Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Brownies

Boy oh boy.  Oh boy.  Oh man.  Man oh man.  What I'm saying is, these brownies are sorta the best brownies I've ever made.  The magic just happened with these babies.  It was serendipity in my kitchen.  Or it was just 11oz of melted dark chocolate.  I like to think it was serendipity though.      

Let's start at the beginning.  Chop chocolate until your heart's content.  Just chop the day away.  Chop whatever feels right.  Now melt 11oz with butter and eat whatever is left.  You must eat whatever is left.  That is always the rule of baking.  Trust me, I know because I wrote that rule.  

I also wrote a rule that says, "Wearing heels is almost never a good idea.  Everyone knows you're in terrible pain."  And,  "Calories and money don't count on the weekends.  Woo hoo!"  Also, "I might pretend I don't see you running towards the elevator if I'm inside and I just want to get the heck home.  We all do it sometimes so don't act like you don't."

But perhaps my favorite rule lately is "If it is caramel, it shall be salted." And so it is done in these brownies.  That one is from the Bible actually.  Amen.  

Here's the recipe!  

Ingredients:  

11oz bag of caramels
1/3 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp coarse salt
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
11oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
5 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

sea salt, to salt caramel and to finish

Instructions:
1.  For caramel sauce:  melt caramels and heavy cream in a small saucepan until caramels are fully melted and smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.  

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 inch pan with baking spray, set aside.  In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and cocoa.  

3.  In a mircowave-safe bowl (or using a double boiler) melt the chocolate and butter.  If using the microwave, melt in 30 second increments, stirring in between,  until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth.  Allow to cool slightly before whisking in sugars and eggs.  Whisk in vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients until fully incorporated and no flour remains.

4.  Spread half the brownie batter in the prepared pan using an offset spatula to coax it into the edges of the pan.  Pour about three quarters of the caramel sauce on the brownie batter and sprinkle with sea salt as desired.  Pour remaining brownie batter over the top in an even layer.  Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the brownie batter and using a butter knife, swirl the caramel into the batter.  Finish with a sprinkle of sea salt.  

5.  Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pan once while baking.  Allow to sit on a wire rack until completely cool before slicing.  

Enjoy!

Recipe slightly adapted from Annie's Eats