Ultimate Turtle Brownies

I saw this recipe in my Cook's Illustrated Cookbook a few weeks ago. Somehow Andrew gave me the willpower to not make them. The Christmas holiday hit my waistline hard so I didn't have much ammunition to fight him with. Yet I kept thinking about these brownies. There's me, sitting on the couch, bulldog on my lap, watching The Bachelor thinking about Turtle Brownies - typical night for Katie. So when my neighbors decided to come over for dinner last Sunday, I knew exactly what I'd be making for dessert.

It always amazes me how differently real caramel tastes compared to the stuff candy bars are made out of. I'm not going to say that candy bars taste bad because that would be a complete lie. I love me so candy bars. Twix, Snickers, Almond Joy, Reeses. I don't think I've ever met a candy bar that I didn't like. But there's something about real caramel that is sweeter and creamier, instead of sticky, that makes you know for sure it's the real deal.

These brownies certainly delivered. I liked them way more than I thought I would. Normally I'm not into turtle brownies, now I know it's the canned, store-bought caramel and boxed brownies that have been ruining them. The brownie portion of these bad boys is quite frankly amazing! The caramel that you pour into the batter gets absorbed to create the moistest and most-dense brownie flavored with a hint of caramel. Yet they are in no way over-powering like some bakery creations that require 8 oz of milk to get them down the hole. These brownies go down easy! Perhaps too easy.

{Click Here for the Printable Recipe}

Ingredients for Caramel:
1/4 Cup & 2 Tbslp Heavy Cream
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Water
2 Tblsp Light Corn Syrup
1&1/4 Cup Sugar
2 Tblsp Unsalted Butter
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Ingredients for Brownies:
8 Tblsp Unsalted Butter, cut into tblsp
4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
2 oz Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
2 Large Eggs, at room temperature
1 Cup Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2/3 Cup Pecans, chopped

Directions (for Caramel):

1st: Turn a burner on your stove to medium-high (we don't want to start the caramel on a cold burner). Then combine heavy cream and salt in a small bowl and stir until salt is dissolved.

Combine water and corn syrup in a heavy-bottomed 2-3 quart saucepan.

Add the sugar to the center of the saucepan taking care not to let the sugar granules touch the sides of the pan.

Spread out the sugar a bit so you can get it all moist.

Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook covered without stirring for 5 minutes.

Take the lid off and allow it to cook for another 5 minutes. The mixture will start forming light golden bubbles. After 5 minutes, reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook for 3 more minutes. During this process, do not stir. You may pick up the pan and swirl it once or twice, but that's it.

Remove from heat and pour the cream into the center of the pan.

Stir it with a spatula. It will start getting violent. Stir until cream is fully incorporated and bubbling subsides.

Then stir in the butter and vanilla.

Caramel done. Let it sit there while you finish your brownie batter, which you probably got a good start on while the caramel was cooking.


Directions (for Brownies):

Preheat your oven to 325. Line a 9x9 pan with foil and grease with butter. (This makes a sling so you can simply lift up the foil to remove the finished brownies from the pan; no cutting in the pan.)

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, put your chopped up bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate and the butter. Melt slowly in the microwave.

Stir frequently. Chocolate and butter both burn very easily. The stirring will help it along.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.

In another bowl of medium/large size, whisk the eggs.

Add to the eggs the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Whisk to incorporate well.

Pour in the melted chocolate and whisk until combined.

Stir the flour mixture in using a spatula.

Then stir in the chopped pecans and our batter is done.

Pour half the batter into your prepared pan.

Pour in about a 1/3 cup of the caramel sauce. Spread it around using a spatula or knife.

Top with the rest of the brownie batter and spread evenly.

Bake for 35 minutes. (The recipe says 35-40 minutes, but 35 was perfect for my liking.) Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the brownies are cool, warm up the rest of your caramel sauce, chances are it's hard as a rock from sitting for the last few hours. When it's pourable, pour over the brownies and spread evenly. Put the brownies in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Remove brownies from pan using the foil sling. Serve chilled or at room temperature.