Caramel Buttermilk Brownies

I made these brownies on accident.

I was using a classic blondie recipe I found in Better Homes & Gardens as a base, changing a few things along the way and everything was going fine… .until I forgot about them in the oven for almost an hour… whoops! I’m really not sure how they didn’t burn, but I knew they’d be crazy dry unless I did something drastic. Hence the caramel bath. I soaked those puppies in the caramel sauce (thank you Barefoot Contessa!) until they were completely cool (I left them covered in plastic wrap on the counter overnight) and ended up with something more akin to toffee brownies. I have received nothing but praise for these little nuggets of decadence and make them every holiday. These brownies are for those people who aren’t craving the deep dark chocolate flavor but still want something melt-in-your-mouth-rich.

Servings: 3 dozen
Total Time: 1 hour
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Brownies

2 C all-purpose flour
1 3/4 C granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 3/8 C butter
1 C water
1/4 C semi-sweet baking chocolate
2 eggs
1/2 C buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Caramel sauce

1 C butter
1 C light brown sugar, packed
1/2 C heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Preparation

Brownies

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Grease sides and bottom of 9″x13″ baking pan
  3. In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  4. In medium saucepan over medium/medium-high heat, combine butter, water, and chocolate. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
  5. Add chocolate mixture to flour mixture and beat with electric mixer on medium speed until combined.
  6. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute (batter will be thin)
  7. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Caramel Sauce: When the brownie are about half-way done baking, make the caramel sauce.

  1. Combine all caramel sauce ingredients in heavy saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat.
  2. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until thickened and well-blended.
  3. Remove the brownies from oven
  4. Poke evenly-spaced holes in the top of the brownies with a toothpick or fork.
  5. Pour warm caramel sauce slowly over the top, letting it soak into the brownies.
  6. Cover with foil and plastic wrap and cool completely on solid turret, not a wire rack (you want these too cool slowly and evenly so the caramel soaks in as much as possible)

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Calories: 209
Fat (g): 14
Carbs (g): 20
Sugar (g): 13
Protein (g): 1

Cholesterol (mg): 47
Sodium (mg): 155
Potassium (mg): 17
Fiber(g): 1
Vitamin A (%): 10
Vitamin C (%): 0
Calcium (%): 2
Iron (%): 2

*Percent Daily Values based on 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.