Caramel Pecan Brownies

There are not many comfort food desserts better than a rich, fudgy brownie. These caramel pecan brownies use a great base brownie recipe, with some chopped pecans and homemade caramel sauce. This is definitely a dessert to impress your friends – even though it is super easy to make!

Making brownies is one of my favorite quick desserts, especially when I want pure decadence. Plus it is likely you already have all the necessary ingredients at home! Unlike say, some fancier desserts like entremets that take days and need things like gelatin or molds.

This caramel pecan brownies recipe takes around an hour, although if you don’t use homemade caramel sauce you can get that down to about 45 minutes. Don’t like pecans? Feel free to use other nuts like walnuts or almonds instead!

How To Make Caramel Pecan Brownies

For some reason I forgot to take a photo of all the ingredients like I normally do on my recipes. Which is a shame because I highly recommend some of the products I use in this recipe. Oh well, here is everything you need for delicious homemade caramel pecan brownies.

Caramel Pecan Brownies Ingredients

• 195 grams Flour – (1.5 cups plus 1 tbsp) AP flour works just fine here.
• 600 grams Sugar – (3 cups) Regular white sugar
• 200 grams Cocoa Powder – (1 and 1/3 cup) Dutch processed cocoa powder
• 150 grams Chocolate Chips – (about 4/5 of a cup) I use Callebaut Callets No823 which is probably some of the best tasting Belgian milk chocolate I’ve ever had. Seriously I am not sponsored by Callebaut but love their products so much I will always recommend their chocolate products.
• 1 cup Pecans – I don’t use metric for this measurement as you can eyeball how much you want. I just scoop up a bunch with my hand and throw them in the batter. If you really like pecans feel free to add a lot more! Reserve some pretty looking pecans for garnishing after baking.
• 4 tbsp Caramel Sauce – plus more for plating before serving.
• 1 tsp Salt
• 4 large Eggs
• 250 ml Sunflower Oil – (one cup) or other neutral oil like Canola. DO NOT use olive oil as it will alter the taste of the brownies and in my opinion doesn’t mesh well with the caramel and pecan flavors.
• 50 ml Water
• 5 grams Vanilla Powder

Salted Caramel Sauce Ingredients

• 125 grams White Sugar – You can use other sugars as well, but the sauce will likely be darker and more molasses-y tasting.
• 90 grams Butter – cut into cubes. I recommend European style butter with a fat content above 82%.
• 80 ml Heavy Cream – this is about 1/3 of a cup
• 5 grams Vanilla Sugar/Powder/Extract – this is an optional ingredient, but I do often like the flavor that vanilla brings to caramel sauce. The thing to know is that all of these ingredients must be used at a different time (will note below) so keep that in mind.
• 1/2 tsp of Salt – this is another optional ingredient, mostly if you want to make an umami packed Salted Caramel Sauce. I almost always add a little salt, but you can go as high as half a teaspoon for a really punchy sauce that goes great in things like these brownies.
• 2 tbsp Water

Make The Caramel Sauce First So You Have It Ready Before The Brownies

In a sauce pan on medium-high heat add your sugar and water. If you are using vanilla sugar you can add that as well at this step. Let the sugar begin to caramelize. DO NOT touch the pan or try to stir it at this point.

Soon you will see the sugar turn brown and bubble up along the sides. At this point you can swirl the pan gently to prevent any burning. Add in the cubed butter and allow to melt. If you are using a rubber spatula just run it along the sides and quickly over the bottom once.

When the sauce hits your desired color (aka light caramel) pour in the heavy cream. Let it bubble up for a few seconds, then whisk rapidly with the whisk and turn off the heat. If you are using vanilla powder you can add it here at this step.

Whisk the sauce in the pan until everything is homogenous, about 30 seconds. The sauce should be thick but runny. If the sauce seems too thin then keep it on the heat a little longer while whisking so some of the water evaporates and the sauce thickens, but watch it as it can get too thick or even crystalized very quickly at this point. Lift the whisk up and let the caramel sauce run down – if it looks like in the pic above you are done. Stir in your desired amount of salt. Pour into a squeeze bottle for easy usage in the brownies or for other desserts.

Making The Caramel Pecan Brownie Batter

Add all of the caramel pecan brownies ingredients minus the caramel sauce to a bowl and mix together with a rubber spatula. There’s no need to add stuff separately and then combine like with a cake. These brownies are so thick and fudgy and rich you aren’t going to overwork them.

Lay a baking dish with some parchment paper. This will help for the easy removal of the brownies after baking. Then drizzle the caramel sauce on the top and use a toothpick or a pin to make a nice pattern in the top.

Place the tray into an oven at 165C or 330F and bake for 50 minutes. When the time is up remove the tray from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then use a thin knife to pry the brownie away from the tray if any parts got stuck. Double flip the brownie onto a board and let cool completely before cutting into pieces. If you don’t want to wait, you don’t have to, but it makes cutting the brownie more difficult and you wont get sharp, pretty slices.

What To Serve With Caramel Pecan Brownies

These delicious brownies are a dessert entirely on their own! However you can also serve them with some French vanilla ice cream or fresh berries to help cut the richness.