Sweet, Salty, Chewy, and Crunchy Brownies

I seriously have no idea what to call these things. If I listed all the ingredients in them, they’d become something along the lines of “Pretzel, Peanut, Salted Caramel Brownies”. But I kind of like describing them by the contrasting aspects of those ingredients. Hence “Sweet, Salty, Chewy, Crunchy Brownies”. My friend M preferred to just call them “Super Brownies”. Whatever you decide to call them, they’re awesome.

I whipped these up for a little gathering of friends and we could barely put a dent in them! They’re very rich and indulgent, so even though I had cut the 8×8 pan of brownies into 16 pieces, a bunch of us still prefered to share one brownie. Definitely plan to have a cup of cold milk nearby when you enjoy these.

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Sweet, Salty, Chewy, and Crunchy Brownies

Yield: 16

Ingredients:

1 batch brownies (made from mix or scratch)
1 (11 ounce) bag Kraft Caramel Bits, or about 3/4 of a bag of Kraft Caramels, unwrapped
1/4 cup half & half
1/2 tsp sea salt
12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp shortening
1 cup mini pretzels, slightly broken
1 cup lightly salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Directions:

Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with foil all the way to the top and brush with oil. Make the brownies and cool completely.

Melt the caramels with the half and half in a large bowl in the microwave on high heat. Stir every thirty seconds until melted. Pour over cooled brownies. Sprinkle sea salt on top of caramel. Let cool until set.

Melt the chocolate and shortening in a large bowl in the microwave on high heat. Stir every thirty seconds until melted. Mix in the pretzels and peanuts. Spread over brownies. Cool and serve.

Recipe adapted from The Cooking Photographer

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23 Responses to “Banana Split Cupcake”

  1. #
    1
    stephchows — September 15, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    Great cupcake hero entry!!! yum!

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    2
    oneordinaryday — September 15, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    You’re right – it’s a freaking cute cupcake! I especially love that frosting and how you got it to look like a scoop of ice cream. Nicely done!
    This is my first CH and I can’t wait till the voting begins! : )

  3. #
    3
    Amanda — September 15, 2009 at 2:49 pm

    Wow, what a yummy looking cupcake! Great idea!

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    4
    oneparticularkitchen — September 15, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    This is ADORABLE!! I love it!

  5. #
    5
    Xiaolu — September 15, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Gorgeous cupcake, Jen! I love how the cherry stands out. How do you get that black background if you don’t mind me asking? I’m pretty new to this food photography thing 8)

  6. #
    6
    Amy Kingman — September 15, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    Yummmm!!!!!

  7. #
    7
    Jen — September 15, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    Xiaolu – It’s actually just my black table. I’ve also had luck using a plain black piece of construction paper (most of my backgrounds are the 12×12 scrap-booking papers) or a black towel to get the background all black.

    Here is an example using paper, and one using a towel.

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    8
    Xiaolu — September 15, 2009 at 5:59 pm

    Thanks! That’s really helpful.

  9. #
    9
    Joanna — September 15, 2009 at 8:28 pm

    Yum! Great idea 🙂

  10. #
    10
    Stephanie Wagner — September 15, 2009 at 10:44 pm

    Awesome idea!

  11. #
    11
    bcallegra — September 16, 2009 at 2:04 am

    Very creative and it looks great!

  12. #
    12
    The Novice Chef — September 16, 2009 at 3:15 am

    What a cute idea! I love it!! And I know my nieces would be in love!

  13. #
    13
    nutmegnanny — September 16, 2009 at 3:33 am

    Great idea…they look delicious!

  14. #
    14
    jesstyler — September 16, 2009 at 4:08 am

    holy deliciousness! I NEED one of those! 🙂

  15. #
    15
    Kerstin — September 16, 2009 at 4:48 am

    How creative, I love them! So cute and tasty with that cherry on top!

  16. #
    16
    Ingrid — September 16, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    Very cute looking! I like your idea.
    ~ingrid

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    17
    lifeoftheparty — September 16, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    These cupcakes are pure genius… you’ve definitely got my vote!

  18. #
    18
    Jigginjessica — September 17, 2009 at 12:34 am

    Cute idea! What a great entry!

  19. #
    19
    thegreatpantryraid — September 17, 2009 at 7:37 pm

    Wow – super cute! A lot of work, I’m sure, but such a big payoff! Great job!

  20. #
    20
    Kami — September 17, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    So stinkin’ cute!

  21. #
    21
    Caroline — September 19, 2009 at 6:23 am

    Very cute, indeed and loving the pineapple in the frosting. I can just imagine how delicious this would taste. What a great idea.

  22. #
    22
    Keiara Wells — September 19, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    MMM, it looks fantastic! I’ll have to try this one 🙂 xox

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    Sweet and Savory — October 15, 2009 at 5:55 am

    These cupcakes are precious besides, I am sure, being delicious. What a great idea.

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