Salted Caramel Pecan Brookies
With a fudgy brownie base, a salted caramel drizzle, chopped pecans, and topped with a chocolate chunk cookie dough, these Brookies have it all, and then some.
What Makes These Brookies Special?
Both the brownie base and chocolate chunk recipes are solo standouts, but together—magic. For my standard brownie base recipe, I actually don’t call for cocoa powder, but instead, I use chopped bittersweet chocolate, and further, for the dry ingredients, I call for cake flour instead of all-purpose. This makes the brownies incredibly fudgy, delicious, and unique from other recipes. Further, the brownies paired with salted caramel is a match made in heaven. The chocolate cookie dough base is my go-to and such a classic, but made better by using quality dark chocolate and chopped pecans—this gives the dessert a few different textures to enjoy when eating the Brookies.
Brookie Baking Tips
Tips are as follows:
1.) Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper. This allows for easy lifting and cutting.
2.) Once the brownie batter is spread into the pan, DON’T be tempted to place it in the refrigerator or freezer while the cookie dough is made. Both layers should go into the oven at the same temperature, or the brownie batter will be underdone when pulled from the oven.
3.) For the chocolate chunk cookies, chocolate chips can certainly be substituted, but I prefer to use bittersweet baking bars, chopped fresh. The chunks provide gorgeous chocolate pools when baked, and further, they provide a dynamic texture when eaten.
4.) When baking the Brookies, if the chocolate chunk cookie layer is browning too fast, put a layer of aluminum foil on top to prevent uneven baking and burning. A deep golden brown color is okay.
5.) The most challenging part of this bake is gauging the bake time. If pulled too soon, the brownies will be gooey inside, and not pulled soon enough, they won’t have that dreamy fudgy texture we want in a brownie. There isn’t a sure way to guarantee perfectly cooked brownies, so this will require some intuition. Using a toothpick is the best tool for determining doneness. When analyzing the toothpick, a few wet crumbs is okay—meaning the Brookies can be pulled from the oven—but if the brownie batter or cookie dough is quite wet and sticky, they need more time. With my oven, the baking sweet spot is between 33 and 37 minutes.
Final Tip
Before cutting the Brookies into squares, they should be completely cooled. Alternately, to enjoy them warm, let them cool for 30 minutes to an hour before scooping into bowls, and enjoying with ice cream.
Salted Caramel Pecan Brookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into squares
- 10 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cup + 3 tablespoons cake flour
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce
- pinch of coarse salt, like sea or kosher
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper for easy lifting and cutting.
- Using a medium sauce pan, melt the butter and chopped chocolate over medium-low heat until melted and combined. Transfer chocolate to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in the sugars on medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until combined. Scrape bowl as needed.
- Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the cake flour over the brownie batter, into the mixing bowl. Using a spatula, fold the flour into the batter until just combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan, using an offset spatula to spread the batter gently into an even layer. Drizzle the caramel on top of the brownie batter, sprinkle with a pinch of the course salt. Set aside.
- Place the butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs into the mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 15 seconds. Add vanilla mixing briefly. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Place the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and mix until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl and mix again for a few seconds. Add the chopped pecans and chocolate, reserving a few pieces of chocolate to place on top of before baking.
- Using your hands or a spoon, carefully place globs of the cookie dough on top of the brownie batter. Try and cover a nice perimeter of cookie dough on top of the batter, but it is perfectly okay and actually preferred, if some of the brownie is seen peeking through the cookie dough. Finish by placing the remaining chunks of chocolate on top of the cookie dough.
- Place into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few brownie crumbs. For my oven it takes about 35 minutes to bake. Let the Brookies cool completely before cutting into squares. Drizzle with additional caramel, if desired.
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