The other day, I saw this pin that caught my eye: Salted Pretzel Caramel Brownies. Yum - what a delicious combination of flavors and textures - chocolate, pretzels, salted caramel, fudgy, crunchy, gooey. It sounded like a culinary masterpiece, and I had to come up with an allergy-free version.
The pretzel I chose to use was Glutino's. They come in both twisted and stick versions, and I happened to have the stick version in my cupboard. Looking back, I would either use the twisted kind or break the sticks up into smaller pieces. You can experiment with other brands as well.
Assembling these brownies is really quite easy. After preparing the brownie batter, I spread about 1/3 of it in the bottom of the pan, topped it with the pretzel layer, and then spread the remaining brownie batter on top.
While the brownies were cooking, I made the caramel sauce. To ensure that it was thick enough, I cooked it a little longer - allowing it to reach between 220 and 225 degrees.
After removing the brownies from the oven, I covered them with the caramel sauce, sprinkled it with coarse sea salt, and allowed it to cool. Really, I just wanted to eat it right out of the pan at that point. But, the caramel would have made a mess since it wouldn't have enough time to cool down and set up.
After completely cooling down, the brownies can be cut into squares. I discovered that the GF pretzels did not give me the 'crunch' I was desiring, but instead they were more chewy. Their texture was more desirable the longer they were allowed to sit. The challenge is keeping people away from these long enough!
Recipe:
Salted Pretzel Caramel Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 batch Allergy-free Fudge Brownies
- 2 c GF pretzels
- 1 batch Dairy-free Caramel (cooked to 220-225 degrees)
- Coarse sea salt
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9x9-inch pan (or equivalent) with oil.
- Prepare brownie batter. Pour about 1/3 of the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread until the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. Then add two even layers of pretzels, covering the entire surface. , spoon the remaining brownie batter on top to cover the pretzels.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the brownies comes out clean. While the brownies are baking, prepare the caramel sauce. When the brownies are done, remove from oven and set on a cooling rack to cool.
- While the brownies are still warm, spoon the caramel sauce onto the top of the brownies in an even layer. (If it is too thick, spoon the sauce into a small bowl first and microwave for 30 seconds to thin) Sprinkle the caramel with a few pinches of sea salt.
- Let cool to room temperature and serve.
Now these look divine!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kathryn!
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