Salted Caramel Brownies

Yes, yes I know I haven't posted on here in FOREVER. I'm going to try to get better, though. I've been so busy with work and community stuff, this just fell to the wayside.

Anyway...for those of you that don't live in Charlotte, there is a bakery here called Amelie's French Bakery. It's in an area of town called NoDa (it's on North Davidson street). It is by far, one of THE best bakeries in the area. They have true to form french bakery that is just delectable. Their number one seller is the Salted Caramel Brownie. When I went in the bakery the one day I overheard the owner telling a customer a story behind it. Apparently, Amelie's is the only place in the world that currently makes this brownie (I googled it and found nothing) and the assistant chef just came up with the recipe one day after experimenting with a salted caramel hot chocolate. To make a long story short, I guess so many people were asking how to make them, Amelie's published a recipe similar to the real thing in Charlotte Magazine's Home and Garden publication. I tried to make them last night and I'm posting the recipe below because they were SO good. Not exactly the real thing, but pretty darn close. A few things to remember, though:

1. Everything is from scratch. Don't think you can open a box of brownie mix and be done. It takes some time (and patience) to make them.
2. It says to cook the brownies for 30 minutes. The brownies at the store almost taste like raw brownie dough. I'd shorten the time to 25 minutes or a tad longer than that.
3. The caramel turned out VERY gooey. I had to put the brownie pan in the fridge overnight for it to harden up enough that it didn't stretch all the way across the kitchen (ok, slight exaggeration, but it was awfully gooey). The best way to cut them is with a wet knife. They do need to stay in the fridge, though. Even the brownies from the bakery need to stay refrigerated.
4. The recipe calls for 1 3/4 cup of the caramel. My guess is the caramel glaze recipe makes more than that (I didn't measure it out, I just poured the whole pan over the brownies). That might make it less gooey, too, but I imagine it would be pretty messy to measure out the glaze when it's already sticky in the pan.

And with all that in mind.....here is the recipe!

Yields 24 brownies

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

3/4 c unsalted butter, cubed

2 c granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 c unbleached all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cup salted caramel glaze (see below; prepare glaze when brownies are cool)

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan with butter or cooking spray.

In the top of a double boiler over medium heat, melt chocolate and butter, being sure the water in the bottom of the double boiler doesn't touch the top pan. Stir chocolate and butter until completely melted. Then stir in sugar. Blend well. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Stir eggs into chocolate mixture. Then add flour, stirring until completely blended. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Completely cool brownies in pan. Pour caramel glaze over brownies and cool until caramel sets. Slice into bars, about 2 inches square.

Salted Caramel Glaze

1/2 c heavy cream

2 c granulated sugar

1/2 c water

1/4 c unsalted butter, cubed

2 tsp fine sea salt

2 tbsp powdered gelatin, combined with 1/4 c cold water

In a small sauce pan over low heat, warm heavy cream until hot, but not boiling. In a separate tall saucepan, combine sugar and water. Place over medium-high heat. Do not stir as sugar dissolves and mixture reaches a dark amber stage. Add cream, butter, and salt (make sure you're using a tall pan because it splatters and it's HOT). Stir gently until mixture is smooth and well combined. Remove from heat and add gelatin, stirring to combine. Use immediately.

ENJOY!!!! Let me know if you try the recipe and how it turns out for you!