Gooey, fudgy, and moist, these Caramel Brownies are a delightfully rich treat that everyone loves. A delicious brownie with a thick layer of melty caramel in the middle, this dessert is so easy to make.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and cocoa powder until well combined. Add the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and ½ teaspoon salt and whisk until smooth. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips.
Spread half of the batter in the prepared baking pan.
In a small saucepan, heat the condensed milk over medium-low heat until warm, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the caramels and remaining ½ teaspoon salt, stirring until fully melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
Pour ⅔ of the caramel sauce over the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining batter of the top of the caramel.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. (Less bake time will result in gooier brownies.) Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Drizzle with the remaining caramel sauce and sprinkle with salt if desired. Cut into squares. Brownies can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
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Notes
*Be sure to use chewy caramel candies. I like Werther’s, but Kraft or pretty much any brand of classic chewy caramel candies should work.
Room temperature eggs will mix more effortlessly into the batter than cold eggs. Take the eggs out of the fridge ahead of time or place them in a bowl of warm water to quickly warm them up to room temperature.
Avoid over-mixing the brownie batter, as it’ll lead to a batch of tough brownies. Do not use a mixer, combine the batter with a spatula instead.
If the cocoa powder is lumpy, sift it before adding it to the melted butter.
Make sure to measure your flour correctly. If you add too much flour to the recipe, you will have dense caramel brownies. I highly recommend always using a scale to measure. However, if you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method is best to measure flour without overpacking the measuring cup.
Be patient! Do not cut into these brownies when they are hot from the oven. The caramel layer not have set, and the chocolate chips will still be melty, so it’ll be messy.
Lining the pan will make removing the brownies and cleaning up the pan much easier.
You can add chopped pecans to the brownie batter for extra crunch.