Caramel Brownies

Forget healthy New Years' resolutions.

Y'all these brownies were so good. 

Gooey, rich and a deeply genuinely chocolatey. 

At first I wasn't totally sure about the caramel layer

 but, trust me, it blends so well with the chocolate.

I made these for a student's birthday so I only got to eat one 

(well, half of one since I shared it with my roomie), 

but after I had delivered the remaining brownies

 I really wished I had made more. So I might just do that.

They were that good.

And they smelled so good that I couldn't wait for them to cool completely

I cut one out while it was still warm and had oozing caramel and chocolate chips.

Yum!

I didn't add pecans to this batch because honestly it didn't need them.

I might try it next time though and call them turtle brownies!

And, you can always do like 500 sit ups and work these off ;)

What You Need:

For the brownies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1½ cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1½ cups pecan, coarsely chopped (optional)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the caramel filling:
14 oz. caramel candies, unwrapped
1/3 cup heavy cream

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.  Combine the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth.  (Or,do what I did and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.) 

Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla until incorporated.  Stir in the flour and salt just until combined.  Spread about half of the brownie batter in the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, maintaining the oven temperature, and let cool for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the chopped pecans (if using) to a medium skillet over medium heat.  Toast, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and light golden brown.  Remove from the heat and set aside.  To make the caramel filling, combine the caramel candies and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth.  Stir in half of the pecans.  Immediately spread the caramel mixture over the bottom brownie layer.  

Pour the remaining brownie batter over the caramel layer, taking care to pour and spread it evenly otherwise it will be difficult to spread evenly over the caramel layer.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips and the remaining pecans on top of the final brownie layer.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving.  (To speed cooling, chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.)

Cut into individual squares and store in an airtight container. If you don't eat them all out of the pan right there. 

Source: From Annie's Eats, slightly adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather