First there is the overall fudginess of the brownie itself, made even richer by the addition of a caramel layer. Add a little fleur de sel, a little coarse sugar and voila-you have such a flavor explosion-I can't even describe it. Non-bakers will break down your door, promise you their first born, promise you riches beyond belief to bake these brownies.
I now understand why the Food Network called these one of the best salty foods in the USA. You know I love chocolate, and here's a dirty little secret of mine-after I make caramel -I lick the spatula and wooden spoon so clean you can't even tell I used it to make caramel ( no double dipping for safety issues-the caramel is safely contained away from my sticky fingers !).
This was a fairly easy recipe to follow-don't let the length of the recipe intimidate you. 3 critical points: 1. Watch your caramel-it can go from perfect to burnt in a split second. And the 2nd thing-don't overload your brownies with the caramel-you will be tempted to but a light handed approach is recommended.
And 3rd-let them cool-you will want to slice into them immediately-restrain yourself-let them cool for at least 2 hours-trust me-they will slice so beautifully then and after all isn't something so decadent worth the wait?
and make them yourself, your loved ones will be forever and ever in your debt.Happy Holidays and Bon Appetit !
13 comments:
I love the plates and decorations you used for displaying these! So perfect for holiday baking. This was a great recipe and I can't wait to get to the rest.
I'm so glad you chose to make these brownies so early in the baking group! Yours turned out beautifully. I don't know what happened to mine though- even though I waited a long time to slice them they were so hard to get out of the pan...I think it's because I probably used too much caramel- who knew too much caramel could be a bad thing? : )
I am going to go out and get the right size pan before I make these again so hopefully mine will look as perfect as yours. Mine crumbled a little when I cut them even though I let them cool for a couple of hours. Beautiful photos!
What a great presentation (with holiday gear)! I agree - these are one of my favorites from the book. People went nuts over these at work (even without nuts) - so I'm glad I made them again for this club. They look fantastic - nicely done!
I hear you about the caramel. I could probably drink it straight if it wasn't so so wrong!
Your brownies look great! Thanks for choosing these; to me, they are a must-bake out of this cookbook.
These would need to be doublelocked to prevent me from eating the whole batch.
The holiday feel here is so cute! And I agree with you about cooling the brownies. It made a huge difference in cutting.
Christina & Emily, thank you I just finished drooling over the Williams Sonoma Catalog and all their holiday table decorations !
And Kristin, too much caramel is never a bad thing .
Elaine, Mike and Bri you are very generous with your praise-thank you :)
Val, I had to send these to work with my husband-I couldn't control myself !!
The brownies look great! And you're not alone- I've been known to practically lick the coating off a spoon to get the last bit of caramel ;-)
these are the best brownies EVER! love the tip about not using all the caramel - i used the entire batch and although delicious - the brownies ended up super gooey - best served frozen. but really ... not a complaint, more of an observation. love your pictures - the squares are so perfect! thanks for organizing all of this ... AMAZING!
Your brownies and photos are absolutely gorgeous!! You have definitely perfected this recipe!
Your brownies look so perfect! I love your decorations. They're very festive!
Thanks Shelly, I'm getting ready to make another batch of caramel-I have to make these brownies again-serious chocolate fudgy jones'n going on.
Twisted Chef, Little Baker Bunny and Andrea..thank you for stopping by and I love the new group-a great positive vibe surrounds it !
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