For the sweet treat enthusiasts among us, it really doesn't get more entrancing than the perfect balance of salty and sweet. This recipe for Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies from
Tablespoon, like any brilliant dessert, is comprised of fantastically variant flavors and textures; crunchy salty pretzels, warm and oozing chocolate fudge brownies all topped off with sweet and sticky caramel sauce and a pinch of rock salt...need we say more?
Now, something as complex in flavor and containing so many varying layers is usually too time-consuming, expensive and strenuous of an activity to be considered a reasonable weeknight endeavour. But shockingly, this stand-out dish calls for only 6 ingredients! To make this sweet treat, you will need brownie mix, eggs, water, vegetable oil, pretzels, caramel sauce, and coarse rock salt to garnish.
While not always the case, store-bought caramel sauce can sometimes be a bit more expensive than necessary, which is why we recommend trying out this amazing life-hack for cheap caramel sauce! This easy 1 ingredient recipe from
All Recipes simply calls for one can of sweetened condensed milk (although we recommend making more at once and storing any extra for later use). All you have to do is remove the label from the can and submerge the can in a large saucepan of boiling water, leaving it to cook uncovered for 3 hours. It's important to ensure that the can is completely submerged in water throughout the entire cooking process. Once the 3 hours have passed, simply remove the cans from the water and allow them to cool completely. Once you open them, you will find yourself greeted by your very own homemade caramel sauce! These can be stored in the pantry for up to 6 months.
(**Note that this caramel sauce will be thicker than store-bought versions)
To begin assembling this stunning dish,
Tablespoon first preheats the oven to 350°F and ensures that all of the ingredients are on hand. Then the casserole dish is lined with parchment paper (you can grease it instead if you don't have any wax paper on hand). Next,
Tablespoon takes the brownie batter and prepares it according to the instructions on the box. They recommend opting for
Betty Crocker™ fudge brownie mix, but any brownie mix will do the trick.
You can even make it a fun cooking activity with the kids by quickly preparing your own basic brownie batter, we recommend this amazing, 5-ingredient brownie recipe from
Blue Apron. Once the brownie batter is mixed, pour half of it into the casserole dish and spread it out evenly with a wooden spoon. Then, take your pretzels and spread them out into two even layers across the top of the brownie batter. Once the pretzels are evenly spread out, pour the remaining half of the brownie mix and allow for it to rest in the dish for a few minutes to even out. You can even speed up this process if you choose to by roughly chopping up the pretzels and mixing them directly into the brownie batter, as shown in this similar recipe from
Taste Made.
Place the dish into the oven preheated to 350°F and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the dish comes out clean. Once the brownies are baked, remove from the oven and spoon the caramel sauce over the top of the brownies, spreading out until smooth. Finish the dish with a nice sprinkling of coarse rock salt and allow for it to cool completely before serving. We recommend serving with a glass of cool milk or a bowl of fresh vanilla ice cream.
