Salted Caramel Mocha Nutella Brownies

Each and every word in this title says SO much! And each and every ingredient DOES so much. This recipe from Half Baked Harvest blog is awesome. The next time I make it (and I will make it again), I will make some adjustments and the recipe below reflects the changes. If you want the original recipe, go to her beautiful blog. 

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Kahlua 
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1 1/2 cups store-bought salted caramel sauce (the original has a 'from scratch' recipe for salted coffee caramel...I had trouble with it, so next time I will do store bought).

Instructions:

To make the brownies. Line an 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper or foil, letting the edges over hang from the pan so later you can easily lift the brownies out of the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add the butter and milk chocolate to a medium size mixing bowl that is microwave safe. Microwave the butter and chocolate on 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted and smooth. This takes me about 1 minute and 30 seconds.

To the melted chocolate mixture add the sugar and instant coffee, whisking until completely combined. Add the vanilla, Kahula and eggs and whisk until smooth. Stir in the cocoa powder, flour and salt until smooth and just combined, try not to over mix the batter. It will be thick. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Dollop teaspoon size amounts of Nutella over the batter. Drizzle with three-fourths of the caramel. Spoon the remaining batter over top, using a spoon to lightly smooth out the batter. It's ok if the batter does not cover up all the Nutella + caramel.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the brownies are set on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Just before slicing, heat the remaining caramel over the stove. Cut the brownies into bars and then drizzle the warmed caramel over the brownies. 

Chopped the milk chocolate.

Whisking the melted chocolate mixture with sugar and instant coffee. 

The batter with dollops of Nutella on top. 

Me at work! Yes, work :)

Layer with caramel and then another layer of batter.

 What it looks like when it comes out of the oven.

It was really difficult to cut these into squares. So I ended up putting these BACK in the dish. It was messy and gooey. And then we dished them out into bowls and served with vanilla ice cream. NEXT TIME, I won't try cut them up...I will cook them in a cute serving dish, and serve them from the bowl.

Brownie S'mores

Call this my brownie phase. I also just made Nutella brownies. I'll post that one next. But in the meantime, these s'mores brownies are really good and fun to make too!

Brownie S’mores

Chocolate Sauce:

1 stick unsalted butter or magarine

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon distilled white vinegar

Bring all ingredients to a boil with a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, whisking until smooth.  Set aside.

Crust:

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted, plus additional for greasing

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (approx. 10 graham crackers)

2 heaping Tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 8 x 8 glass dish with enough aluminum foil to hang over the sides.  Grease the aluminum foil with butter/marg.

Stir all ingredients in a bowl and press evenly on the bottom of the dish.

Bake until crisp, approx 15 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Brownie Layer:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted

½ cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup white chocolate chips

Beat eggs in a small mixing bowl.  Blend in the sugar and melted butter.

Combine the flour, cocoa and salt and add to the butter mixture.  Stir in the vanilla and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the pan (over the crust) and bake until the center is just set, 25-30 minutes. 

Marshmallow Layer:

1/2 package large marshmallows sliced in half.

Arrange marshmallows, cut side down, on top of the brownies.

Broil 1-2 minutes, until the marshmallows are golden brown.  Watch carefully—marshmallows can burn quickly.

To Serve:

Remove s’mores brownies (after broiling the marshmallows) from the pan using the overhanging aluminum foil.  Place brownies on a cutting board and slice into squares.

Place each square on a plate.

Drizzle with warm chocolate sauce and sprinkle with crushed graham crackers.