Maple-caramel, Pecan Fudge Brownies
I find that baking perfectly gooey brownies is kind of like waiting for avocados to ripen. That window of opportunity where they're just right is so slim. Overcook your brownies by a matter of seconds, and they go from fudgy deliciousness to dry and crumbly disappointment.
I might be being a little bit over-dramatic here, but I’ve been on a mission to find my perfect brownie consistency, and I can tell you - the struggle is real. I've been testing this recipe for so long, I'm surprised my friends aren't sick of the sight of them. That said, I think I'm onto a winner with this recipe...
These brownie bars are filled with a layer of oozing maple-caramel making them seriously decadent (even by brownie standards). The pecans bring a necessary crunch - so don’t skip these! I’m a little a bit obsessed with the marriage of maple and pecan - it's not the first time it's featured on my blog (check out my Maple Pecan Cheesecake).
I used a shop-bought caramel for this recipe but if you fancy making your own, you can check out my recipe here. Homemade caramel is really not as daunting as it sounds, but in this instance I opted for the slightly speedier route to brownie heaven.
When you take your brownies out of the oven, you want them to be slightly firm on top and around the edges, but with a wobble in the middle, so keep a close eye on them in the last few minutes of cooking. They’ll continue to cook for a little bit once you remove them from the oven, so I’d always ere on the wobbly side rather than risk and over-baked brownie (gasp!).
Once baked, leave then to cool completely in the tin before turning them out - they’ll be much easier to cut once cooled too, if you can wait that long.
