Salted Caramel Brownies

Sugar is not a nutrient that is widely available when doing nutrition analysis as currently the amount of sugar listed includes both naturally occurring, as well as added sugar. The recipe may not be as low as a "diet" brownie, but who wants a diet brownie?  The fact that it is a lighter version of a normally decadent treat is good for me.  

great brownies but there isn't any Carmel in the ingredients

These were ok, but I though they were a little too much. I would have preferred them without the caramel layer (which, as others noted, didn't come out as thick as in the picture) and with a bit of sea salt sprinkled on top.

Brownie layer: Very thick and dry when mixing. Had to add water to smooth it out. Baked for 30 minutes. Caramel layer: Had to double the recipe to cover brownie layer like the picture. Sugar content: The only way CL can get away with publishing this recipe in a healthy eating mag is that they don't list sugar in the nutritional description. This is not a light recipe! This recipe should have been published in CL's sister mag Southern Living. Question for CL: Do you test all of your recipes before publication? If I was not an experienced baker the recipe would not have turned out well.

The brownie by itself was surprisingly decadent, especially considering how easy it was to make. I had to double the caramel to cover the entire cake, and the caramel itself was deliciously rich too (BTW I used a bit more brown sugar and halved the powdered sugar). For me, the combination of the rich brownie and rich caramel was way too much. And I generally like sweet desserts. Next time I will make the brownie alone. Maybe use the caramel as an ice cream topping. I didn't bother with the chocolate drizzle, though I'll suggest to the reviewers who thought it was too thin to chill it till it thickens, and then drizzle.

Delicious but the drizzle was the wrong consistency. Next time will not add the milk to the chocolate for the drizzle. Also the caramel was a bit hard to spread. Next time I may cook it less. Otherwise the taste was fantastic and all loved it. I also subbed in 1/3 amt of whole wheat flour for apf.

Very tasty. The toppings are a very sweet addition. The caramel part of the topping went on fine.. but the drizzled chocolate... not so much. I think I was just too impatient and didn't let the chocolate cool enough before drizzling it on. It's hard to wait with brownies in front of you! :) Anyway, it still came out interesting looking. The tops were all dark chocolate looking with little lines of caramel peeking through the dark chocolate.

Tasted good but unhealthy ingredients put these off my list.

I agree with the others -- they were delicious but they look nothing like the picture. My caramel topping was a golden color and the chocolate drizzle was very liquidy and did not hold any kind of design. I'll make some adaptations next time but honestly ... they were delicious.

Delicious!! Hard not to eat the whole pan!

These were amazing! Anything that adds sea salt to chocolate - I need to try it. Like some other reviews, I revised the caramel topping ingredients. I used 1.5 x's the amount the recipe called for, except I didn't add .5 x's more powdered sugar. I think that was a good move because I think it would've made them a touch too sweet. I didn't have any issues with the caramel topping not spreading or being enough. I was able to get a nice even coating over the entire brownie. It set nicely (wasn't too soft or too hard). For the chocolate drizzle, I didn't add any of the milk - just melted straight 60% cacao chocolate. I would say the revisions I made did help my version of the brownie look more like the photo.

very good but had to cook twice as long as recipe called for.

These are delicious, and not as labor intensive as all the steps make it seem.. I cooked them in an 8x8 pan, and for the topping decreased the butter to 2 TBS, and just added the same amount of sugar, milk, vanillia and followed the directions. I also let the brown sugar and milk roll at the boil point for about 15-20 seconds. When frosting the brownies, found that I needed to work quickly, and leave the frosted parts alone, working my way down the pan. When I attempted to go over the already frosted part, it had already started to harden, and it wasn't as smooth as it could have been if I'd left them alone. I also used an organic dark chocolate, melted it, and omitted the consensed milk from the chocolate. This change made the chocolate drizzle well, and it hardened nicely on the brownies. They are very similar looking to the picture. For the brownies, the only changes I made was to decrease the granulated sugar to about 3/4 cup, and added 1/4 cup of flax meal.

What is the line 3 19/50 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cup) actually supposed to say? Gave it 4-stars based on the average but haven't made them yet. Will rerate when I do.

Made these for a party and they were delicious. My chocolate drizzle was a little runny, so next time I will let it cool for 20-30 seconds before drizzling to get an effect more like the picture.

These are by far the BEST brownies EVER! Always a hit and I usually have to make a double batch.

With a little modification, these brownies are AMAZING. I read the previous reviewers comments and made the following changes: I reduced the amount of sugar in the brownies by 50% (so only 1/2 c. sugar and 1/4 c. brown sugar), and made more caramel topping than the recipe called for, increasing all ingredients by 50%. The brownies were rich and fudgy, and there was enough caramel topping. These didnt last more than 2 days in my house - delicious!

The brownie part of this recipe was okay. The topping was absolutely disgusting. It certainly didn't taste like caramel and it never set up. The end results looks nothing like the picture and it was incredibly too sweet and I have an enormous sweet tooth. This recipe is also not "cooking light".

This were so delish, everyone gobbled them up. Kids even kept going back for seconds. I agree mine did not turn out as pretty. I think you could solve that by doubling the topping and just use as much as need to give a nice think coating. The batter was super thick and I was VERY concerned they would not turn out well.

These are delicious!!! Mine didn't turn out quite as beautifully as the picture (as other reviews have mentioned the caramel doesn't spread very easily), but they taste insanely good! This recipe is an absolute repeat in my house

3 and nineteen fiftieths (19/50) OUNCES OF FLOUR? Who came up with this recipe!!!!

I made these for my family and they were a big hit. Really rich flavor, I will be making them again,

Excellent flavor but I agree with those who said that there isn't enough caramel to cover the brownies.

I love taste of sweet and salty. I made these for my family and everyone loved them. I think next time I will add some pecan on top.

I just made this recipe and my husband - the brownie snob - is astonished by how good they are. Moist, dense and full of flavor just like brownies should be. My only comments are around the caramel topping: I didn't think the recipe made enough to cover the brownies quite as well as it should so next time I think I will make one and a half times what is called for, and I had to thin the chocolate drizzle with a bit more milk to thin it enough to drizzle. Overall, this one's a keeper!

These were yummy!!! I followed the recipe exactly and thought the amount of caramel was perfect. The caramel also set up just fine for me. These do not taste like light brownies!

This has to be the best recipe I've made from Cooking Light in 2 years of subscribing. I can't imagine anyone not liking this! All of the flavors combined perfectly - I have to admit I was a bit nervous about the caramel, since I tasted the little bit that was left in my pot after I made it, but combined with the brownie, the chocolate drizzle and the salt - perfect! My baking pans are all dark nonstick so I reduced the temp by 25 degrees, and had to tack on 2 extra minutes to the baking time. The consistency was moist, almost like fudge, which is how I like my brownies. The amount of caramel was perfect. Any more and they would have been too sweet to be edible. Really, I'm having a hard time imagining brownie fans disliking this recipe, unless they're inexperienced with the whole "salted caramel" thing. Maybe it's too exotic, I don't know. For me, my family and the friends with whom I shared them, they were a hit! Definitely a keeper!

I made these and followed the recipe to a T. They came out really well. I did add a few more tablespoons of milk to the final layer of chocolate to get the right texture for the chocolate topping. The second time I made them, they came out a little better. I think if you let your caramel cook a little longer than the recipe calls for it comes out with a better flavor and texture.

Wish I had read the reviews before making these brownies. I extended the brownie baking time by 5 minutes but in retrospect probably should have extended to 10 minutes like some previous reviewers recommended. Also, I agree with the previous reviewers that the caramel should be doubled to mimic the pictures. I did not put the caramel on the brownies IMMEDIATELY afterwards, it had already started thickening within a minute I finished making it. I would recommend to others that it should be really hot and administered within seconds of whisking it to a smooth finish to create a workable caramel layer. My end result was sickeningly sweet despite my sweet tooth. I followed the recipe exactly.

OH muhgod. You are trying to kill me !!! XD XD Food like this is like a drug. Also can somebody tell me, what is the deal with evaporated milk? How is that different from regular milk? I would have guessed CONDENSED sweetened maybe, because that is what you can make caramel from. OH yeah, a secret from an O'Charleys I used to work at. The caramel pie?? They put a GIGANTIC can of sweetened condensed milk into a giant pot of boiling water, and boil for a few hours UNOPENED. When you open it it has turned to caramel !! MMMhmm !! that is what they use for the entire filling. Dying to try it on a little can. You can eat that right out of the can XD XD XD

OMG! Great combo of chocolate, caramel and saltiness! I did have to cook the brownies for almost 30 minutes - but that was probably just my old junky oven. I agree with the CookingInPA about the caramel layer. I ended up making 2 batches of caramel. I spread on the first, sprinkled on salt, then made and spread on the second batch. I had no problem with either batch setting up (and I used regular 2% milk), in fact, I had to work really fast to pour and spread the caramel before it started to solidify. Try to spread well on the first pass - the more you work the caramel, the less glossy it gets. The caramel was actually more "soft praline" than "chewy caramel", but tasted great. I was too lazy to do the drizzle, but I did sprinkle mini-chocolate chips on half of it. Awesome!

Good but too sweet, will cut down on the sugar for sure.

The serving size is ridiculously tiny. However, the actual recipe is fantastic. Check out my post here: http://www.icancookthat.org/2011/08/salted-caramel-brownies.html

Amazing! This is my new favorite dessert.

Huge fan of this recipe! Tried it for the first time last weekend, and the batch disappeared in just a few days. I typically don't have the patience for baking, but found this recipe very easy to follow. The brownies were unbelievably dense and chewy. The icing -- although not totally caramel flavored -- was delicious, and I doubled it on the second recipe. Didn't really have a hard time getting the icing to solidify -- it was hard in about 30 minutes. As for the chocolate sauce, I agree that it just didn't drizzle right and didn't look like the picture. I'll probably leave it off on future batches. I thought the first time I had let the chocolate sit for too long (it thickened on me), but I drizzled it right away the second time and it still looked funny and spread too wide on top of the icing. Anyway, a huge hit with my family and I'm sure I'll be making them many more times in the future!

These were good as brownies go, but not all that distinctive. I used spelt flour which resulted in a denser brownie than all-purpose, but the bottom layer was the best part, which missed the point. The caramel layer was insubstantial and not very caramel-y tasting, and the chocolate drizzle, like for many other reviewers, turned out too thin. I was NOT going to open a can of evaporated milk to use only 3 1/2T, so I used half and half instead (and the tiny volume equated to only a couple of added fat grams). Next time I would double the caramel and maybe even use a different caramel recipe entirely, and cut the liquid part of the chocolate drizzle by half.

We had the same issue as some others. They look great in the picture, and the presentation matters. The caramel is still a little gooey, and the drizzle was way too thin to look right. On the other hand, they taste spectacular. So, we give them a five for taste, and a two for appearance. If anyone solves the caramel and drizzle consistency, I hope you post it.

I had a few problems when making this recipe. First, the caramel layer cooled off too quickly before I could put it on the brownies. It ended up just being a glob of caramel that wouldn't spread. Second, the chocolate drizzle did not turn into a drizzle, more like a thick chocolate. I tried it twice to make sure that I did it right and it turned out the same way. I followed the directions to a T. Not sure what happened. I ended up just spreading the chocolate over the caramel. They did taste alright although they were not as pretty as the picture.

I thought the brownie itself was very good. The caramel topping had a nice flavor - it was almost too sweet, but not quite. I didn't have any problem with caramel coverage. I followed the recipe & got a pretty thick layer of caramel. My only issue was with the chocolate drizzle. I didn't get a good consistency for drizzling, so I ended up with globs of chocolate, which I then spread out with a knife. Maybe I needed a little more time in the microwave, or a little less time stirring.

Don't forget to use evaporated milk instead of regular--a mistake I made twice. They were still good, though not as carmel-y as I would have wanted.

I had no problem with the brownie layer, but my caramel layer never set up. I waited the 20 minutes, still gooey. 1 hour later, still gooey. 3 hours after that...well, you get the picture. Perhaps more powdered sugar is needed to stiffen it? Also, there is no way that the pictured brownies were made without doubling the caramel layer -- they are way too thick, not to mention misleading!! It's very unfortunate...I count on CL to give me reliable recipes; I followed this one exactly and it's just not up to par. Very disappointed.

I was so excited to make these but very disappointed with the results. I followed the directions exactly but found these to be way too sweet, and I have a sweet tooth. The brownies were more like cake than real chewy brownies and the topping hurt my teeth. The whole batch went in the garbage. What a waste of money, ingredients and time.

Excellent. Just a little tricky baking the brownies to get them done since we made a double batch.

We really liked these. I agree with the other posters who said the caramel layer wasn't as good as it could have been, but the flavor was definitely there. I would make these again!

These are amazing!! I made them for a neighborhood get together and they were a BIG hit. Thay even ranked better than treats made by a pastry chef. The only issue I had with recipe was I had to cook them 10 minutes longer, otherwise they looked very close to recipe picture. Everyone wanted the recipe! It's a keeper!!

loved the chocolate layer of the brownie even more than the walnut fudge brownie recipe from the same issue. this does not have the melted chocolate . the caramel does not taste truly like a caramel, you can come up with a better caramel layer. but overall- a very good recipe even without the caramel.

These are addictive! However, albeit delicious, there are issues with the appearance of the topping compared to the picture. As another reviewer mentioned the caramel layer is a lot thinner (height wise) than the picture and the dark chocolate glaze turned into a milk chocolate after the condensed milk was added, but it did turn dark the next day.

I made these 2 days ago. They are the best brownies I have ever made or eaten in my life. I highly recommend this recipe. I made a few little changes: I added a layer of chocolate chips on top of the batter before I baked it. I doubled the caramel topping and I doubled the chocolate drizzle. I used an 8x8 pan (for a little bit thicker brownies) and baked it an additional 10 minutes to compensate for the change in pan size. They are incredibly delicious. The brownie part is very fudge-like. One thing to note is that because I doubled the topping, I have to keep them refrigerated to keep the topping firm. YUM!!!

These were amazing! My 9 year old daughter and I made them. Easy to make,delicious and everyone was very surprised to hear the recipe was from Cooking Light. We will make these again and again PS - we served them warmed up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream - oh la la!

Super easy, super yummy...these were a hit at a moms' night out yesterday and the leftovers didn't last long today with my family. I'm not sure that anyone believed that they were from Cooking Light. I'll be making these again, I think. Don't let the multiple steps/layers fool you: This isn't a tough recipe at all (you just need a little time between each step to be able to complete them!).