Dulce de leche Brownies with Hazelnuts Recipe

I served these at my Masters party yesterday ( go Phil ! ) and they were a hit. These are incredibly moist and fudge-y, my favorite kind of brownie. This recipe is from David Lebovitz - I modified slightly by adding nuts and chocolate chips. The secret ingredient to this recipe is definitely Dulce De Leche, which is a Mexican caramel dessert topping you can find in specialty stores ( check out Whole Foods) . I've read about making it on your own ( it is basically sweetened condensed milk that is cooked to a caramel texture), but I bought a jar for my first attempt of this recipe.

These brownies are very rich, so I cut them into very small pieces ( 1 1/2 inch squares). That way you can have two and not feel guilty :)


8 tablespoons of unsalted butter
6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips plus a 1/4 cup additional
1/4 Cup of cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 Cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Cup flour
1 Cup of hazelnuts, chopped ( or your favorite type of baking nut)
1 Cup of Dulce De Leche

preheat oven to 350

1-Line an 8 inch square pan with tin foil ( make sure tin foil covers bottom and all four sides- these brownies rise and stick) . Spray tin foil with non -stick spray.
2-Melt butter in medium sauce pan (you will be mixing everything in this pan, so do not go too small ). Add the 6 oz of chocolate chips and stir constantly over low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
3- Mix in cocoa, stir until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time and mix, add sugar and mix, vanilla and flour and mix until smooth. Add extra chips and nuts and stir.
4- Pour half of batter into pan. Drop 1/3 of the Dulce De Leche evenly spaced over the batter. Use a knife and drag through the caramel to make swirls. make sure that you swirl to the edges . Spread the remaining brownie batter over this, then drop the remaining Dulce De Leche in spoonfuls on top and swirl slightly. Again, make sure you swirl to the edges.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. These brownies are fudge-y, make sure you don't over bake them. Center feels slightly firm. Edges will get dry if you over bake.
I had a hard time at first cutting these (because they are gooey) so......- cool on a wire rack completely. Then take them out of the pan ( lift out with tin foil) and put in the refrigerator for about an hour before you cut them. They will be much easier to cut.

Store in refrigerator for up to two days ( although I promise, they won't last that long )

Bourbon Brownies

I was in search of a moist fudge-like brownie recipe and found this last week from Cooking Light. Jim loves Bourbon ( we always have the big boy bottle of Maker's Mark Bourbon around) so I knew I wouldn't have to go out and buy some expensive liquor to make these.

These brownies are GREAT ! You really don't taste (although you smell) the bourbon as much as it brings out the flavor of the chocolate. They are very fudgy and rich, so much so that I did cut them into bite sizes ( 1 inch squares) vs traditional bigger brownies.

Make sure you use Large, not extra large eggs so the brownies don't get too dry. And DON'T over bake !

1/4 cup of Bourbon

1/4 cup of Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups sugar

6 Tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Pam baking spray

Preheat oven to 350

1-Bring Bourbon to boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted and smooth.

2-Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Mix well ( I used an electric mixer, which I always use vs sifting, but I did make a mess with the cocoa. I would recommend using a whisk. )

3- In mixer, blend sugar and butter for about two minutes until well combined and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, beat well. Add flour mixture and Bourbon mixture. Mix on low speed until combined. DO NOT OVER BEAT or brownies will get tough.

4- spray 9 inch square baking pan with Pam, and spread batter and smooth with spatula.

5- bake in middle of oven for 25 minutes, checking early to make sure they don't over bake. Wooden toothpick should come out clean.

6-Cool on wire rack, cut into 1 inch squares.

7- store in airtight tin for up to 3 days. The best part by the way is opening the tin- it smells great !