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Posts Tagged ‘caramel brownies’

Butterscotch Brownies

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on June 12, 2010| 29 Comments »

These butterscotch brownies have many things going for them, but good looks isn’t one of them.

They are, however, ridiculously easy to make, only use one saucepan, and have a delicious caramel flavour that makes them difficult to leave alone.  I baked two trays today – each took me less than 10 minutes to knock up, and under half an hour to bake in the oven.  That’s hard to beat!

The batch above has a mix of walnuts and chocolate chips, whereas the one below has extra chocolate in place of the nuts (as Small Man is nut allergic) and as a result is gooey and flatter, but equally moreish.

I’ve substituted unsalted butter for the vegetable shortening in Beth Polazzo’s original recipe, and I’ve also omitted the specified ½ teaspoon of salt.  That’s our personal preference – we’re not big fans of the salt-sugar combination that seems to be so popular in the US.

Butterscotch Brownies
(adapted from  Beth Polazzo’s Butterscotch Brownies in Molly O’Neill’s New York Cookbook)

  • 75g (½ cup) plain (AP) flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 65g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
  • 215g (1 cup, packed) brown sugar
  • 1 large (59g) egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I used homemade)
  • 55g (½ cup) chopped walnuts OR extra 90g (½ cup) chocolate chips
  • 90g (½ cup) semisweet chocolate chips

Note: for the all chocolate version, I used 90g broken Callebaut bake-stable sticks (44% cacao) and 90g Callebaut 811 callets (54% cacao).

1.  Preheat the oven to 175C/350F or 160C/320F with fan.

2. Line a  20cm/8″ square pan or a 31 x 14cm/12 x 5½” biscotti pan with parchment paper.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and stir together with a fork.

4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat, then add the brown sugar and stir briefly until softened and moist.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes (this bit is important – or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs and melted chocolate).

5. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly stir in the egg and vanilla until incorporated.  Add in the flour and baking powder, and stir vigorously to combine.  Gently mix in the walnuts and chocolate.

6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and gently work it into the corners.  There’s not a lot of batter, so expect a fairly thin coverage over the base of the pan.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the top feels just firm.  The original recipe said to test with an inserted toothpick, but there’s usually so much chocolate in mine that it’s hard to judge.

Remove from the oven and allow the brownies to rest in the pan for at least half an hour before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. The brownies will sink a little as they cool.

Expect these to be flat and ugly, and to crack as they’re sliced (use a sharp, thin knife).  Also expect them to be deliciously moreish with a brown sugar caramel flavour and a fudgy, gooey centre.  Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

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Dulce de Leche Brownies

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , on March 6, 2010| 15 Comments »

These brownies, based on a recipe by David Lebovitz, were the perfect vehicle for the dulce de leche we made a few weeks ago.  They’re made in a saucepan rather than a mixing bowl, and were much better the second day – it’s definitely worth making these the day before you need them.

  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 170g dark chocolate, finely chopped, we used Callebaut 54% callets
  • 25g Dutch-process cocoa, we used Callebaut
  • 3 large (59g) eggs
  • 200g white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract
  • 140g flour
  • ¾ cup dulce de leche (DL uses 1 cup, but I didn’t want to open another jar!)

1. Preheat oven to 175C with fan.

2. Line a 20cm square brownie pan with a sheet of parchment, folding the corners so that the paper fits in neatly and comes up the sides of the pan.

3. In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the chocolate and stir over very low heat until melted.  Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula, then stir in the sugar, vanilla and finally, the flour.

3. Scoop half the batter into the prepared pan.  Drop spoonfuls of the dulce de leche over the surface of the batter, then drag a knife through to swirl it in slightly.  Use about a third of the dulce de leche, reserving the rest for the top.

4.  Spread the remaining brownie batter over the top, then repeat the dollop and swirl process with the rest of the dulce de leche.

5. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the brownies are browned and the centre no longer feels too squidgy.  David describes it as “just-slightly firm”.

6.  Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting.  Because we used homemade dulce de leche (which was quite soft), the caramel sections of our brownies were oozy and luscious.  They really are better on day two, although it was hard to keep the boys away from them for that long!

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