Fudgy, caramely, dense and rich with crunch factor. Something for everyone.
The brownies are as fast and easy as using a boxed mix, and the brownie batter is whisked together in one bowl in minutes. The brownies are the epitome of dark, rich, and fudgy and are the chocolate version of these Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies, which have always been popular with readers. They’re like Turtle brownies with pretzels instead of nuts.
For the brownie base, I used an old standby recipe that delivers consistently fudgy results, minus any fuss. And they’re not at all cakey, which would be a total deal-breaker for me. I want my brownies dense like a slab of fudge. Cakes need not apply.
The ironic part of these ultra-fudgy, rich brownies is that the recipe uses cocoa powder, not melted chocolate. I used to think that cocoa powder brownies were inferior to brownies made with (more expensive) melted chocolate, but I’ve been proven wrong. After making the easy brownie batter, I topped it with pretzels. I used 6 small bags of airplane pretzels that I found in my pantry. I don’t know how I ended up with so many bags of Southwest’s and Delta’s finest, but they taste way better on the brownies than they’ve ever tasted in my cramped seats.
Before baking, drizzle on salted caramel sauce. I used Werther’s Original® Baking Caramels that I melted together with a pat of butter, half-and-half, and a pinch of salt and it turned out so buttery, creamy, and dreamy. To save time, use a favorite storebought sauce. The entire surface of the pan won’t be completely covered in caramel sauce, but while baking, the sauce thins out, melts, and ultimately covers the whole pan.
Make sure not to overbake these so they stay gooey and fudgy. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly clean, but will likely have a few moist crumbs. The caramel sauce will never ‘set up’ so make sure to examine the brownie portion, not the caramel portion, when glancing at your toothpick. In the past, I’ve made the mistake of thinking my brownies weren’t done when I saw (caramel) goo on the toothpick, thereby overcooking them.
I know it’s going to be hard and it’s a cruel trick, but you have to allow the brownies to rest for at least 1 hour, or overnight, before digging in. It’s very important to let them cool properly to give the caramel a chance to soak in. Same concept of letting meat rest before you slice it so the juices don’t run everywhere. I know you don’t want to lose a drop of precious caramel sauce to your cutting board so have patience.
When slicing, I used a large serrated knife. The knife needs to pierce the crunchy pretzels, and it’s inevitable that the super soft brownies will get a bit squished and messy in the slicing process; embrace it. They’re gooey, messy, drippy, and fudgy. The best things in life are. Don’t fret if slicing turns messy because it will. You could always just grab a spoon and dig in straight from the pan and not even slice them. You know, and straighten out the rows, bite by bite.
They’re moist, soft, and intensely chocolaty without being overly sweet. The smooth brownies are sharply contrasted with the pretzels, which add a salty element along with crunch and texture. The glistening, buttery, rich salted caramel balances the different flavors and complements both the brownies and the pretzels. It’s the proverbial icing on the cake. Everything tastes better when it’s dripping in caramel sauce.
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Thanks for the entries in the $100 Gift Card Giveaway and in the West Elm $50 Gift Card Giveaway Fan of salty-and-sweet desserts? Favorite brownie or caramel-containing recipe?
