Salted caramel brownies
07.17.2012 
The weekend was as awesome and filled with tummy-butterflies as I anticipated. I felt so fulfilled (and quite tired) when we were all safe at home on Sunday evening. I let my boys go away for an entire weekend with their auntie, my generous and wonderful sister. This was huge for me. I spend so much time with my monkeys these days that letting them go so far away and for two whole nights was, well, a big deal. Ultimately I knew I had to let go, and let them have fun with their auntie and cousins, away from me, for a few days. It was the right decision. They had a blast. They are still completely exhausted from the fun that was had.
And the other huge part of the weekend was that I made my first skydive in four years. I honestly cannot believe it had been that long. Before Elijah was born I was skydiving every weekend in the summer-time. Since the summer I found out I was pregnant with Sammy, I hadn't made a single jump.
I knew the boys were going to be with my sister for the weekend, so I made the decision to jump! Skydiving has always been one of the only things to make me forget my worries and to make me feel free, at-peace, liberated, empowered and wonderful (and on and on). I found out on Saturday that nothing had changed. It felt incredible to be back in the sky again. And to make it even better, I was able to make my first jump back with my wonderful husband!
And that's not all that was great about the weekend. After three attempts, I was finally able to create a Salted Caramel Brownie recipe that I was happy with. Very happy with! Salted caramel is such a trendy combination of tastes right now, and there is good reason for that. These brownies are truly delicious, you guys. And super easy to make. Trust me, you have to try them.
First, make the brownies!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving at least a 1-inch overhang on all sides.
In a large bowl, combine:
15.5-oz. box brownie mix (with chocolate chunks...mmm!)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
With a spoon, mix until combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the brownies cool completely.
In the meantime, prepare the salted caramel! Are my exclamation points annoying?! I can't help it, I'm high from being reunited with the sky!!!!!!
In a medium saucepan, combine:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Set your heat to high and cook, stirring, until the mixture reaches 250 degrees. It took me exactly 10 minutes to reach this point.
Remove from the heat and stir in:
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup sour cream
Stir until creamy. Pour the caramel sauce over the cooled brownies.
Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt over the top.
Refrigerate until the caramel is firm, 2 to 3 hours. Cut into squares and serve!
After refrigerating, the caramel was firm enough to set out at room temperature. Personally, I preferred them just out of the refrigerator. Either way was truly delicious. I shared these with a handful of people and every one of them let out a satisfied groan.
Enjoy! Here is to a week filled with tummy butterflies and wonderful things for everyone!
Printable recipe: Salted caramel brownies
Salted caramel in Brownies
Reader Comments (14)
These look delicious! I'm all about caramel and have yet to try salting the stuff. I've heard it does wonders for the flavor, so I'll have to give it a whirl :)
Those brownies look scrumptious and delicious. Can't wait to try the recipe.
They looks amazing! That salted caramel on top especially :D
good for you on doing the jump. i enjoy the pictures about you and your life just as much as your awesome recipes!
What if I only have larger brownie mix? How would I increase the caramel - double the recipe and not use all of it?
Hi Jen! I think it would be fine to use the larger size brownie mix. Match the amount of eggs to what is listed on the back of the box and match the amount of butter to the amount of oil recommended on the box. You can leave the caramel as it is. Hope this helps!
Megan
Hi, I followed the directions on this exactly. Even went out and got a candy thermometer. However, my caramel came out kind of clear/white. What happened?
Hi Kayte. I always hesitate to post recipes dealing with caramel because it is extremely finicky. I followed a few caramel recipes previous to this one that were complete failures, even though I followed them exactly. I'm so sorry yours didn't turn out! I don't know what to tell you other than to try again, try some different caramel recipes and good luck!
Megan
Hey Megan - I talked to one of my friends who has made caramel before and she said that, although the temperature was right, I didn't cook it long enough at that temperature to get the sugar to burn and the caramel to be brown. So, I WILL make these again because they were WAY yummy and everyone loved them, but I will adjust the heat once it reaches 250 and keep it going until I get that pretty caramel brown color :)
I just made these, and while they are very delicious, I think I had the same problem as Kayte. I followed the recipe exactly and only made one small change--using dark corn syrup rather than light because it was all I had-- and the caramel came out more like a praline than actual caramel. They are very good though, so maybe next time I will mix in some chopped pecans before I pour over the sauce and call them Salted Praline Brownies. Thanks for the recipe!
The combination of caramel and salt is so tasty and amazing, it is fantastic how these different flavours react on the toungue! Your recipe looks wonderful and this creamy caramel looks so yummie!!!
I just made these brownies for my hubby, he loved them. He loves salty and sweet things and this was the perfect combination.
I made these and they never got cooked in the middle. I think it was because of the parchment paper lining. I put them back in the oven and baked them for at least 20 minutes longer and they never got done. Will try again but this time without the parchment paper.
These look fantastic, love the salted caramel chocolate combination!