So if you’re looking for a dessert that will present super well, don’t make these. BUT if you’re looking for something that is just ridiculously good, and will melt in your mouth (and in your hands), then this is the dish you should make. These salted caramel brownies are amazing, while also a tad messy. But sometimes a little mess is good, well really only when it comes to food, otherwise I tend to avoid messes. The type-A part of me doesn’t deal well!

A few weeks ago I decided to go a little over the top for the dessert course of a dinner we were throwing. When I say over the top, I mean I had as many kinds of cookies as we did people. Oops. Blame it on needing blog material. So while these may not have been the prettiest item on the plate (that went to the awesome strawberry lemonade bars), they were definitely one of the items everyone kept coming back to.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup flour
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
8 ounces 70-75% dark chocolate, chopped (buy at Trader Joe’s if you can, so much cheaper for huge bars)
2 sticks butter, cut into cubes
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup caramel sauce (I used Trader Joe’s, which was a little less thick, so I only did about 1/2 cup)
3 pinches of sea salt for the top of the brownies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix flour and cocoa powder with a whisk. Set aside.

2. In a double broiler if you have it, or heat proof bowl over a pot of boiling water if you don’t, mix the butter and chocolate. Stir until both have melted completely. Turn off the heat, but with the bowl still over the pot of water, add the white and brown sugars and whisk until combined. Remove from stove and let the bowl come to room temperature.

3. Add 3 of the eggs to the chocolate and butter mixture and whisk completely before adding the remaining 2 eggs and vanilla.

4. Fold the flour/cocoa mixture into the other mixture, and mix until everything is just barely incorporated. You want to try not to overbeat this batter.

5. Grease a 9 x 9 x 3 inch pan. You may want to line it with wax paper to help the removal/cutting process. I didn’t do this, but will be trying it next time. Pour the batter into the pan. Then pour the caramel on top. Try to smooth the caramel so that it is covering the entire top.

6. Bake for 30-33 minutes. It’s ok if things still look a little soft, you want these to be slightly undercooked.

7. Let the brownies cool. Then cut into small squares and top each with a few grains of sea salt.