Salted Caramel Peanut Brownie Bars

By Samantha Seneviratne

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 4(419)
Notes: Read community notes

With a chewy chocolate chunk-studded base and heaps of gooey peanut-laden caramel, these bars are part candy bar and part brownie with cookielike edges. Super-rich and satisfying, a little piece is all you need. A candy or deep-fry thermometer is an inexpensive and useful tool worth investing in to achieve a caramel that is neither too hard nor too soft.

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Ingredients

Yield:32 small bars

For the Chocolate Base

1cup/130 grams all-purpose flour
½cup/45 grams natural cocoa powder
¾teaspoon kosher salt
½teaspoon baking soda
12tablespoons/170 grams unsalted butter (1½ sticks), at room temperature
½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
½cup/110 grams packed dark brown sugar
1large egg, at room temperature
1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4ounces/115 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

For the Caramel Peanut Topping

1cup/200 grams granulated sugar
½cup light corn syrup
¾cup heavy cream
4tablespoons/55 grams unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1½cups/225 grams unsalted roasted peanuts
½teaspoon kosher salt
Flaky salt for sprinkling

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.
Step 2
Prepare the base: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy, 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Mix in the flour mixture and the chocolate until evenly moistened.
Step 3
Transfer the thick batter to the prepared pan and spread it out into an even layer with an offset spatula. Bake until the base looks dry and set, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Step 4
Prepare the topping: To a small saucepan with high sides add ¼ cup/60 milliliters water. Pour the sugar and corn syrup into the center of the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture is a medium amber color, about 15 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally. Quickly and carefully add the cream and the butter. Take care: The mixture will steam and sputter. Stir the mixture until combined and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot.
Step 5
Cook the caramel until the mixture reaches 238 degrees, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanuts and the kosher salt. Pour the caramel over the base, using the raised edges of the base that formed while baking to keep the caramel on top. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Let stand until the caramel is completely cool.
Step 6
Using the parchment overhang, transfer the bar to a cutting board. Cut into 32 small rectangles to serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

419 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Jan6 years ago

Would this work with pecans? Not a big fan of peanuts.

kay campbell6 years ago

I didn't have bar chocolate but had some bittersweet chips - worked a-ok. Also, only had salted peanuts so i left out the 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt at the end. Still sprinkled with sea salt and the balance seemed good. chocolate-y, peanut-y, caramel-y deliciousness!

Greg Horesovsky5 years ago

These are the best! I make them with my favorite boxed brownie mix ( Ghiradelli) and while they are baking, I work on the caramel sauce. Much easier and rave reviews from the very one!

Jo L.4 years ago

I used macadamia nuts in the caramel, and the result was yummy. One comment though--one hour? Maybe in the Times test kitchen, but in my home kitchen, this took more like 2. Also, I found that cutting these was easier if I cut one strip, then laid it on its side. Otherwise, the brownie layer tended to squish.

Suzanne6 years ago

I can't imagine why not. And, great idea, by the way! I think the chocolate-pecan combo would be divine.

Gale S5 years ago

A great brownie recipe. It actually developed a richer flavor overnight. I didn’t add the peanuts, but made half the pan salted caramel and the other without salt. I would suggest that the pan should be lined with tin foil instead of parchment. Foil fits into the pan corners neater than the parchment. It lifts out easily.

SJN5 years ago

These were delicious. Brought them to a party and were well received. However, my advise is invest in an accurate thermometer. I pulled my carmel just shy of 238 and it was a bit too hard.

Jennie4 years ago

Daughter is grossed out by peanuts but loves peanut butter so I added about 2/3 cup Skippy to caramel along with the butter and cream, instead of nuts. I winged the temp but I think it will work out OK--as of now (still warm), the caramel is discrete, if flowy. It did need the extra salt atop, though the brownie itself had a nice saltiness. Weird batter, but the brownie is fantastic, one on the best I've made. My coronavirus-isolated family was cheered by these delicious treats.

L5 months ago

These are perfection. I cannot keep my hands off of them. Brownie base is somehow the best I think I‘ve ever tried and the top is a highly delicious Payday bar. Absolutely incredible.

Laura1 year ago

These are AMAZING! Make them! You won’t be sorry.

Heather2 years ago

I can’t wait to make these but is it 238 Fahrenheit for the caramel? (I am guessing it’s Celsius, as 114 Celsius seems way to low, knowing caramel sauce is usually taken off at 175 Celsius) And can I leave out the corn syrup? Never used it before in caramel (sauce). Or is it needed for something specific? Thanks so much! Heather

Vduncan2 years ago

Fantastic- I didn’t have unsalted peanuts so I used salted and omitted the salt and I used chocolate chips. And they are wonderful. Also I didn’t get around to making the topping since I didn’t have corn syrup till two days later.

EAD2 years ago

I'm sure any nuts you like would work. Like others said, salted nuts work if you reduce the other salt in the recipe. These look great and taste yummy. The brownie layer was a bit dry and crumbly but maybe I overcooked them. If you use peanuts, these are a lot like a glorified Snickers bar, but nothing wrong with that in my book!

barbara2 years ago

Leave out the salt from the brownie batter. The brownies ended up being too salty. I made the topping with no salt so it ended up working in balance, but I’d rather have less salty brownies next time

Kendra3 years ago

So good! It tastes like a buster bar! Really make sure you let the caramel cool completely or else the caramel melted off the brownie when you cut it....or so I hear...

Bourbon-Pecan Swap3 years ago

I tried this recipe as written, but I also swapped the peanuts for pecans and added bourbon to the caramel. I used the same weight of pecans as the peanuts in the recipe. I toasted them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350. I added 2 oz. of bourbon to the caramel at the same point as I added the cream and butter. They turned out splendidly.

JB3 years ago

I'll be honest, I took a shortcut here and used boxed brownies as the base. They were sensational!

margaret3 years ago

I am disappointed. I thought the brownie was far too crumbly and didn’t hold well with the extremely chewy caramel.

Marilyn3 years ago

This makes quite a lot, would be good to make as gifts or for a gathering. It kept well in a lidded container for several days. I cut up the parchment from the pan to use between layers so I could stack them after they were cut and cooled. Don’t rush the caramel, resist changing the temperature on your stove once it’s going, and use a candy thermometer to get the exact temp. Any nuts you prefer with caramel would likely be great in this. I used walnuts and it turned out great.

Dinah3 years ago

This looks like a good idea but the end result is a dessert that is just overwhemingly sweet. It needs some balance to work, and I'm not sure simply adding more salt would be enough.

Pam3 years ago

Really? Only an hour of prep/cook time? Between cook/cooling time of brownies and cook/cooling time of the caramel topping this is easy a 2-3 hour affair. The brownie 'batter' is more like a very thick dough; makes spreading it a little challenging. The recipe isn't overly complicated. Just time consuming. Not sure I would make again.

Robert3 years ago

Cooking novice here. First time making caramel, turned to hard candy. Wondering if I cooked too long the water, sugar, corn syrup or the mixture after adding the butter and cream.

Sharyn3 years ago

As others have said, my Caramel was not hard enough. Followed directions and I bake all the time- but am new to Caramel. Anything I can do at this point or change for the future?

Ken3 years ago

I took the caramel off heat right at 238. Once it cooled completely (I cheated a little by putting the finished dish in the fridge for a bit), the caramel was a thick enough to basically hold its shape but still soft enough to not be crunchy

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