Description
Top classic brownies with a layer of homemade caramel sauce, mini chocolate chips and plenty of toasted pecans, and you have a winning combination in one of the most decadent brownies you can make.
Ingredients
Scale
Cooking spray for the pan
Turtle Brownie Batter
- 3/4 cup pecans (76 g)
- 1 stick butter (113 g)
- 3 and 1/2 Tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder (such as Droste or Hershey’s Special Dark)(18 g)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar (40 g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (98 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Turtle Brownie Topping
- 1 batch of Coffee Caramel Sauce
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips or regular chocolate chips (43 g)
Instructions
Prep the Pan
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
- Spritz an 8×8 or a 7×11 pan with cooking spray.
- Line the bottom of the pan with one piece of parchment that covers the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Place a second piece of parchment over the first that covers the other two sides.
Toast the Pecans
- Scatter the pecans on a small sheet pan. Bake them in the oven for 5-6 minutes. This should be just long enough to get a little a little color on the pecans and bring out their fragrance.
- Roughly chop or use your hands to snap 1/4 cup of the pecans into rough pieces for a topping.
Make the Brownie Batter
- Place the butter and cocoa in a small pan on the stove over medium heat. Heat just until the butter melts.
- Pour the chocolate chips into the butter as it is cooling.
- Stir everything together just until the chocolate melts.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl.
- Mix the sugars with the egg until the sugars completely dissolve; you can do this in a stand mixer, with a hand mixer, or by hand with a whisk.
- Mix the eggs into the butter and chocolate mixture until smooth along with the vanilla.
- Pour in the dry ingredients and fold everything together just until the flour disappears.
Bake the Brownies
- Scoop the batter into the prepared pan smooth the top.
- Top the brownies with 1/2 cup of the toasted pecans.
- Bake the brownies for 18-20 minutes until they no longer jiggle and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Make the Caramel
- While the brownies are baking, make a batch of Coffee Caramel Sauce. By the time the brownies are done, the caramel should be the perfect pourable consistency for topping the bars.
Finish the Bars
- Pour the caramel over the finished brownies.
- Top the brownies with the chopped pecans and the mini chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate the brownies for about 1 hour so the caramel can set.
- Once the caramel is firm cut the brownies with a serrated knife.
Notes
How to Store Turtle Brownies: Since the caramel can get soft, especially in very warm weather, store turtle brownies in a covered container in one layer in the refrigerator until serving. Kept this way, they will easily keep for a week. If you want to freeze the brownies, freeze the pecan studded brownie layer alone wrapped well in a plastic bag for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve, thaw the brownies in the fridge overnight, and then top them with the caramel and extra toppings.
Variations
- Salted Caramel Turtle Brownies: Sprinkle the caramel layer with a little flaky sea salt. The salt will add an extra crunch and balance out the sweetness.
- Pretzel Turtle Brownies: Add a few broken pretzel pieces on top of the caramel layer. The salt on the pretzels will balance out the sweetness but also add some extra crunch.
- Use Chai Spice Maple Candied Pecans: I use my spiced pecans every single chance I get. The complexity of flavors in these nuts is life-changing. Turtle brownies made with these pecans would be 100% over the top, and I’m here for it. If you do use these nuts, there is no need to toast the pecans.
- Switch the nuts: These brownies are equally good made with walnuts.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bar cookies
- Method: Baking, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
