If you love decadent chocolate treats, you need to make these dulce de leche brownies as soon as possible! These rich and fudgy brownies with silky smooth caramel-like swirls are going to knock your socks off.
I don’t know if you can ever go wrong with a homemade brownie. Even plain ole’ brownies from a box are a yummy dessert. But these brownies are above and beyond your typical brownie recipe!
They are easy to make, but they make a spectacular presentation, and they taste absolutely divine!
What is dulce de leche?
Dulce de leche is a popular South American treat that resembles caramel, but has a smoother, silkier texture, and is typically a darker color. Literally translated, it means “sweet milk” or “candy of milk”, because it is made by cooking sweetened condensed milk till thick and caramelized.
If you’ve never tried it, you are missing out! It is so good that you can just eat it by the spoonful. But of course it is also amazing in baked goods like cookies and these brownies.
You can buy canned dulce de leche, or you can make your own.
Most often, dulce de leche is thick, similar to frosting. But as you will see in the photos below, the can I used for this recipe was runny. It’s the same brand I always buy, so I’m not sure why. Fortunately, it still had the same great taste!
AN EASY BROWNIE RECIPE
These decadent brownies are adapted from a recipe for dulce de leche brownies in the book The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays. I actually met Ree a few years ago at a conference and got my copy of the book signed. (happy day!) It is filled with tasty family friendly recipes, and this is just one of them!
My 17 year old son has a couple of cute friends that asked if they could come over for some cooking lessons. They picked this ooey gooey brownie recipe, and I was happy to oblige.
We had a fun afternoon filled with laughing, learning, girl talk, and of course chocolate! They were thrilled with how the brownies turned out, and if they can make them, so can you!
HOW TO MAKE DULCE DE LECHE BROWNIES
- PREP: Line an 8″ pan with foil and spray generously with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°.
- BATTER: Melt your butter in a large saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate chips. Stir till melted, then whisk in the cocoa powder, then the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the flour.
- LAYER: Spread half of the batter in the bottom of the pan. Dollop (or pour if your dulce de leche is thin like mine) the dulce de leche over the batter. Top with remaining batter and gently swirl with a knife.
- BAKE: Bake in preheated 350° oven for about 35-40 minutes or until the center is set.
Because my dulce de leche was thin, it bubbled up over the sides and covered the swirls. Not quite as pretty, but it didn’t affect the taste. Yours will probably turn out prettier than mine!
STORAGE – These brownies will keep at room temperature for 4-5 days if stored in an airtight container. You can also wrap and freeze them for up to 3 months.
If you do freeze them, I recommend letting them thaw at room temperature before serving. When you try to heat them in the microwave, the caramel mixture quickly heats to the temperature of boiling lava, and you don’t want anyone to burn their mouth!
VARIATIONS:
- Sprinkle some coarse salt over the caramel layer before adding the dollops of batter.
- Add some chopped nuts to the batter. I think salted cashews pair perfectly with caramel, but any nut would add a nice crunch.
- For an extra special treat, cut the brownies into larger squares and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel or more dulce de leche.
LOVE CARAMEL? TRY THESE:
MORE TASTY BROWNIE RECIPES:
- Oreo Cheesecake Brownies
- German Chocolate Brownies
- Marble Brownies
- Symphony Bar Brownies
- Chewy Brownies
- Zucchini Brownies
- Cherry Cheesecake Brownies
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DULCE DE LECHE BROWNIES RECIPE
Dulce de Leche Brownies
Thick fudgy brownies with swirls of dulce de leche. A decadent brownie recipe that will have chocolate caramel fans raving!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 6 oz semi sweet chocolate (1 cup chocolate chips)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 13.4 oz can dulce de leche (about a cup)
Instructions
- Line an 8" pan with foil or parchment and spray with non stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir till melted, then whisk in the cocoa powder.
- Whisk in the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Stir in the flour.
- Spread half of the batter in the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Pour the dulce de leche over the batter, then drop the remaining batter in spoonfuls over the top. Swirl with a butter knife.
- Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes.
Notes
These brownies are quite rich, so I cut them into 16 pieces, but you can cut them into 9 servings instead.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 278Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 130mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 1gSugar: 31gProtein: 5g
These brownies were fabulous! Super easy to follow instructions and everyone loved them.
So happy to hear that they were a hit at your house. They sure are at mine! 🙂
These brownies are amazing and so yummy! My hubby and daughter loved this recipe! Can’t wait to make this again!