Triple Chocolate Dulce de Leche Brownies

I vaguely remember saying I wouldn't post any more recipes for brownies on this blog.  Well, people -  I lied.  This is one you definitely need to have in your repertoire.  As I mentioned in the last post, this recipe came from David Lebovitz's blog and it is DEFINITELY worth making.  Worth the calories, too.

Okay, so I did tweak the recipe though.  Just a little.  I used more dulce de leche than his recipe called for, mostly because I had it on hand after I made it from scratch and needed to get rid of it before I inhaled it.  I also added a little salt to the recipe and instead of adding toasted pecans or walnuts, I substituted chocolate chips. 

I also thought about doubling the recipe since it only calls for an 8-inch square pan.  Remember, I'm the queen of quantity - I ALWAYS make way too much of anything because heaven forbid you shouldn't have enough.  An eight-inch square pan of brownies seemed pretty skimpy to me.  What I didn't know, however, was how intensely rich and lethal these are.  Less is more when it comes to these.  Seriously.

So here is the recipe.  Be sure and read my comments at the end so you don't run into any pitfalls.  Learn from my mistakes!

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE DULCE DE LECHE BROWNIES  (adapted from David Lebovitz)

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa (I used Droste)
3 extra-large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups dulce de leche

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Line an 8-inch square pan with heavy duty foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides.  Use one sheet of foil for one side, then another sheet of foil over that, making a large cross with edges that overhang the sides.  Grease well with butter or cooking spray (grease REALLY well).

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Add the chocolate pieces and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted.  Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder.  Add eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sugar and vanilla.  Mix well then add flour and salt.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Spoon half of the dulce de leche over and swirl it in with the tip of a knife.  Spread remaining batter over top and repeat with remaining dulce de leche.  Don't get too invested in making it look artful - by the time it bakes, it mostly just looks like all chocolate anyway.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until center is just slightly firm.  Do not overbake.  Remove from the oven and cool completely then refrigerate until well-chilled.  Cut into squares as desired.

Yield:  12 - 18 brownies, depending upon how you cut them (the smaller, the better)

A couple of things: 

These are a bitch to get out of the pan.  The dulce de leche bubbles over as it bakes, creating something like glue between the foil and the pan.  I could not lift the brownies out of the pan using the foil handles because the foil stuck to the sides.  Hence, I put the pan in the freezer until it got good and solid then just cut them in the pan and lifted the brownies out one by one.

These are pretty sticky and ooey-gooey.  I find that it is best to store them in the refrigerator.  They will last for up to 5 days unless you eat them all in one sitting which I do not recommend.