Salted Dulce de Leche Brownies
Fudgy and rich semi-sweet chocolate dulce de leche brownies with a gooey salted dulce de leche center. Uses store-bought dulce de leche to keep things easy!
What to Expect:
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cooling Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Yield: 16 mini brownies
This salted dulce de leche brownies recipe is a modified version of my Basic Bea Brownies (a tried and true classic fudgy brownie, the traditional brownie in my opinion!) that uses store-bought dulce de leche for those days when you want a salted caramel brownie, but don’t want to go through the steps of making a caramel.
If you’re unfamiliar with duce de leche, it’s essentially caramelized sweetened condensed milk. So it’s a caramel that’s thicker and creamier than the caramel you use on things like ice cream.
What You’ll Find in This Post
(Feel free to jump to what you need!)
- What You’ll Need (Ingredients and Equipment)
- How to Assemble Dulce de Leche Brownies
- How to Cut Dulce de Leche Brownies
What You’ll Need to Make Dulce de Leche Brownies
Ingredients for Salted Dulce de Leche Brownies
- Granulated Sugar: for sweetness and to help the batter retain moisture.
- Large Eggs: eggs help add structure to the batter.
- Vanilla Extract: even though these are brownies and have plenty of chocolate, I’ve found adding some vanilla helps round out the flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: I almost always opt for unsalted butter in my recipes so that we can control just how salty the end result is.
- Vegetable Oil: helps add moisture to the batter.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: some of these chips will be made into melted chocolate and some will stay in chip form to give us the perfect dense brownie consistency.
- All Purpose Flour: we don’t need any fancy flour for these brownies, all purpose adds the perfect amount of structure.
- Cocoa Powder: while a dutch processed cocoa powder is always my favorite, I tested these with regular cocoa powder and they were great!
- Kosher Salt: they can’t be salted caramel de leche brownies without salt 😉 you can also add a bit of flaky sea salt to the top when they come out of the oven!
- Store-Bought Dulce de Leche: you can technically make your own dulce de leche, but I prefer to buy the canned stuff to reduce the number of steps. It’s just as good and plenty creamy! It can typically be found in either the baking aisle of the grocery store or the international foods aisle.
Necessary Tools & Equipment to make Salted Dulce de Leche Brownies
These salted dulce de leche brownies are made in an 8-inch x 8-inch glass baking dish, lined with aluminum foil. The aluminum foil makes it easy to remove the brownies from the pan, cut them into pretty slices, and serve them up (also you won’t need to clean the baking dish after – praises).
You’ll also need an electric hand mixer, two medium-sized mixing bowls, a microwave-safe bowl, a whisk, and a stiff spatula.
It’s technically possible to make these brownies by hand, but the electric mixer makes it easier to whip up the eggs and get that signature glossy top, so that’s how I recommend making this recipe.
How to Assemble Dulce de Leche Brownies
I love the dulce de leche layer in the middle of these brownies. I had a couple of test where I tried to swirl the dulce de leche into the top, but never liked how it came out.
Because it’s in the middle and not swirled into the top, it’s easier to eat them without getting sticky fingers and you’re guaranteed to get the flavor of salted dulce de leche in each bite.
Assemble the Layers
To sandwich the dulce de leche in the middle of these salted dulce de leche brownies, you’re going to do the following:
- Add half of the brownie batter to the prepared baking dish and spread it out so that it’s even and touches all 4 sides of the pan.
- Pour the softened dulce de leche onto the first layer of brownie batter in the pan and spread it out so that it makes an even layer.
- Carefully add the remaining brownie batter on top of the dulce de leche and gently spread it out so that it covers the dulce de leche entirely.
How to Cut Dulce de Leche Brownies
I know cutting brownies can be tricky, but I actually feel like these dulce de leche brownies are easier to cut than normal brownies. Something about the dulce de leche layer makes it easier for the knife to come out clean between cuts.
However, if you find the knife is coming out sticky and or with dulce de leche brownie stuck to it, you’re going to clean your knife off and then run it under warm water between each cut.
It might sound annoying or tedious, but this is the best way to make those perfectly square dulce de leche brownies slices without smooshing all of your hard work!
Can you freeze salted dulce de leche brownies?
Absolutely! Make sure they’re completely cool before securely wrapping in plastic wrap or storing in a sealed container and popping them in the freezer. They’ll keep in the freezer for about 3 months.
Pro Tip: make sure to date the container so you know how long they’ve been in the freezer!
If you tried these salted dulce de leche brownies and enjoyed them, check out my other brownie recipes!
And if you try this recipe, feel free to tag me on Instagram @ficklebea! I can’t wait to see what you make 🙂
Salted Dulce de Leche Brownies
Fudgy and rich semi-sweet chocolate brownies with a gooey salted dulce de leche center. Uses store-bought dulce de leche to keep things easy!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cooling Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 16 mini brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Brownie Batter
8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, sliced into Tablespoon-sized pieces to improve ease of melting
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (you will use 1/4 cup to add to the melted butter and the remainder to stir into the batter)
3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour *, spooned and leveled – see note
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder *, spooned and leveled – see note
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Large Eggs
Salted Dulce de Leche
13.5 oz Dulce de Leche, store-bought
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Instructions
Make the Brownie Batter
- Preheat the oven to 325 Fahrenheit and line an 8-inch by 8-inch glass baking dish with aluminum foil.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the unsalted butter slices (8 Tablespoons) in 20-second increments until melted.
- Add the vegetable oil (2 Tablespoons), vanilla extract (1 Tablespoon), and semisweet chocolate chips (1/4 cup, the remainder will be used later) to the cup of melted butter, but don’t stir. Set aside and allow the heat from the butter to melt the chocolate.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour (3/4 cup – spooned and leveled, see note), cocoa powder (1/3 cup – spooned and leveled, see note), and kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon). Whisk together until well combined for about 1 minute. Once combined, add the remaining semisweet chocolate chips (1/2 cup) to the bowl. Set this bowl aside.
These are your “dry ingredients.” - In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, add the granulated sugar (3/4 cup) and eggs (2). Use a hand mixer and mix on medium-high speed for about 45 seconds – the mixture should be lightened to a pale yellow color by the time you’re done.
- Stir the butter, oil, and chocolate mixture until almost all of the chocolate has melted and the mixture is combined.
- With the hand mixer on medium-high speed, pour the chocolate mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Continue mixing while you pour in the chocolate. Pause the mixing to scrape the last of the chocolate into the bowl and then make sure everything is combined. Once it’s combined, it should all be the same color.
These are your “wet ingredients.” - Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold the ingredients together with a stiff spatula or wooden spoon until everything is combined and there are no dry patches.
- Set the brownie batter aside while you complete the dulce de leche steps below.
Make the Salted Dulce de Leche
- In a microwave-safe bowl (you can use the bowl you used to melt the butter and chocolate for the brownie batter – no need to wash it, it’s all going into the same pan!), add the dulce de leche (13.5oz. can) and microwave for 15 seconds so that it will be easier to stir.
- Add the kosher salt (1 teaspoon) to the softened dulce de leche and stir together until totally combined – about 15 seconds. You want to make sure the salt is evenly dispersed.
Assemble and Bake the Brownies
We’re going to sandwich the dulce de leche between two layers of brownie batter.
- Add half of the brownie batter to your lined glass baking dish and smooth out the batter with a soft spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Pour all of the salted dulce de leche on top of the batter in the pan and spread it out so that it’s evenly dispersed and goes all the way to the edge of the pan.
- Add the remaining brownie batter on top of the dulce de leche layer and spread it with a spatula or the back of a spoon so that none of the dulce de leche is showing.
This can be a little tricky, but take your time and try to be gentle so that the top brownie layer sits on top of the dulce de leche layer and doesn’t get swirled together (if that happens, don’t sweat it. They’ll still be tasty!) - Bake for 40-45 minutes.
It can be tough to gauge when these are done. The top should be slightly firm, but it will still have a bit of give to it if you lightly tap the top – that’s because of the gooey dulce de leche layer in the middle. The edges will have a few cracks. - Allow to cool completely at room temperature (30-45 minutes) before trying to remove the brownies from the pan by lifting out the aluminum foil. Optional – allow to chill in the fridge for 2+ hours for an extra dense and fudgy brownie.
- Enjoy!
If you’ve got the time, feel free to leave a review by visiting the recipe on ficklebeabakehouse.com!
Notes
*For the most consistent results, measure both the flour and cocoa powder using the following method:
Stir the flour or cocoa powder with a spoon to break up any spots where it has settled, then spoon into the measuring cup and level with the back of a knife or the handle of a spoon or fork.
To help with your grocery shopping, I’ve listed the ingredients used in this recipe below, as well as where they can generally be found in the grocery store.
Dairy
- Large Eggs
- Unsalted Butter
Pantry
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Semisweet Chocolate Chips
- All-Purpose Flour
- Cocoa Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Dulce de Leche – typically found in either the baking aisle or in the South American aisle
Kaylee says
This recipe turned out so great that I am making it for 3 different Thanksgivings! The salty/sweet and gooey/fudgy ratios are perfect. So excited to show these off, they are my favorite brownies yet!
Sierra says
Ah! I’m so happy to hear that!