dulce de leche brownies

recently jDub gifted me w/ this jar of dulce de leche from argentina.

i remembered seeing a recipe for dulce de leche brownies on david lebovitz's blog (one of my favorites!) so i decided to whip up a batch. being david's recipe, i knew they'd be fail proof. and fail proof, they are!

i doubled his recipe and used a bigger pan. i also added some instant coffee and salt.

dulce de leche brownies
inspired by David Lebovitz
makes one 13x8 inch pan
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (i used chips)
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1-2 cups dulce de leche

preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

line your baking pan (mine was 13x8 inches) with one sheet of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides.

melt the butter in a medium saucepan. add the chocolate pieces or chips and coffee powder and stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted. remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and salt until smooth. mix in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, then the flour. (note: i transfer the melted chocolate & butter mixture into the bowl of my kitchen aid and did the rest of the steps w/ my mixer)

pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. take one-third of the dulce de leche and drop spoonfuls, 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 (as pictured below).

bake for 30-45 mins. the brownies are done when the top is set and the center is just slightly firm.

note: david's recipe says to bake them for 35-45 mins. i set my timer for 35 mins because as with most recipes, i find that i like baking things on the lower end of the time limit because 1) i believe things continue to bake even after you take them out of the oven and 2) i'd much rather have a slightly under baked and moist cake than an over baked and dry one. i found that at 35 mins (even though i doubled the recipe) the brownies were a little more done than i would have liked. next time i make these, i think i'll bake them for only 30 mins. hence i wrote the baking time as 30-45 mins...knowing everyone's ovens are different!

remove from oven and cool completely before cutting them up. david noted that these brownies are even better the next day and i have to agree! so if you can, wait! or make them the day before you plan to serve. obviously, store them in an airtight container or covered very well with foil.

bon appetit~!