Caramel Bacon Brownies

discovered on Steph’s Bite by Bite, adapted from The Domestic Front

Ingredients:

For the Bacon Caramel:

• 2 slices of bacon
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter

For the Brownies:

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut in to pieces
• 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 slices of cooked bacon, chopped in to pieces
• Bacon Caramel Sauce

Preparation:

For the Bacon Caramel Sauce: In a small saucepan, fry two slices of bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, set aside, reserving bacon grease in the pan. Add cream to hot pan and let cool. When bacon is cool, crumble or chop finely.

In a larger pan, heat the sugar over high heat until the mixture is liquid and a deep amber color. Add the butter and the cooled bacon cream all at once, and stir until the butter is melted. Add the chopped bacon and let the mixture cool thoroughly.

For the Brownies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line an 8 inch square pan with two sheets of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and sides of the pan. Grease the foil with butter or a little Baker’s Joy.

In a large microwaveable bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate chips together in the microwave (start with 30 seconds, and stir thoroughly, then microwave for 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each bout of nuking, until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the butter). Add the cocoa and whisk until smooth, then add in the eggs, one at a time, and the sugar, vanilla and finally the flour. Stir only until combined.

Scrape half of the caramel bacon brownies batter into the prepared pan. Then spread a third of the bacon caramel in an even layer over the brownie batter. Spread the remaining brownie batter over the top, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the brownies, using a knife swirl the top layer of caramel in to the brownie batter.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes (wanting them to be more on the underdone side so that the gooeyness remains). Remove from the oven and cool completely. The caramel will be pretty gooey still, so you might want to wait to cut these until just prior to serving, and/or store in the refrigerator.