DARK CHOCOLATE SALTED CARAMEL STUFFED BROWNIES

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies are the brownies that started me on my “gourmet brownie” quest!  It’s no surprise that they are incredibly popular with everyone!  Perfectly rich, fudgy, chewy, buttery caramel and dark chocolate brownies are stuffed with sea salt caramel - absolute brownie perfection, and truly a caramel and brownie lover's dream come true!

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies

WHAT IS THE SECRET TO THE BEST BROWNIES?

• If I can only share one baking secret with you, always use a DIGITAL KITCHEN SCALE.  You can use measuring cups and spoons for most recipes, but using a digital scale makes for the more consistent and efficient baking.  Take this from someone that bakes A LOT!
• For a rich and robust chocolate flavor, I recommend using only high-quality chocolate for this recipe.  Since there are only a few ingredients, each one really shines through!  I prefer Ghirardelli or Lindt dark chocolate bars with at least 70% chocolate for the melted chocolate, and Ghirardelli chocolate chips. 
• If your brownie recipe calls for it, don’t skip the espresso powder! It helps enhance the flavor of chocolate without adding an intense coffee flavor. Whisking cocoa powder and espresso powder into boiling water until smooth allows the chocolate flavor to bloom - don't skip this step if called for in your recipe!
• Don't overbeat your brownie batter!  Mix your dry ingredients in with a spatula just until blended for a perfectly shiny, crispy, and crackly top - the way a brownie should be!
• Baking brownies low and slow is the way to go!  325 degrees is the perfect temp for baking the best brownies.
• Be sure you don’t overbake the brownies!  They should not be liquidy when you pull them out of the oven, but should have a little jiggle in the middle. The brownies will firm up as they cool. Over-baked brownies will not be chewy or fudgy.

• After removing from the oven, I suggest you place the brownies on a wire rack and cool completely before frosting and slicing. They usually come to room temperature within a few hours - and although waiting for this may be the hardest part, they are worth the wait!
• Don’t use glass baking dishes for brownies or blondies – the baking times and results will vary wildly, and the heat retention of glass can lead to overbaking and dryness.

• For entertaining, I love to serve individual brownie squares.  I recommend and use a Pampered Chef Brownie Pan, which makes 12 individual brownie squares. I line each cavity with a non-stick cupcake parchment liner (PaperChef Culinary Parchment Large Baking Cups are my favorite).  I package each brownie individually in a self-adhesive cellophane bag (Pack It Chic 4x4” Clear Resealable Bags work perfectly).  Perfect for those times that you want to prepare brownies ahead of time and freeze!

WHAT IS THE BEST CHOCOLATE TO USE IN BROWNIES?

FOR PERFECT BROWNIES, USE THE RIGHT CHOCOLATE:

For gourmet brownies, only the best ingredients will give you the texture, richness and depth of flavor we all crave. Trust me on this! For a rich and robust chocolate flavor, I recommend using only high-quality chocolate.  Since there are only a few ingredients, each one really shines through! 

• Extra Dark & Bittersweet Chocolate:  Guittard 63% Extra Dark Chocolate Baking Chips and Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips are my favorite.
• Unsweetened Chocolate:  Guittard and Ghirardelli 100% Unsweetened Chocolate Chips, or if you don’t mind chopping chocolate, Ghirardelli or Baker’s Unsweetened Baking Bars
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate:  Guittard and Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• German Chocolate:  Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate Bars
• Milk Chocolate:  Guittard and Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips
• White Chocolate:  Guittard Mystic White Cholate Baking Wafers (true white chocolate flavor and melt perfectly) or Lindt Classic White Chocolate Bars or Ghirardelli White Chocolate Premium Baking Bar, Ghirardelli Classic White Premium Baking Chips
• Cocoa Powder:  Always use Dutch-processed premium unsweetened cocoa for brownies!  Valrhona Pure Cocoa Powder, Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa, Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa or Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened Ground  Cocoa
• Black Cocoa Powder:  King Arthur Black Cocoa will give you an intense, dark colored and unsweetened chocolate flavor – use sparingly for the darkest chocolate cake, cookies and brownies (think “Oreo” dark)

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies

DO PREMIUM INGREDIENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN BROWNIE RECIPES?

For gourmet brownies, in addition to using premium chocolate and cocoa, only the best ingredients will give you the texture, richness and depth of flavor we all crave. Make sure to use fresh ingredients for the best results!  I’ve made so many cakes, cookies and brownies through the years, and these are my recommendations:

• Butter:  Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter.  Avoid generic/bargain brands of butter, which often contain water, which will strip your brownies of a perfect shiny sheen on top – and we LOVE a brownie with the perfect sheen!
• Flour:  King Arthur All Purpose Unbleached Flour is my favorite (it contains more gluten than other brands).  Pillsbury All Purpose is my back-up, but weighs differently – make sure to adjust as necessary.  (For reference, King Arthur is 120g per cup, Pillsbury is 129g per cup.)
• Granulated Sugar:  Domino Pure Cane Sugar
• Baking Powder:  Make sure that you use “aluminum-free” baking powder to avoid a tinny flavor. Rumford is one of the oldest and trusted brands. 
• Salt: To avoid a tinny flavor, never use iodized salt in brownies.  Morten Non-Iodized Table Salt is my preferred brand for cooking and baking.  For sea salt flakes, I use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes. 
• Vanilla:  Rodelle is my preferred brand for Pure Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Bean Paste are made with the highest-quality Bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar. 
• Espresso Powder:  King Arthur Espresso Powder is my favorite!
• Other Extracts & Flavorings:  Rodelle (rodellevanilla.com), Cooks (cooksvanilla.com) and Amoretti (amoretti.com) brands make my favorite extracts and emulsions.  Keep in mind that extracts and emulsions have different strengths, so watch your measurements and use recommended amounts.

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies

FAVORITE GOURMET BROWNIE RECIPES:

• Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse Brownies
• Gourmet German Chocolate Brownies
• Hazelnut Nutella Brownies
• Gourmet Salted Caramel Brownies
• Mississippi Mud Brownies
• Reese's Peanut Butter Brownies
• English Toffee Crunch Brownies
• Magic Layer Deluxe Brownie Bars
• Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies
• Snickers Brownies
• Cookies & Cream Brownie Bites
• Black Forest Brownie Bites
• Salted Caramel Chocolate Pecan Brown Butter Blondies
• Starbuck's Mint Brownies
• Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies
• Fresh Lemon Brownies
• Sea Salt Turtle Pecan Brownies
• S'Mores Campfire Brownies
• Triple Chocolate Brownies with Buttercream Frosting (Ghirardelli Copycat)
• Krispie Bar Crunch Brownies

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies

DARK CHOCOLATE SALTED CARAMEL STUFFED BROWNIE

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies are the brownies that started me on my “gourmet brownie” quest!  It’s no surprise that they are incredibly popular with everyone!  Perfectly rich, fudgy, chewy, buttery caramel and dark chocolate brownies are stuffed with sea salt caramel - absolute brownie perfection, and truly a caramel and brownie lover's dream come true!
​

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
DARK CHOCOLATE SALTED CARAMEL BROWNIES:
5 large eggs (room temperature)
10 ounces (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
¾ cup (4 ounces) unsweetened chocolate (Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips)
1-¼ cup (7.5 ounces) 63% extra dark chocolate chips
1-¼ cups granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1- ¼ cups King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
12 ounces Sanders Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels
 
GARNISH:
Maldon Sea Salt Flakes
 
HOW I MAKE THESE:

1. Remove eggs from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving about a one-inch overhang on all sides. Lightly grease the foil in the pan, or spray with nonstick cooking spray. (Alternative: line 12-cavity brownie pan with individual parchment liners.) 
3. PREPARE BROWNIES:  In a small heavy saucepan, cut the butter into pieces and melt over low heat.  Add the unsweetened and extra dark chocolate chips to the melted butter, whisking together until melted and smooth.  Remove pan from stove and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. 
5. Place the granulated sugar and brown sugar in a separate small bowl, then whisk into the eggs just until blended.
6. Briefly stir the melted chocolate mixture, then gradually drizzle into the egg mixture, whisking constantly just until combined. 
7. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
8. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.  Sift through a fine mesh strainer directly into the batter.  Stir with a silicone spatula just until blended.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a small offset spatula (or for individual brownie pan, fill each parchment liner ½ full).
10. Now comes the fun part!  Stuff 12 to 18 Sander’s Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels throughout the brownie batter in the pan, pushing each down gently with your finger so that it is snuggled up in batter but not touching the bottom of the pan.  (For individual brownies, insert one salted caramel into each cavity.   
11. Bake for 35-40 minutes (20-22 minutes for individual brownie pan) or until a toothpick inserted in the off-center comes out clean (try to test in the brownie portion, not in the center of a stuffed caramel). 
12. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. 
13. Sprinkle sea salt flakes lightly over the baked Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Caramels. 
14. Refrigerate brownie slab for at least 8 hours before slicing and serving.  (Refrigerate individual brownies in an airtight container until ready to serve.)
15. Brownies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

 
YIELD:  12 large squares or 24 smaller bars, or 12 individual brownies; recipe makes 1 cup of salted caramel sauce. 
 
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST BROWNIES:

• If I can only share one baking secret with you, always use a DIGITAL KITCHEN SCALE.  You can use measuring cups and spoons for most recipes, but using a digital scale makes for the more consistent and efficient baking.  Take this from someone that bakes A LOT!
• For a rich and robust chocolate flavor, I recommend using only high-quality chocolate for this recipe.  Since there are only a few ingredients, each one really shines through!  I prefer Ghirardelli or Lindt dark chocolate bars with at least 70% chocolate for the melted chocolate, and Ghirardelli chocolate chips. 
• If your brownie recipe calls for it, don’t skip the espresso powder! It helps enhance the flavor of chocolate without adding an intense coffee flavor. Whisking cocoa powder and espresso powder into boiling water until smooth allows the chocolate flavor to bloom - don't skip this step if called for in your recipe!
• Don't overbeat your brownie batter!  Mix your dry ingredients in with a spatula just until blended for a perfectly shiny, crispy, and crackly top - the way a brownie should be!
• Baking brownies low and slow is the way to go!  325 degrees is the perfect temp for baking the best brownies.
• Be sure you don’t overbake the brownies!  They should not be liquidy when you pull them out of the oven, but should have a little jiggle in the middle. The brownies will firm up as they cool. Over-baked brownies will not be chewy or fudgy.

• After removing from the oven, I suggest you place the brownies on a wire rack and cool completely before frosting and slicing. They usually come to room temperature within a few hours - and although waiting for this may be the hardest part, they are worth the wait!
• Don’t use glass baking dishes for brownies or blondies – the baking times and results will vary wildly, and the heat retention of glass can lead to overbaking and dryness.

• For entertaining, I love to serve individual brownie squares.  I recommend and use a Pampered Chef Brownie Pan, which makes 12 individual brownie squares. I line each cavity with a non-stick cupcake parchment liner (PaperChef Culinary Parchment Large Baking Cups are my favorite).  I package each brownie individually in a self-adhesive cellophane bag (Pack It Chic 4x4” Clear Resealable Bags work perfectly).  Perfect for those times that you want to prepare brownies ahead of time and freeze!

Originally posted March 2014; revised and reposted March 2022.
 
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