Sunday, December 5, 2010

BAKED Sunday Mornings: Sweet & Salty Brownies


Apologies for the poor picture. This is the second recipe chosen for BAKED Sunday Mornings! I was so excited to try this recipe because I tried the sweet & salty brownie when I visited Baked in Brooklyn last year. I'm also a sucker for brownies and caramel, so this seemed like the perfect combination. The directions for making the caramel were so easy and it came out perfectly! I've never had such good luck making caramel! I halved the recipe for the caramel and for the brownies and used an 8 inch square pan to bake them in. The brownie batter also came together easily in 1 bowl. I used milk chocolate because I didn't have any dark chocolate, but I think next time, I'd use dark chocolate like the recipe asks for. I used all the caramel that was made, although I think I used too much because a side note on the recipe says to be careful not to use too much because it could seep out and burn during baking. The caramel on mine didn't burn, but the brownies were really hard to cut and get out of the pan in one piece, even after I refrigerated the brownies for awhile. I thought for sure when the time was up that the brownies wouldn't be done, but my knife was clear after I pulled it out of the center of the brownies. The caramel layer just makes the middle of the brownies a very fudgy texture. I loved the fleur de sel and coarse sugar on top of the brownies!

 Watching closely until the thermometer gets to 350 degrees

The finished caramel



I was unable to get a picture of the brownies sliced and out of the pan, so here's another picture of the finished product. I can't wait to try the other recipes in Baked Explorations!

Go here for the brownie recipe and to see how the other participant's recipes came out. 

5 comments:

  1. Your caramel looks like it bubbled up in the pan like mine. I thought it looked wonderful when I peeked in the oven and saw it bubbling away. I think you will like making them with the dark chocolate because it probably cuts the sweetness down a bit. I should have cut down the recipe or made to 8" square pans so mine wouldn't have been so thick, but they sure taste good! Your caramel is a beautiful color.

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  2. Kristin, they look delish enough to eat out of the pan ! If you ever make these again ( I know I will ) line the entire pan -bottom and sides with parchment paper-and spray/grease the parchment. Then after they cool for a couple of hours you can lift out your little parchment harness that surrounds the brownies . And this is a great caramel recipe isn't it ?

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  3. I used Reynolds' nonstick aluminum foil to line my pan. Nothing sticks to it, it's awesome! Just leave a slight overhang of foil at the edges of your pan, and you can use them as handles to lift the whole batch out of your pan. Then I'll transfer them to a cutting board. The parchment works great, too! Either way, it definitely helps to line the pan. Oh, by the way, your brownies look delicious!

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  4. I totally recommend using either foil (spray it with nonstick spray), or parchment paper (spray that as well) ... leave excess overhang on the sides and then ... easy to pull out and trim the sides for you - while cutting perfect squares for everyone else! These brownies are so good though ... I'd probably be equally happy grabbing a spoon and eating it straight out of the pan! awesome job!

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  5. thanks everyone for the comments/suggestions- next time I make these I will definitely use parchment paper or foil and I'll use the dark chocolate too! This was a great pick : )

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