Like Strawberry Wine...

Grab a spoon.  Yes, a spoon.  These brownies are probably the most chocolaty and decadent, and definitely the gooiest, that I have ever had.  I am generally a brownie purist – no chips, no nuts, no chunks of any kind…however adding a layer of delicious caramel in the middle?  Bring it.

They are in fact so gooey, that I had to remove all the edge pieces first, then use a super thin spatula to even get the others off the parchment paper without them completely just falling apart into a big blob of goo.  Not that that would be a bad thing if I was just eating them myself, but I had to ship these out!  I am just crossing my fingers that they arrive in Afghanistan in some semblance of the proper brownie shape.  I did forewarn the recipient that he may just need to attack them with a spoon….preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For those who may not be familiar with dulce de leche, it is basically just caramel, but made a little differently – you can make it by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk for several hours (and hours and hours).  Open the can, and voilà – caramel!  However, I took the easy route and found this in the Latin/Hispanic section at the grocery store.

These may be a mess (and maybe I used more caramel than I should have – oops!), but they are a mess that is 110% worth it.  Make them - you can thank me later.

*You could always try with this pan too – maybe that would help: Edge Brownie Pan

Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker (www.browneyedbaker.com)

INGREDIENTS:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used dark chocolate chips)
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup dulce de leche

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light-colored metal 9x13-inch pan. Line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper, and butter the parchment; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and cocoa powder; set aside.

3. Place the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water, and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler, and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be at room temperature.

4. Add three eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage, or your brownies will be cakey.

5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until there is just a trace amount of the flour mixture still visible.

6. Pour half of the brownie mixture into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Drizzle about ¾ cup of the dulce de leche over the brownie layer in a zigzag pattern, making sure the dulce de leche doesn't come in contact with the edges of the pan or it will burn. Use an offset spatula to spread the dulce de leche evenly across the brownie layer, leaving about a ½-inch border around the edges. In heaping spoonfuls, scoop the rest of the brownie batter over the caramel layer. Smooth the brownie batter gently to cover the dulce de leche layer.

7. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove the brownies from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack; allow to cool completely to room temperature before cutting and serving. The brownies can be stored, tight wrapped at room temperature, for up to 4 days.