Gooey Mars Brownies

Wow, it feels like it has been forever since I posted! It is good to be back. I got to see so many beautiful and exotic country's (Guatemala, Belize, Mexico). I couldn't wait to start baking again! These brownies are actually inspired by the trip, because I fell in love with milky way candy bar. It is weird cause I am not such a candy person - I prefer to bake my own treats. So when I got back home I found out that Israel doesn't have milky ways. Very sad indeed. But my sister said that the mars candy bars are the same thing, so I tried it and she was right!

I dreamed of gooey caramel nougat brownies. I couldn't get them out of my head. 

Of course I couldn't wait to try a piece, so I cut into them while still warm, which was a mess but also a little piece of heaven.

mmmm.

Gooey Mars Brownies

Caramel Adapted from Whisk Kid Brownies Adapted From Tartine

Printable Recipe

For the Caramel:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/8 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temp
2 tablespoons cream

For the Brownies:

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs 

1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla 

7 mini mars candy (or milky way), chopped

Make the caramel: Place the sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium pan. Cook over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally to help dissolve the sugar. Cook until the syrup is amber colored (however dark you'd like), then remove from heat and quickly whisk in the butter and cream, being careful as it bubbles up. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is no longer so hot that it will burn.

Make the Brownies: Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 8-inch baking dish.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. If the heat from the butter does not fully melt the chocolate, put the pan back over the heat for 10 seconds and stir until melted. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour into a small mixing bowl. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture thickens and becomes pale in color and falls from the beater in a wide ribbon that folds back on itself and slowly dissolves on the surface, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture. Add the flour and fold it in quickly but gently with the rubber spatula so that you don’t deflate the air that’s been incorporated into the eggs. Fold in the chopped mars candy.

Pour half the batter into the prepared dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Spread the caramel on top (if the caramel has hardened a bit, you can heat in the microwave, until you can work with it). Pour the rest of the brownie batter and spread evenly. Bake until the top looks slightly cracked and feels soft to the touch, about 22 - 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.