Chocolate Caramel Turtle Brownies
Topped with caramel bits, chocolate chunks and pecans,
these Chocolate Caramel Turtle Brownies are sure to be a hit in your house!
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As I’ve mentioned many times here on Spiced, I grew up in the South. I was born in Texas, but raised in South Carolina and North Carolina. After college, I spent some time in southern Louisiana and then Atlanta, Georgia. My family still lives in Texas and Tennessee. So, yeah, I know the South.
However, my wife and I now call the frozen tundra that is upstate New York home. (When I left the gym last week, my hair was still a little wet from the shower. By the time I got to my car, it was frozen. Seriously. There was ice in my hair. -10°F will do that to you.) At this point, you might be asking yourself why in the heck we live this far North. I ask myself that same question every day in the winter. The answer? My wife’s dream job.
I met my wife when we were both in grad school in Atlanta. My pre-Spiced days consisted of studying higher education policy, particularly as it related to the intersection between academics and major college athletics. My wife, on the other hand, is a metallurgist. She takes chemicals and base metals and mixes them together to create gold. Wait, no, that’s an alchemist. Seriously, though, she spends her days developing steel alloys and casting fireballs. Wait, no, that’s a wizard. Ok, so a metallurgist falls somewhere between an alchemist and a wizard. She truthfully does research on various metals to create stronger alloys for use in everyday items. And her dream job is in upstate New York. That, my friends, is how we came to call upstate New York home.
So what the heck do metallurgy and fireballs have to do with these crazy delicious Chocolate Caramel Turtle Brownies? Well, I used one of the coolest brownie pans ever to bake these bad boys. First, this pan, made by Fat Daddio’s, has a removable bottom. How handy is that for getting brownies out of the pan easily? But this pan also features an anodized aluminum coating. What does that mean? It means it’s incredibly durable and has excellent heat distribution. (Aluminum is a great heat conductor. My wife, the metallurgist/wizard, told me so.) That means my brownies baked up nice and evenly…always a plus in my book!
Before I started Spiced, I worked in a local kitchenware store. I got to try out a lot of great bakeware, but this brownie pan really takes the cake…err, brownie. The anodized aluminum surface is pretty awesome. Want to know more about anodized aluminum? Ask my wife. Or better yet, just check it out here. I also love the fact that this square pan has a removable bottom. That means it’s perfect for cheesecakes, upside-down cakes, tiramisu and pretty much any dessert where you want to make sure the top stays nice and pretty. After all, what’s the point of spending a bunch of time creating an awesome looking dessert if you can’t get it out of the pan easily? Fat Daddio’s has a huge collection of removable bottom pans in various shapes and sizes. Just scrolling through their catalog gives me a ton of different recipe ideas. (Just wait until you see what I have in store for Valentine’s Day!)
Chocolate Caramel Turtle Brownies
Chocolate Caramel Turtle BrowniesBut back to these Chocolate Caramel Turtle Brownies. What’s not to love here? You’ve got an awesomely rich brownie base topped with chopped nuts, chocolate chunks and caramel bits. And the best part is it doesn’t take long to throw it all together. We saved ourselves a couple of these brownies, and then we sent the rest in to my wife’s coworkers.
The way I see it, the chocolate and caramel provided much needed brain power to all of those nerdy scientists. (Haha, just kidding. They don’t wear pocket protectors, so they aren’t actually nerds. They’re dorks instead.)
Did you make these Chocolate Caramel Turtle Brownies? Leave a comment! Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog).
Looking for more fun brownie recipes? Check out these other favorites:
Samoa Brownies
Cheesecake Swirled Brownies
German Chocolate Brownies
Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Brownies
Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies
Chocolate Caramel Turtle Brownies
Ingredients
For the Brownies
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate coarsely chopped
- 4 oz. unsalted butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 15 caramels unwrapped and chopped into smaller pieces (or 2/3 cup prepared caramel sauce)
- 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chunks divided
- 2/3 cup pecans coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a small saucepan, add the chocolate and butter. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally until fully melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Using a medium bowl, whisk together the white sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until well combined. Add the melted chocolate and butter; stir until well combined.
- Add the flour and salt; stir until just combined. (Tip: Take care not to overmix the batter.)
- Spread batter evenly into an 8x8 baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the chopped caramel bits with the chocolate chunks and pecans. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the top of the partially-baked brownies.
- Bake for 10-12 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the brownie base comes out clean.
- Use an offset spatula to swirl together the melted caramel and chocolate on top of the brownies.
- Let brownies cool for 1 hour at room temperature before slicing.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Fat Daddio’s.
The opinions and recipe are all my own.
A square pan with a removable bottom???? Oh wow – I need to go check out Fat Daddios…but not before I say – David, I need to sit down and have a cup of coffee with your wife and discuss the benefits of anodized aluminum and see if she can find a job as an “alchem-ard” or “metal-ork” down here in Atlanta! Because clearly, Lindsey and I should be sharing these brownies and ALL other treats that come out of the Spiced kitchen!
Frozen hair??? Yikes – I think that would be time for me to go into hibernation!
I know, right? I’m seriously loving the fact that the bottom of this pan pops right out…and it’s square! But back to Laura–I totally cracked up at the alchemard or metalork nicknames! I’m calling her those tonight. She might throw a piece of steel at me, but that’s her new nickname! Believe me, we looked and looked for positions in Atlanta…but alas, the best fit ended up being 1,000 miles north. Go figure. And we don’t have delicious peaches here. I’m still mad about that part! But we do have delicious brownies. Speaking of brownies, I need a snack. 😉
1) This pan rocks.
2) Send me a tray of these brownies #wolfpackshares
3) Love hearing how you guys made your way to the frozen tundra. I always wondered why you would leave daily comfort food, pies, and the best BBQ around
1) This pan totally rocks! I have so many things I want to make in it.
2) Sent! #WolfpackKindness
3) I totally miss the local produce down South, but I brought along my recipes for BBQ, pies and comfort food. So we end up making more food than we do eating out now…but I’m not complaining! Just wish we had some foodie neighbors who liked BBQ and brownies.
What’s not to love here indeed! All my favorite sweet dessert goodies in one bite. Check out this one I use http://amzn.to/1ylcOF1 it has a very cool feature. BTW, frozen hair, that’s crazy! I don’t know how you guys do it, but supporting your wife’s dream job and WHERE it is is most admirable. These brownies look delicious. 🙂
I know, Kevin! I couldn’t decide what flavor of brownie to use for the first time in this pan…so I just added all of my favorites in there! Well, I guess I should have added crumbled toffee, too. Because toffee is pretty much my favorite dessert ever. I’m guessing you don’t get frozen hair much out there in your neck of the woods, huh? btw, the frozen hair thing totally happened again yesterday. Really? Really? 🙂
Ok, now I need a brownie pan with a removable bottom. Thanks 😉
And that frozen hair? Mine is halfway down my back and I don’t blow it dry. Coming out of the gym is always fun. I feel you on that cold 😉
Brownie pans with removable bottoms are pretty much the coolest thing ever! 🙂 Oh, and I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have long hair and have it freeze like that. It would be a deadly weapon…haha! Thanks, Michelle! 🙂
Pretty sure your wife is a Wizard and you’re just envious you’re a muggle. (Please tell me your a Harry Potter fan…)
Why do you guys have the best gadgets? Seriously. That pan sounds amazing. The number of brownies I wreck just by removing them….
I actually have never seen/read any of the Harry Potter movies/books. But, with that said, I still totally get the reference. I don’t know why I’ve never picked them up b/c I do love science-fictiony type stuff, but I guess I always thought they were for kids? Oh, and I’m pretty sure you can find Fat Daddio’s pans down where you live…I think they have a pretty hefty international market. No more ruined brownies for you!!
Wow!! How decadent are these brownies?!?!? Also, I love the little lessons you give us in some of your blog posts that are totally unrelated to baking 🙂 Now, about this removable bottom pan for brownies. I need this stat. I always have the brownie removal struggle. Researching these pans now!
Hahaha…I guess I can’t hold back my inner teacher, Tamara. No matter how hard I try. I’m also what some might call a dork (or a nerd), so I totally love random little lessons. This removable pan was awesome for brownies. Like seriously awesome. As you can see in that one pic, I popped the whole thing out and onto a cutting board. Perfect square brownies. Mmmm….chocolate… 🙂
Double WOW! These brownies look insanely delicious! Love the chocolate and caramel combo- one of my faves! Cannot wait to try these out, craving a slice now…:D
Hehe…these brownies do indeed include all of my favorites, too, Jess! Chocolate + Caramel is just a magical combo. I hope you enjoy ’em as much as we did!
Fat Daddio pans are the BEST I’ve ever used! I have a couple of their cake pans and I swear, they’re the only ones that actually bake consistently and with even heat distribution.
Now then… about these caramel brownies. My birthday is on the 30th and we know how unreliable your postal carrier is, so perhaps you should just bake a pan of them and start driving west. I’ll meet you half way.. I think that’s Dayton. There’s bound to be something amazing and fun to do there besides eat brownies, right? 🙂
I totally agree with you, Becca! I just need to outfit my entire bakeware section with Fat Daddio’s, and I’ll be good to go. 🙂
So the 30th, huh? I think we can make that happen. Although I’ve heard Dayton is terribly boring! Couldn’t you have picked somewhere more exciting?? I guess we will have a carload of brownies to entire us, though. Maybe we can shovel snow or something?
Ughh turtle brownies, they sound and look SO amazing!! You gotta pass me over that pan right about now, haha! Pinned 🙂
Hahaha…Incoming brownies, Christina! Watch out over there!! (P.S. Thank you so much for pinning!)
These look killer delicious, David! I’m craving them now!
And that’s exactly why we had to send the leftovers to my wife’s co-workers, Tori! We would have eaten the entire tray of these bad boys! 🙂
These look so gooey and delicious. Oh my god, you wouldn’t believe how much I am craving brownies at the moment. Just 2 more weeks and then I am going to treat myself to one. Counting down the hours!
Yes! I hear ya on holding out, Dannii…and that’s what will make it taste so delicious, too! 🙂 We had to send the leftovers off to my wife’s co-workers or we would have polished off each and every one of these ourselves!
That is a sick pan. Just saying. A removable bottom on a regular brownie/cake pan? Genius. And all that fancy-shmansy talk about the alloys…bonus.
Drooling over these brownies. I don’t know how you had the self-restraint not to take a small corner piece before shooting. You are clearly stronger than I!
Hahaha! The small corner pieces are my favorite part of the brownie! It took every ounce of willpower I had to shoot these before digging in. I mean, chocolate, nuts and caramel? That’s like my all-time favorite classic dessert. And now I want chocolate for lunch…is that allowed??
Oh, and, do you have any more? Bc I have a serious turtle brownie craving now and NO SWEETS! GAHHH
Wait. No sweets?? Are you laying off the sweets or something? Because that would just be wrong. I may or may not have several of these brownies stashed away in the freezer if you want to make the trek north. The trip may very well be worth it for a brownie…or two. Haha!
Hi David! First I read your post on that amazing mud pie and then you show me that Reese’s cake again and now these brownies! Seriously? You have all but abolished any remaining fragments of my self control! I am all to familiar with frozen hair having come from MI – luckily that does not occur in TN! 🙂
Hahaha! Thanks so much for clicking over to check this one out. I’m happy to say that the frozen hair is long gone now. It’s getting quite nice (dare I say warm??) in upstate New York now. And I apologize for annihilating those last fragments of self control. (Here’s a tip: freeze half of the batch of brownies right away…that’s what we do!) 🙂
Just made this brownie and it is very delicious. I stumbled across your site searching for a dessert and am excited to see all the awesome recipes. Makes sense that they all look so good, considering your occupation.
Awesome! Thank you so much for coming back and commenting, Svetlana. These brownies are insanely good…and now you’ve reminded me about that. I might need to get another batch going for the weekend over here. I’m glad you enjoyed them as much as we did! 🙂
Just wanted to drop you a note to let you know that I made these brownies for Christmas and everyone loved them!! I used a salted caramel sauce from Trader Joe’s and it gave the brownies this awesome sweet + hint of salty combo.
Hey Nicole! Awesome…your note totally made my day. 🙂 I love a good salty + sweet desert, and I’m happy to hear these were a huge hit. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that salted caramel sauce next time I’m in Trader Joe’s. Thanks for the tip!