Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Squares

In trying to figure out how I could use up a bunch of random leftover baking ingredients, these brownies were born!

The idea is from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From my Home to Yours. Her recipe is for Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake. I stole the topping and used a regular brownie recipe because brownie cake sounds a little too cakey for me- I like my brownie-esque things to be fudgy and chewy.

I cut the sugar down in the brownie recipe because I thought the addition of the topping would make it too sweet. The topping was actually perfect- the salty peanuts contrasted with the fresh caramel very well and the chocolate brownie complimented the whole thing making it taste like a chewy, not-too-sweet snicker's bar. They were really yummy and the fact that they weren't too sweet made it possible to eat more than one...and two...and three...without feeling the need to stop...

If you like gooey fudgy caramel-y desserts this is probably for you :)

Brooke's Bombshell Brownies

Adapted for this recipe from Allrecipes.com

1 cup butter, melted
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.
3. Sift or just whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish. 4. Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

Caramel Peanut Topping

Dorie Greenspan Baking From My Home To Yours

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup salted peanuts

1. Put the sugar, water adn corn syrup in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir just to combine the ingredients and then put the pan over medium high heat. Heat, without stirring, until the caramel turns a deep amber, 5-10 minutes. Wipe down any splatters of sugar on the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. To test the color of the caramel, drop a bit on a white plate. Darker is better!

2. Lower the heat a bit and standing back from the saucepan- the caramel will bubble and spatter- add the cream and butter. When the spatters are less vehement, stir to calm down the caramel adn dissolve any lumps.

3. Stir in the peanuts and pour caramel onto the brownies.

4. Let cool about 20 minutes.

Coconut Macaroon filled Brownies

At first I thought that brownie and coconut macaroon would be a weird combination...and I thought I was right when I first tried these brownies warm- BUT after a day in the fridge, cold, these brownies were SO SO SO GOOD. AMAZING. DEATHLY. RICH. THEY HURT MY TEETH. BUT SO GOOD. But seriously, they did hurt my teeth. Maybe I'm getting a cavity?

The Brownie:

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1.Combine butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time until well incorporated.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa & salt. Gradually mix into egg mixture. Set aside.

The Macaroon:

• 4 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.

The Coconut Macaroon Brownie:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 pan and gradually spread 1/2 of brownie batter into pan. On top of this layer, spread the coconut macaroon mixture. Now carefully spread the remaining brownie batter on top of the coconut. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
2. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with brownie crumbs.

Brownie Caramel Cheesecake

I am a proud member of UCSD's Hawai'i Club and this club just so happens to have a lot of pot lucks. We had a potluck this past saturday and i decided to bring this cheesecake because it is one of the easiest yet most 'impressive' cheesecakes i have ever made. Sure, it's delicious brownie carmel-y cheesecake-y goodness but compared to white chocolate raspberry cheesecakes or dulce de leche cheesecakes (my personal favorite) it just doesn't seem as elaborate to make as it looks. It's a store bought brownie mix at the bottom, caramel, and then cheesecake drizzled with more caramel. It's a fantastic cheesecake to make if you don't want to go through all the trouble with crushing graham crackers and pressing them into the pan to make a crust- although i know that sometimes people's favorite part about cheesecakes and pies are the crust. This cheesecake can easily be dressed up even more by making home-made brownies with different flavors or mix ins, using special store bought brownie mix, or tweaking the cheesecake layer flavor. I used the larger family size 180z. package of brownie mix because i wanted a thicker brownie crust, if you use the 18 oz package prebake it for about 20 minutes instead of 7-10.

Brownie Caramel Cheesecake
- 9 oz. package Brownie mix (plus ingredients indicated on the back of the package)
- 1 package (24 oz) caramels
- 1 (5 oz) can of evaporated milk
- 3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. and line the bottom and edges with foil
2. In a small bowl, make the brownie mix according to directions on package. Pour into pan and bake for about 7-10 minutes until just set.
3. Melt the caramels with the evaporated milk over low heat in a heavy saucepan. Stir often, and heat until mixture has a smooth consistency. Reserve 1/3 cup of this caramel mixture, and pour the remainder over the warm, baked brownie crust.
4. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour cream cheese mixture over caramel mixture. Place cheesecake in a waterbath and put it into the oven.
5. Bake cheesecake for 50-60 minutes, or until just set. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake inside until oven has cooled. Take cheesecake out and refridgerate. When cake is thoroughly chilled, loosen by running a knife around the edge, and then remove the rim of the pan. Heat reserved caramel mixture, and spoon over cheesecake.