dulce de leche brownies

I had some dulce de leche left over, despite giving away a large jar and making two batches of cheesecake. Dulce de leche freezes just fine, but then I stumbled across this and I simply couldn't resist.



Dulce de leche + chocolate = heaven.

Best part? It took ten minutes to throw together. If you weigh your ingredients, it's even faster.



Unfortunately, in the end, they were somewhat uneven. Parts of the dulce de leche hardened too much and were sort of crunchy (not in a good way) and the dulce de leche leaked around the foil lining the pan, making the brownies impossible to remove cleanly. So, I have a plate of brownie chunks. That said, the brownie bits are amazingly moist and the perfect kind of chocolatey. Although I probably won't make these again (too much of a pain in the end--the fact that I will have to soak the foil-lined pan before I can clean it is the deal-breaker) I will probably eat all of the brownies (minus what Justin can lay his hands on) in the next 24 hours.



Dulce de Leche Brownies
from David Lebovitz
12 brownies

8 tablespoons (115 g) salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup (25 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140 g) flour
optional: 1 cup (100 g) toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup Dulce de Leche

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 C).

Line a 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with a long sheet of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides. If it doesn't reach all the way up and over all four sides, cross another sheet of foil over it, making a large cross with edges that overhang the sides. Grease the bottom and sides of the foil with a bit of butter or non-stick spray.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate pieces and stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, then the flour. Mix in the nuts, if using.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan. Here comes the fun part.
Drop one-third of the Dulce de Leche, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter, then drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. Spread the remaining brownie batter over, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining Dulce de Leche in dollops over the top of the brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the Dulce de Leche slightly.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. The brownies are done when the center feels just-slightly firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Note: If you can manage to wait (yeah, right) these are even tastier the second day.