baked!: salted caramel brownies.

all right, guys. this is serious.

we need to talk about salted caramel brownies.

these little bits of heaven have been on my mind since i first made my no-fail brownies (actually a king arthur flour recipe) -- in fact, those brownies were simply a test batch to ensure that they would be the right vehicle for the salted caramel variety. happily, they were -- and they totally stand on their own and are delicious in their own right. if you're looking for a great brownie recipe, i highly recommend them. but i wanted to take them up a notch, to quote emeril lagasse. so: salted caramel it was.

per olivia, the queen of salted caramel brownies, i used smitten kitchen's buttery salted caramel recipe, and it couldn't have been easier: just sugar, salted butter and heavy cream. after it was done, i set it aside, made the brownie batter, then put a layer of brownie batter in a greased pan, drizzled half the caramel on top, and repeated. olivia says the key to the success of these brownies is to underbake them by 5-10 minutes, so i put mine in the oven for about 27 minutes and then stuck them in the fridge for another two hours before i finally had to have a taste.

they. are. delicious. and if you're in need of a baked-good gift or party treat, give these a try. i promise your guests won't be disappointed.

note: this post disappeared in the great blogger outage of may 2011, so if you left a comment and it's not showing up, my apologies.