Chocolate Caramel Chews
Submitted by patburton
Three-layer chocolate caramel bars with a fudgy brownie base, gooey pecan caramel topping, and a lacy semi-sweet chocolate drizzle. Makes 54 bars that store beautifully for 10 days. Think homemade turtle candy in cookie bar form.
YIELD
54 barsPREP
25 minCOOK
30 minREADY
120 minIf turtle candies and brownies had a baby, these would be it.
The bottom layer is a dense, fudgy brownie made with unsweetened chocolate and brown sugar that bakes up chewy and firm enough to hold everything on top.
Next comes a from-scratch caramel cooked to thread stage with heavy cream, corn syrup, and butter, then loaded with toasted pecans and spread across the brownie while it’s still hot.
A quick chocolate glaze gets drizzled over the top in a lacy pattern for that bakery-window finish.
They keep for 10 days stored airtight at room temperature, which makes them a go-to for holiday cookie boxes, bake sales, or stashing in the pantry for emergencies.
Pro Tips
- Use a candy thermometer for the caramel. You’re looking for 230 degrees, which is thread stage. Undershoot and it’ll be runny; overshoot and you’re making hard candy.
- Toast the pecans before adding them to the caramel. Raw pecans are bland; toasted pecans taste like they belong there.
- Let the chocolate glaze set completely before cutting, or your lacy drizzle becomes a smeared mess.
- A bench scraper cuts cleaner bars than a knife. Wipe the blade between cuts for sharp edges.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Butter a 9×13 pan.
COOKIE BASE: In a heavy saucepan over low heat, warm chocolate and butter, stirring often, until just melted and smooth.
Do not beat mixture more than necessary.
Remove from heat, add brown sugar and salt, and beat by hand until smooth.
Stir in vanilla and eggs.
Add flour in ½ cup increments, blending by hand after each addition.
Spread evenly in buttered pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool on rack one hour.
CARAMEL TOPPING: In heavy saucepan, combine all topping ingredients except vanilla.
Cook over med-high heat, stiring occasionally, until mixture reaches 230 degrees on a candy thermometer or forms a 2-inch thread when dropped from a spoon---about 25 minutes.
Immediately remove from heat, stir in vanilla and nuts.
Spread hot caramel evenly over cookie base.
Let stand until cool.
CHOCOLATE GLAZE: Combine chocolate and cream in saucepan.
Warm over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and smooth.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
Drizzle over caramel in lacy pattern.
Let chocolate set before cutting into 54 bars, about 1 x 2 inch.
Store airtight at room temp for 10 days.
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