CHEWY, SALTY PEANUTTY CARAMEL BROWNIES

CHEWY, SALTY PEANUTTY CARAMEL BROWNIES image

Yield 48 1.5" squares

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

CARAMEL:
Vegetable oil, for greasing
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons salted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup heavy cream
BROWNIE:
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) salted butter, plus more for greasing
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups salted skinless peanuts (not dry-roasted)

Steps:

CARAMEL: Very lightly oil inside of 2-cup glass measuring cup. Combine granulated sugar & butter in small deep saucepan. Bring to simmer over med heat, stir frequently. (Don't worry if it looks curdled, then separated-it will come together.) Cook, stirring, til it looks like dark peanut butter, 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring heavy cream to simmer over med heat in small saucepan. When butter mixture is ready, remove from heat-slowly & carefully whisk in hot cream-it will bubble up & steam, so be careful. Put over med heat, bring to simmer and cook about 1 minute. Pour into prepared measuring cup and cool to room temperature. (Caramel can be made the night before and kept, covered, at room temp.) BROWNIE: Preheat oven to 350. Cut a piece of foil 9 by 20-inches. Butter corners & sides of 9"-by-13" pan. Line pan with foil so excess hangs over pan's short sides. Put chocolate & butter in heatproof bowl and set over saucepan of barely simmering water; be careful bowl doesn't touch water. Stir occasionally with rubber spatula til smooth. Whisk eggs, sugars & vanilla in a large bowl. Stir chocolate into egg mixture using rubber spatula, then stir in flour til just combined. Stir in 1 1/2 cups peanuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Drizzle caramel over top, using butter knife to swirl into batter. Coarsely chop remaining 1/2 cup peanuts & scatter over top. Bake til toothpick comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. (Insert toothpick in spot that doesn't have too much caramel.) Place on cooling rack and, while still slightly warm, run butter knife between brownie and long sides of pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour. When brownie is cool, place lightweight cutting board over top of pan. Flip & set on counter. Gently pull pan from foil & foil from pan. Gently peel foil off brownies. Place another lightweight cutting board on top, and flip brownies right-side-up. Slice into 1 1/2" squares.