Sweet and Salty Brownies

We had a potluck at work today and the easiest and quickest thing I could think of putting together was brownies.  So, I threw together my go to brownies.  Because I had left over caramel sauce, I decided to toss that in too.  Turns out, my final result was very similar to Baked Explorations' Sweet and Salty brownies.  Following suit, I sprinkled 1 teaspoon of fleur de sal and  1 teaspoon of coarse sugar on top once it was done baking.  I thought these would bake up very similar to these other caramel filled brownies  I made but the filling mostly soaked into the brownies.  This wasn't too bad as it kept the brownies very moist.

Valentine's Day Recipes

With Valentine's Day around the corner, I thought I'd compile a list of my go to Valentine's Day treats for inspiration to share whether it's with coworkers, friends, family, significant others.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Salted Caramel Brownies and Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes

Cheesecake Brownies 

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Vanilla Bean Macaron with Chocolate Ganache

Best Brownies

Chocolate Cupcakes - Two Ways

Chocolate Souffles

Baby Lava Cakes

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Most Visited Posts of 2011

Here are the most visited posts of 2011 on BakedByJen.com!

Red Velvet Cupcakes Comparison

Desserts for Work: Salted Caramel Brownies and Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes

Hot Wheels Theme Birthday

A Giant Cupcake Cake 

Thank you for following along with me as I documented my past year in the kitchen.   It amazes me looking back and seeing how much I have accomplished because of the encouragement of friends and family; motivating me to create something that would blow them away.

My personal favorites of this past year was the Nikon cake for my cousin Dennis, the topper cake for a backyard wedding, and the winter wonderland cake for Cake4Kids.

Here's to an even sweeter New Year!

Caramel-Filled Brownies

Cake4Kids held a Yard Sale / Bake sale yesterday to raise funds to officially file for non profit status and it was a great success!  We exceeded our goals for the day!

I used the opportunity to make the caramel filled brownies I saw on Buns In My Oven, which was Brady's Baking guest post, for the event.  I figured the bars would be perfect being easy to individually package for selling.

I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of not adding the nuts as I didn't want to leave people with nut allgeries feeling left out of enjoying such goodness.  If I was making this for myself, I'd add the nuts; hence the recipe is posted with nuts.  Also, these brownies do not take well to cutting into instantly!  I started cutting into it the night I made them but it got messy as you can see from my first picture.  After letting it sit in an air tight container overnight, I was able to make clean cuts.  Unfortunately, I was trying to rush off to the bake sale; so, I didn't get any decent pictures.  Definitely making another batch soon!

Caramel-Filled Brownies
from The Pastry Queen as posted by Brady's Baking on Buns In My Oven 

Makes about 24 - 2x2 inches brownie squares

1 1/2 cups pecans

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (14 oz) bag of caramels, unwrapped

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place pecans on a cookie sheet and toast for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown and aromatic.  Let cool and coarsely chop.

Line a 13×9 inch pan with foil or parchment paper and grease with butter or cooking spray.  Make sure to get the sides of the pan really well so the caramel won’t stick.

Place chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan and set over very low heat.  Stir gently until chocolate is melted and smooth.  Transfer the chocolate mixture into a large mixing bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes.

Add sugar, eggs and vanilla; mix for about 2 minutes with a whisk until batter is thick and glossy.  Gently stir in flour and salt.  Pour half of this batter (about 2 1/2 cups) into the lined pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Cool for about 20 minutes while you prepare the caramel layer.

 

Add the caramels and cream to a medium saucepan, set on low heat and stir until caramels are melted and smooth.  Stir half of the chopped pecans into the caramel.  Pour the caramel mixture over the baked brownie layer and spread evenly.

Spread the remaining brownie batter over the caramel filling.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips and remaining nuts on top of the brownie batter. Bake at 350 degrees for another 20 minutes or until the top batter appears set but not dry.  Allow brownies to cool completely; this will take several hours (or overnight).  Lift brownies from pan, removepaper , and cut brownies into squares for serving.