use—8×8, 9×13? Please advise.
My apologies, 9×13 pan, updating recipe card now!
I do not drink coffee. What is instant expresso, liquid or powder? Can I substitute something else or leave it out? Thanks
Here’s the link to the one that I use:
http://amzn.to/2lZjuZf
YUM! I love brownies and caramel! Thank you for this yummy recipe!
You’re welcome, Lexee!
Only the best dang brownies of all time!
I love the pretty caramel drizzle over the top … makes brownies even more special!
Oh yes!! Bring on the drizzle!
Drooling. These are amazing.
Thanks, Aimee!
These are definitely my kind of brownies!
You are one smart lady!
Chocolate & caramel is the best combination!! These are gooey & delicious!!
Enjoy!