The EPIC Dulce de Leche Brownie

[bubblebubba]

After making Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies last year, I didn't think I would ever find a new recipe to sweet me off my feet. But then along came this Epic Brownie. And it involves dumping an entire can of dulce de leche--straight INTO the batter.



This recipe is true magic: explosively fudgy and sink-your-teeth-in dense, this brownie recipe has turned heads and will blow every other brownie recipe you have tried out of the water.If you don't believe me, hop on over to my blog and see the fudgy photos for yourself--you won't regret it (although your jeans might--but that's what New Year's resolutions are for, right?).

Recipe below the cut and over here!


Epic Dulce de Leche Brownies

Yield: 1 9×9-inch baking pan; 16 large squares

Adapted from A Spicy Perspective, who is basically a genius

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. (or approximately 1.5 cups) dark chocolate chips-semi-sweet will work in a pinch
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine
• 7 ounces dulce de leche OR homemade dulce de leche (Recipe below)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 5/6 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules, crushed
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (other add-ins, such as nuts or chopped candy, may also be added)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with lightly greased foil and set aside.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, chocolate, and dulce de leche together in 30-second intervals, stirring vigorously between each interval.
3. Beat white sugar into melted chocolate mixture.
4. Add vanilla and egg, then mix until combined.
5. Add flour, cocoa powder, salt, and coffee granules. Stir in until just incorporated.
6. Gently fold in remaining 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and other desired add-ins.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick comes out MOSTLY clean-trust me, your brownies will be ready to party at this point! Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely on stovetop before cutting brownies into fudgy, delicious squares of epic proportions.

Dulce de Leche Recipe

There are many ways to make dulce de leche at home. I used the oven method, which is simple and requires 1 (16 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk-for the recipe above, you will only require half of this amount, or 8 oz.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Pour the condensed milk into a baking dish and loosely cover it with foil.
3. Place this baking dish in a roasting pan or a larger baking pan; fill the large pan with hot water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the smaller pan. Then slide both pans into the preheated oven.
4. Bake for approximately 80-90 minutes, stirring at 15-minute intervals. Your dulce de leche will achieve a rich golden caramel color and should be fairly thick. For more visual and detailed instructions, see the Wiki page for How to Make Dulce de Leche.