Almond Brownies with Dulce de Leche

This rich and fudgy almond brownies laced with sweet and creamy dulce de leche comes together in just one bowl. This one is for all caramel-loving chocoholics, like myself!

I.R.R.E.S.I.S.T.A.B.L.E!!

Sorry, had to use all caps and couple of !!! You know, I’m over-abuser of !!!!!!! But in my head, that’s the only way to make a point!

Anyway, if you love chocolate (what kind of statement is that!) and caramel, these brownies are for you. Disclaimer: it’s not really caramel caramel. It’s dulce de leche, aka boiled sweetened condensed milk. I know, real caramel and dulce de leche are not exactly the same thing, but they’re pretty close. I use those two interchangeably. 

But if you’re curious: dulce de leche literally means sweetened milk, which is cooked until caramelized, whereas caramel is usually made with just sugar (and maybe a little water). But if you add a little heavy cream into real caramel, you get something very close to dulce de leche. So, yeah, to me they are interchangeable.

See, how gloriously fudgy these brownies are?? And that oozing caramel though!!

As with any brownies, this one is simple to make too. In place of all flour, we’re using half regular flour and half almond flour for lighter texture. But you still don’t want to over-mix the batter, or you will get dense brownies. And who wants that?

We’re incorporating almond flavor 3 different ways: 1. almond flour, 2. almond extract, and 3. slivered almonds. You can make your own almond flour by grinding whole nuts in a food processor, but I usually buy Bob’s Red Mill almond flour, mostly for convenience. Almond extract is potent stuff, a little bit goes long way, so be careful not to use too much!

Almond slivers might be one of my favorite snacks. Here it plays a few roles: almond flavor (duh!), nice crunchy texture, and decoration.

And the rest is just simple brownie process, all in one bowl.

By the way, you can easily make that creamy dulce de leche at home. There are a few different ways to make it.

1. You can boil unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a water for a few hours. I usually boil 3-4 cans at a time in a deep stockpot. The main thing is you need to make sure the water level doesn’t go down and cans don’t get exposed, or the cans will explode. Huge hazard, but if the cans are submerged in water, it’s pretty safe and foodproof.
2. You can cook sweetened condensed milk in double boiler over simmering water until it reaches desired level of caramelization. The longer you cook, darker it gets.
3. You can pour sweetened condensed milk in a microwave safe dish and cook it, stirring frequently, until desired caramelization.
4. You can make it completely from scratch too. Here’s Alton Brown’s recipe, but I never tried it.

Now, go ahead, make yourself a batch and enjoy!

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Almond Brownies with Dulce de Leche

This rich and fudgy almond brownies laced with sweet and creamy dulce de leche comes together in just one bowl. This one is for all caramel-loving chocoholics, like myself!

Yield: 16 squares

Ingredients:

• 4oz (115gr) bittersweet chocolate
• 1/3 cup (75gr) unsalted butter
• ¾ cup (150gr) sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1/3 cup (40gr) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (35gr) almond flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup dulce de leche
• 3 tablespoons (25gr) slivered almond

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 8x8in (20x20cm) baking dish with an aluminum foil, or parchment paper.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate and butter over simmering water until smooth. (Make sure the bottom of the bowl with chocolate isn’t touching the simmering water.)
3. Remove the melted chocolate from heat and stir in the sugar. Cool the mixture, so it doesn’t cook the eggs in the next step.
4. Add the eggs, almond and vanilla extracts and mix until well combined.
5. Stir in almond and all-purpose flours along with salt. Be careful not to over mix the batter, or the brownies will get dry and dense. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
6. Using two teaspoons, drop small amounts of dulce de leche all over the brownie batter. Then using a toothpick (or a knife), swirl dulce de leche into the batter. Sprinkle slivered almonds.
7. Bake for 20 minutes and check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in to the batter somewhere between the center and the edges of the brownies. If it comes out covered with batter, bake for another 2 minutes and check again. If the toothpick comes out slightly moist with a few crumbs, then it’s ready. It should take no longer than 25 minutes.
8. Cool completely on wire rack before removing from the pan. Cut into 16 squares, before serving. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

For step-by-step photos and additional notes, read the post above.

All images and text ©Shinee D. for Sweet & Savory by Shinee

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