Fat Witch Bakery’s Legendary Chocolate Caramel Brownies are soft, crisp, gooey, chocolate-y, chewy, decadent, rich, fudgy and cakey all in one bite. I know what you’re thinking, “Sure they are, they’re just brownies, how are they ALL of those things?!” The only thing I can say is these aren’t legendary for being one dimensional average brownies. There are lines and fanatics for this bakery because what they do is magic. These brownies may as well be magical they are so good.
The better you get to know me you’ll understand my love/eh relationship with chocolate. In its most basic form I could take or leave chocolate (I’m a fried/salty craver), but in its most pure and delicious forms, I LOVE it. Fat Witch Bakery Brownies, Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies, Jacque Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies and my all time favorite David Lebovitz’s Chocolate Idiot Cake. Put any of those things on a table in front of me (even next to some In ‘n Out!) and it is no contest, I will eat the whole plate of chocolate.
Every time my husband and I would visit New York when we lived in Washington DC we would head to the Fat Witch Bakery in the morning for fresh brownies with our coffee (I would grab two caramel ones and my husband would get an original) and then on the way out of the city in the evening we would pop by for happy hour. Seeing one of these caramel brownies at happy hour is like spotting a unicorn, but I did one time! I bought 4 of them for half off, promptly took them home and froze them! These brownies are worth hoarding!
If you haven’t been to the bakery it can be hard to understand why a brownie might be worth the effort these take. Like the 36 hour chocolate chip cookies, these are worth the effort!
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9×9 baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper. These brownies are STICKY when they cool, you’ll need help getting them out! In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate, in 30 second increments. 
After two rounds the butter should be melted. Let the bowl sit for 2-3 minutes and the heat will melt the chocolate.
Stir them together until fully combined and let cool. Put the caramels in a microwave safe bowl with the water.
Microwave for 1 minute, let sit for 2-3 minutes. 
Stir until smooth and fully combined. 
In a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light and creamy, for 2-3 minutes. Add the cooled chocolate and mix until combined. Add in the flour and salt until fully combined. 
Pour half of the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan. 
Pour the caramel sauce onto the brownie layer, leaving a half inch border all the way around with no caramel, this will help prevent as much caramel leaking as possible (we will still have some though). 
Place the pan and the remaining brownie batter in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, to allow the caramel to harden.
Remove the pan from the refrigerator and add the rest of the batter.
Spread the rest of the batter evenly over the caramel in an even layer. 
Bake for 35 minutes. Do not over bake, the brownies will dry out. Cool for an hour before removing from the pan. The caramel may cause stickyness even with the parchment and the spray, so you may have to be careful cutting them. 
Fat Witch Bakery's Legendary Chocolate Caramel Brownies
Ingredients
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter (look, I said legendary, not light!)
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon bittersweet chocolate disks (I use Guittard)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch of Kosher salt
- 30 caramel squares , unwrapped and in a small bowl
- 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Spray a 9x9 baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper.
- These brownies are STICKY when they cool, you'll need help getting them out!
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate, in 30 second increments.
After two rounds the butter should be melted. Let the bowl sit for 2-3 minutes and the heat will melt the chocolate.
- Stir them together until fully combined and let cool.
- Put the caramels in a microwave safe bowl with the water.
Microwave for 1 minute, let sit for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir until smooth and fully combined.
In a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light and creamy, for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cooled chocolate and mix until combined.
- Add in the flour and salt until fully combined.
- Pour half of the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan. Set the pan aside.
- Pour the caramel sauce onto the brownie layer, leaving a half inch border all the way around with no caramel, this will help prevent as much caramel leaking as possible (we will still have some though).
Place the pan and the remaining brownie batter in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, to allow the caramel to harden.
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator and spread the rest of the batter evenly over the caramel in an even layer.
Bake for 35 minutes.
- Do not over bake, the brownies will dry out.
Cool for an hour before removing from the pan.
- The caramel may cause stickyness even with the parchment and the spray, so you may have to be careful cutting them.
Recipe Notes
Recipe from Fat Witch Bakery Cookbook.
I wish I could give you tips on how to make this better. The best thing I can say is stick 100% to the recipe. At least for the first time you make it. I know it is is a lot of butter. TRUST ME, my second spin class that day was because I ate two more of these than I thought I would! But to truly appreciate the wonder that these brownies are, give them a fair chance to impress you the first time you make them. 🙂 
The recipe does not say to refrigerate the batter before adding the caramel layer so my caramel sank into the batter. It only says to refrigerate it after adding the caramel later. I didn’t realize my mistake until I read the comments. I’m sure this batch is ruined.
On the written recipe there is a ? for amounts needed of flour and chocolate discs. Can you tell me how much flour and chocolate I need.
Thank you,
Patty
Sorry about that there was a glitch in the recipe card, I fixed it.
Your recipes doesn’t state the amount of flour needed for the recipe. there is a “?” for the amount
Sorry about that there was a glitch in the recipe card, I fixed it.
Not worth making. It didnt seem like there was enough batter to cover the pan or the caramel. They didnt taste that great either.
I have a block of caramel. Can that be used and what woukd the conversion be?
I think you’ll need about 8-9 ounces of caramel.
I’ve made these numerous times. They are absolutely thee best brownies out there. Rich, delicious and oh so YUMMY??
They’re the best!!
I want to make these yummy looking brownies. I am curious if you can use the Smuckers caramel that comes in a jar rather than caramel squares. Thanks for the recipe.???
I’ve not tried it but I would think you would need to use a sauce and not a syrup (just googled it and saw it comes as both). If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!
These look OMG-AMAZING!! ? DEFINITELY making these!! Just out of curiosity (definitely not picking or being difficult ??)……is there a specific reason the caramels are combined with water, and not milk? Just wondering as my thought process is…caramels are made with milk, so why not use milk to melt them. I’ve wondered this about other recipes too, not just this one. Thanks! ?
No real specific reason, it’s just how I’ve always done it. I hope you enjoy them!
Hi, I like to make these incredible good looking brownies, but I have one question: how heavy are those 30 caramels? Because I live in Iceland and I´m not sure they are the same size as yours and knowing the weight would help a lot 🙂
I would guess about 8 ounces. Hope this helps!
I too thought these brownies looked delicious so I went ahead and made them. I actually thought they were a little ‘bleh’. They just didn’t have much chocolate flavor. Typically I love brownies and caramel, but it was pretty easy to pass on a second piece of these. I plan to try them again but will use a full cup of the chocolate chips and hope for better results.
Hi There,
So I just made these exactly according to the directions and it came out runny like it needed a lot more time. What did I do wrong? They were delicious but more of a brownie pudding. I’m new to more complicated baking so I’m sure it’s me, I just want to make them again and want them to come out more like the picture. Thank you for your time and recipes.
Oh no! It sounds like the caramel wasn’t cool enough, an incredibly important step of this recipe. Or another reason could be that it possibly wasn’t cooked long enough. I’m glad they were still delicious but definitely try again! Good luck!
I made these and baked them as instructed. They were runny and raw. so disappointed.
Hi Melissa, are you referring to the caramel being runny? This means you may not have refrigerated the caramel long enough. There is a chance maybe you added too much water to the caramels or it could be the caramel seeped out of the side if not sealed well enough. This recipe has a few spots where there can be a pitfall, but when it works (we make these often) the results are worth it. I’m sorry this did not work out for you. The recipe (and the bakery it came from) is a favorite.
I really want to make these tonight problem is I don’t have the bittersweet chocolate also I live forty min away from a store and it’s storming outside I have a bag of semi sweet Chocolate chips and a bag of ghiradelli unsweetened chocolate powder
The depth of flavor from the bittersweet chocolate will be noticeable but I guarantee swapping it with a bag of semi sweet will still produce a DELICIOUS brownie! 🙂
I made these yesterday, and they were INCREDIBLE! My only problem was…I had to bake them longer than the time posted on the recipe. About 20 minuets longer. These make great “Girls night in” snacks!
So glad you enjoyed them, Ava!
do you know if these can be kept in the freezer for a week or two after baking?
Yes, you definitely can though I will tell you to make sure they’re fully thawed before biting into it because the caramel inside stays harder and you don’t want to break a tooth biting into one. Speaking from experience on that one, lol!
I followed the directions to a tee. My batter was runny like cake, but i kept going. When i put the caramel on top it sank. Is this batter only suppose to have 1/2 cup of flour?
I’m so sorry I missed your comment! The flour amount is correct but I’m thinking that maybe it should’ve been left in the fridge longer for the caramel not to sink as much.
I would chew off my own leg for one of these right now. It’s just after 2:00 am – a perfectly reasonable time to head down to the kitchen and toss it up for a good cause. Brownie lust, indeed.
If I manage to avoid a caramel coma, I will be back to let you know how they turned out.
Haha! Love your way of thinking! Hopefully, your caramel coma is temporary and I hear back from you!
I was trying to find out if I could use 4 oz of bittersweet bar chocolate in place of the discs?
Absolutely!
Hello, I have a 4-oz package of bittersweet chocolate (not the chips), do you think that would work in place of the chips?
Absolutely 🙂
I just made a batch of these brownies. They are definitely worth it, even my neighbors agree! My hubby and I absolutely love them!
These look soooo delish. Can I use semi-sweet chocolate instead of Bittersweet? I want to throw in some pecans also!
absolutely! I just super love bittersweet, semi-sweet would be absolutely delicious.
Can I use the caramel that I made boiling sweetened condensed milk instead of the candy?
Without knowing your recipe for caramel, it’s hard to say, but if the caramel doesn’t set in the fridge then it will be absorbed by the batter when you bake it.
HI I found your from Pinterest. I am doing a Round Up blog post later in March for National Chocolate Caramel Day (the 19th) and am interested in including this recipe in that round up. I would like to use a picture from the post, with links back to your site/this post. I would promote it on my all my social media platforms and would share the link with you so that you could do the same if you wish. If you are not interested, I understand, I will not use your post/images without your permission.
Thank you for your time.
I’d be honored 🙂
Thank you so much!!! I will be sure to send you a link to it when it is finished so that you can share as well if you wish.
caramels that you used are chewy or hard toffies? i am from pakistan and here it is difficult to find caramel squares. if you would tell me the exact thing then i can replace it with chewy candies or hard ones
Chewy 🙂
thank you so much 🙂
I made these tonight, followed the directions exactly and when I went to cut them they were still liquid on top underneath a crisp crust?! Any ideas what could’ve gone wrong? they are back in the oven forr an additional 30 minutes we will see if I can salvage this batch…
The top was totally liquid and the bottoms were burnt? The crisp bottom tells me your caramel sank. That would happen if they weren’t chilled enough. Did you refrigerate the caramel until it had hardened? I’d be happy to troubleshoot with you, email me at sabrina @ dev.dinnerthendessert.com
Don’t have a 9×9 pan right now, I have a 9×13 pan can I use that?
If you use that double the recipe. The brownies will be way too thin otherwise. I frequently make this in a 9×13 with double the ingredients. If you don’t have the ingredients available, use a muffin tin, bake for 15-18 minutes but keep an eye on them to see if it takes a few more minutes for the tops to set. Definitely don’t bake these in a 9×13 with the single quantities, the caramel would not have a chance to be in the middle and it would bake on the bottom and make a hard pancake. Hope that helps 🙂
Question: I made these yummy things and my caramel all sunk to the bottom. Is it supposed to do that? Or is it supposed to stay in the middle-ish?
So it is almost impossible to avoid a tiny bit of it shifting but all of it? I’ve never seen that. Did you put the caramel in the fridge to harden after pouring it on? If you skipped or shortened that step and the caramel was still really liquidy it would definitely mix in/sink more. If you want to troubleshoot I am always around! [email protected] 🙂
It’s possible that I didn’t refrigerate it the full 20 min, I forgot to set the timer so had to ballpark it. I’ll try it again setting the timer. I just didn’t know if maybe the caramel was too warm when I put it on or something. Or if it was just supposed to sink. 🙂 Thanks for your reply!
Yeah you really need that caramel to not be warm. If it is it sort of melts away into the batter. There are times I have made these for large client events, I even leave it in the fridge for an hour. It really only helps the harder that caramel is before going into the oven. PS, when I do that I keep the batter for the top half in the fridge too because I am doing many trays of them so I want everything as cold as possible. If you want to troubleshoot some more definitely feel free to email me at [email protected] 🙂
Can I make this the night before and keep it refrigerated until the next day? I don’t want it to dry out. Thank you!!!
Won’t dry out! Trust me. I have kept these in a closed container for 4 days and they are just amazing even on day 4. With all that butter….haha.
Would these travel well? I’m thinking of making them the Wednesday before thanksgiving-we will have about a 5 hour drive Thursday morning.
So sorry for not responding sooner – your message accidentally ended up in the spam folder! Yes, you can keep them for up to four days and they should be just as moist as the day you made them!
I made these for my teachers for writing me recommendations. I didn’t spray the pan enough and they came out as a mess, but still, my teacher spent half of class talking to me about them and getting the recipe from me rather than teaching 🙂 She said they were the best brownies she’s ever had (and I’m pretty sure her daughter owns a bakery??). I agree.
Thanks, Sabine!!!
Aww thanks Shoshy! I’m so glad she enjoyed them!
Would these turn out okay if I double the recipe & bake in a 13×18 jelly roll pan? I need to make for a large crowd.
To be honest, I would triple it. 13×18 is huge so I would triple it 🙂 Man I want to come to your party!
As promised I just popped them into the over here in Tampa – They were super easy and quick to make. Can’t wait!
With a smile from Carlyn in Tampa 🙂
Carlyn, I can’t wait to hear what you think of them!!
This is some wicked dessert and I would so give in! Looks delicious!
Thanks Lena!
I need these. NOW. On a crappy, slow Monday, these would be the perfect pick-me-up. And… I wouldn’t share!
Wish I could mail you one!
Excuse me I am drooling!! Chocolate and caramel is a great combo…I want it now!
I don’t blame you one bit, haha. I’m honored 🙂
I am drooling over here!! These chocolate & caramel brownies look to-die for!
I made these for my teachers as a thank you and they raved about them for 2 days! One of them said it was the best brownie she ever had and started class late because she was busy getting the recipe 🙂 delicious!
So glad you loved it Shoshy!
I love anything with chocolate. That looks so good..
Oh my!! These look heavenly!! I would love to have some of these right now!
OMG. Those do look worth hoarding. Can’t wait to try the recipe.
I know, right?! I have 3 left and my husband doesn’t know it!
Homemade brownies are THE BEST! These look so scrumptious, I just want to lick the screen!
Thanks Theresa!
Any bakery with a genius name like “Fat Witch” is a genius is my book 😀 Wish I could visit, but will have to make do making these delicious brownies at home instead. Think I can handle it 🙂
She is pure genius!
Oh man. These look AMAZING. I need these in my life asap. My kids would love these too!
Those chocolate caramel brownies sound oh so delightful to me. I’d love to taste test…just to be sure they’re as good as they look.
These are perfect for the rest of the gang, I would have to make a few for me sans the caramel! 🙂
YUM! These look so rich and decadent. I need to make and try these!
These look beyond amazing. I have to try making these for dessert. I wish i could try them right now.
Thanks Ann!
These look so amazing! I love how gooey they seem!
Just hand those over with a tall glass of ice cold milk. I’ll make them disappear, hehe.
Pass the milk please! These look amazing and have two great flavors together.
Holy crap. The caramel in this dessert is crying out to me. Makes me want to hop on a plane to DC and hunt these down!
Oh… My goodness! The sheer amount of caramel around those brownies is making me salivate! I MUST try these.
Wow, these look ridiculously good. I’m drooling on my keyboard over here.
Oh my gosh these look heavenly! I think these would be an amazing dessert, and perfect to take to a potluck!
You would be the hit of the potluck!
A Fat Witch is what I am going to be after demolishing an entire pan of these amazing brownies! They look so amazingly worth it, plus YOLO!
Hahaha, you’re awesome!
OMG! I so want to make this right now!!! This is going to be a new favorite!
You totally should! They are amazing!
These brownies look amazing. I think I’d have a hard time eating just one!
I’m pretty sure I just died and went to brownie heaven…these look amazing!
Thanks Trish!
I could use some of this creamy, chewy goodness in my life right now. I love brownies and haven’t had any in a while.
How have I never had these little bits of heaven before? Well, I need to go obviously. In the meantime, I’m going to try my hand at making some.
Oh Penelope if you are local you HAVE to try them!
I love chocolate, and my husband loves caramel. These brownies are perfect for us! Too bad I won’t share…
Haha I like your style!
I too, am obsessed with these gooey caramel treats! Definitely a stop on our NEW YORK getaways. So glad you shared how to create these babies in my very own house!!!
Yay a fellow Fat Witch lover!! Aren’t they the best?!
oh my. Talk about a sweet attack. I love this.
These look so ooey gooey delicious! I am totally making a batch of these brownies this weekend.
Aww thanks Kelly!
Are you serious?? These bad boys look heavenly! Thank you for sharing, I will be making these brownies!!
Yeah, these brownies are the true definition of indulgent. In the book she even apologizes for HOW INDULGENT they are but then says “its ok, have a small slice” haha.
Shame on you for posting those ooey gooey mouthwatering brownies and the recipe that now has to go into my “gotta make” list. haha!
I’m not even sorry! 😉
O M G – so making these! Thanks with a smile from carlyn in Tampa!
My pleasure!!
This is heaven in a pan! I cannot wait to give these a try!
I know, right?! They have magical witches in their bakery dreaming up these amazing treats!!
Wow, do those look really delish! I could see myself wanting to indulge in one with some ice-cold milk!
Thanks Amy! I did just that about an hour ago, haha.
Brownies. I love brownies. They are my weakness especially chocolatey caramel brownies. I am definitely going to try these! I’m not the best baker so it make take me 3 tries to get it perfect but sooo worth it.
Hope you love them!
These look and sound yummy. I think I need to make some for dessert tonight. Thanks for the recipe.
My pleasure!
Now these brownies are something I dream about eating! My goodness those look absolutely amazing! Gonna have to make these, this weekend!
Awesome! I hope you love them!
Oh my gosh, these look so amazingly gooey and delicious! I bet they are amazing with a scoop of ice cream. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure!
Oh my goodness, those looks good. Ooey, gooey brownies are my all time favorite sweet treat.
Wow, these look delicious! The photos are making me very, very hungry!! Definitely Pinned and on my “must make” list!
Thanks Kathryn!
I might have gained weight just looking at the picture! I have made turtle brownies before, but these look even better (and easier to make)
Every calorie in every bite is totally worth it!
Wow, those look epic! Definitely worth the efforts for such decadent brownies.
Yup, I had to make up for that lowfat pizza earlier this week 😉
Yowza. These brownies sound to-die-for. When I saw the picture with the butter I was like, ummmm, that’a a lot of butter…and then I realized, ohhhh that’s right, she said “legendary.” Legendary generally means super fattening. And I’m OK with that. We don’t eat “legendary” things every day. I pinned this for the holidays. If I’m going to indulge, so is the whole entire family. LOL.
Yeah when I read the recipe I had this throwback memory in my head when Ina Garten made this molten brownie recipe once with almost a metric ton of butter. But having eaten these brownies from the bakery before I knew it was totally worth the effort. Plus I figure, ok, 14 tablespoons of butter, 16 servings. This is just like eating a slice of bread in a restaurant with a big smear of butter right?! How bad can that be? haha. OK, maybe I’m just excusing it because it is THAT GOOD, but still…it sounds much less crazy when you think about it per serving, haha.
omggggggggggg. I want these right now but I’m going to have to wait until my husband is back in town to help me eat them. They look soo good!
Thanks Hayli!
Oh my word!!!! These look amazing! I might have to wear stretchy pants after I eat them, but they look SO worth it! haha! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I did a version of that. I ate a piece this morning while wearing a stretchy skinny jean!
You’re killing me with these desserts! This had everything I want right now. Looks amazing.
I have 6 more pieces….want one?