His & Her Brownies

Ok, so when I was thinking about what I wanted to bake for my first post I couldn’t think of anything better than a brownie!! (it didn’t hurt that I have been craving brownies for the past week either :)) My husband loves brownies but isn’t a crazy chocolate person like I am, so I wanted to figure out a way to do a brownie that satisfied me but wasn’t chocolate overload for him and so the His & Her Brownies were born.

I started with a basic brownie, and then decided to make a caramel sauce to add a little extra sweetness for me, and then topped it with a cream cheese icing and the result was yummy, gooey goodness!

Confession – I have some extra caramel sauce left over so I like to heat it up and drizzle extra caramel on top. 🙂

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RECIPE

Ingredients
1 cup butter, melted                                             2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder              4 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour                                     4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a bowl, combine melted butter and cocoa powder. Mix with a spatula until combined.
3. Gradually add the flour and sugar. Beat together with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until just combined, DO NOT over mix.
4. Pour batter into a greased 9×13 in. baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let brownies cool slightly.

Adopted from Lunch Lady Brownies

Caramel Sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar                            1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cups half-and-half                                   pinch of salt
4 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. While the brownies are in the oven mix the brown sugar, half-and-half, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes whisking throughout.
2. Add the vanilla extract and continue to cook for 1 minute.
3. Take off burner and let cool slightly and thicken up.
4. Poke holes in your brownies while they are warm with a knife and pour caramel sauce over top.

Note – You can use as much or as little as you like. I used about 3/4 of the mixture on the brownies and then saved some for extra topping.

Cream Cheese Icing
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (I used 1/4 less fat)
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Directions

1. While the brownies are cooling make the icing. In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and butter until creamy.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar and salt, beating until blended. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. Ice brownies when completely cooled and enjoy!

XO – Ashley