If you’re looking for the ooey-ist, gooey-ist caramel brownie recipe, look no further. I’ve combined the original HIH brownie recipe with the creamiest, dreamiest, caramel center one could possibly create. The result is the most INCREDIBLE caramel brownies you’ll ever make or eat. Whether you’ve got something to celebrate, someone to cheer up, or you just want to bake, this recipe should be at the top of your list!
When I set out to create this recipe I knew I already had a solid brownie recipe, the HIH brownies are one of the highest viewed recipes on the blog. Creating the perfect caramel center was going to be the challenge. I tested the recipe so many times. So many times I had to start shipping out the extras from each batch to friends! Side note: these brownies ship and freeze wonderfully! It was becoming dangerous for the pants and belts around our home have such a consistent inventory of fresh baked brownies.
Recipe Evolution – Perfecting Caramel Brownies
The caramel filling had to scream CARAMEL! It couldn’t be too thin or the brownies would slide apart when sliced, it couldn’t be so thick or sugary it would get stuck in the teeth, and it had to be easy to make. Batch after batch, I got closer!
If you look up most caramel brownie recipes, they’ll call for a bag of Kraft caramel candies. Those little individually wrapped squares of caramel you only stop eating because they are annoying to unwrap. I started here. After unwrapping an entire bag, I knew that would be the last time. I was not writing a recipe that required this task. There’s a reason so many recipes use this ingredient, they turned out delicious!
After crossing unwrapping caramel candies off the list, I figured making a homemade caramel was going to be the ticket. Again, the result was delicious, but I could not nail the consistency. The first batch was too thin and the brownie layers kept slipping around. You can imagine the mess. Another batch was too thick and ended up so sticky I brushed my teeth twice that evening! Homemade caramel is also a pretty tedious and a little unpredictable to make. So, back to square one.
Finally on the Right Track
In the baking aisle, I happened across Kraft caramel bits. The label states “unwrapped for easy melting.” Bingo! After melting down the bits, I wasn’t satisfied with the consistency so I added a can of sweetened condensed milk. Now consistency was just right, but the caramel flavor wasn’t as strong as I wanted. I was stumped, and beginning to think I’d set an impossible standard. Never give up!
I didn’t have another bag of the caramel bits, but I did have can of dulce de leche in my pantry. I melted the dulce de leche into the caramel bits and sweetened condensed milk , one taste and knew I had a winner!
The Final Filling
It only took one more test bake to to land on the perfect caramel filling. Melting the sweetened condensed milk and dulce de leche together provided the caramel flavor and thick creamy texture which stood up to the baking time. Instead of melting the caramel bits ahead of the bake, I sprinkled them over the top of the SCM/DDL mixture before the top layer of brownie batter. The bits don’t melt completely, but they do get soft and gooey, so there’s a slight textural component and a hit of full caramel flavor. Very similar to adding chocolate chips to a brownie batter. Finally, I checked all the boxes and landed on the PERFECT caramel filling for caramel brownies.
Keys to Success
- Read the original HIH brownie recipe post. All of the tips and tricks for the brownie batter can be found there. You can also take a look at the How to Do – Brown Butter post if you want to take a deeper dive.
- Make sure not to use more than 1/2 the batter in the first layer. If you use too much batter for the first layer, there won’t be enough to cover the caramel filling. There’s no way to go back. Just enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan is all you need. I’ve been mostly successful in eyeballing, but you could weigh the batter using a food scale to get super precise.
- Don’t be alarmed when the brownies have a bit of jiggle to them when you take them out of the oven. The caramel filling will be very liquid until it cools down enough to set. It will seem like you’ve got raw brownies, but I promise, after 40+ minutes of cooking, they aren’t raw, but they do need to cool down for at least an hour before trying to cut.
- Be careful not to overheat the dulce de leche and sweetened condensed milk. If the mixture gets too hot or starts to boil, you could end up with super sticky center vs. a smooth creamy caramel center. As soon as the two ingredients melt together, turn the heat to low or even off. It only needs to be warm enough to be pourable.
Fudgy Salted Caramel Brownies
Equipment
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Heatproof measuring cup
- 1 9"x13" dark metal baking pan
- 1 Parchment paper – I love the pre-cut sheets!
- 1 Rubber spatula
- 2 Medium sauce pans
- 1 Whisk
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 1 offset spatula
Ingredients
Brownie Batter
- 2 ½ sticks room temperature salted butter cut into chunks
- 3 tablespoons softened butter for greasing the pan
- 8 oz semisweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, or 60-70% cacao dark chocolate chips or roughly chopped
- ¾ cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder divided (1/4 cup, 1/2 cup)
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder or 1 shot espresso
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ tablespoon flaky sea salt optional, but recommended for the top
Caramel Filling
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- 13.4 oz dulce de leche 1 can
- 11 oz Kraft caramel bits 1 bag
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
- In a saucepan, over medium low heat, combine the sweetened condensed milk and dulce de leche. Using a whisk, begin to work the two ingredients together as they heat. Once a homogenous mixture is achieved, turn the heat as low as it goes and stir occasionally until it's time to assemble the brownies.
- Add the butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until the butter just comes to a vigorous simmer, continue cooking over medium heat for approximately 6-8 minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until the butter turns a golden brown and smells nutty and rich. The butter will foam and sizzle, you'll see the color come through the foam. Watch closely so the butter doesn't burn!
- Grease a 9×13-inch dark metal pan with softened butter, then line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on all sides. Grease the parchment with softened butter. You could also use cooking spray if you don't want to mess with smearing butter, but butter will give the best result.
- Combine the chocolate, ¼ cup of cocoa powder, and espresso or espresso powder in a heatproof liquid measuring cup or medium bowl and set aside.
- Immediately pour the hot browned butter over the chocolate mixture and whisk until the chocolate is completely smooth and melted, then set aside for a few minutes to cool.
- Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs in a large bowl. Beat with an electric hand or stand mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. It will be similar to the texture of extra fluffy pancake batter.
- With the mixer on, pour in the slightly cooled chocolate and butter mixture and blend until smooth.
- Sift in the flour and remaining ½ cup cocoa powder and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until just combined. This will take some patience in folding.
- Pour ½ the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Evenly pour the sweetened condensed milk/dulce de leche mixture over the top of the brownie batter. Use an offset spatula to carefully smooth the mixture. Evenly sprinkle the caramel bits over the top followed by the remaining brownie batter. Use the offset spatula to smooth the batter to cover the caramel filling.
- Bake at 350° F until lightly puffed on top, about 25 minutes.
- Remove the baking pan from the oven using oven mitts or kitchen towels, then lightly drop the pan on a flat surface 2-3 times until the brownies deflate slightly. Sprinkle with the sea salt if desired.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out fudgy but the edges look cooked through, about 23-25 minutes more. The center of the brownies will seem a little under-baked, but that's because they are so fudgy!
- Set the brownies on a cooling rack and cool completely in the pan. This could take about an hour.
- Use the parchment paper to lift the cooled brownies out of the pan. Cut into 12 big brownies or 24 small brownies and enjoy!
Notes
- Could you substitute melted butter for the brown butter? Sure, you could. The brown butter is what makes this recipe extra special, but I’ve also been in a big hurry and made these with just melted butter and they were still pretty darn special!
- Could you substitute natural process cocoa powder for dutch process? You could and the brownies would be delicious, but they won’t have that signature dark chocolate color and extra fudgy texture as they would if you went with the dutch process.
- The time it takes to beat the egg/sugar mixture is about the same amount of time as it takes to brown the butter. If you’re using a stand mixer to beat your eggs, you can brown the butter (just don’t forget to let it cool a bit after melting the chocolate before adding it to your eggs so you don’t accidentally end up with a scrambled egg situation) while you’re browning the butter. If you can master this, this recipe BARELY takes longer than a boxed brownie mix.
- I find that regular salted butter from the grocery store has just the right level of salt. I know this is a no-no for most bakers, BUT, this hasn’t let me down yet! If you’d rather start with unsalted butter, add two teaspoons of kosher salt to the sugar/egg mixture.
- Not into salt on your sweets? The sky is the limit when it comes to toppings. Candies, sweetened coconut, or the traditional dusting of powdered sugar would also be excellent!
Nutrition
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