Baked Explorations: Sweet and Salty Brownies

As I said in my last post, my new obsession is Baked Explorations.  It is by far the best baking book I own and everything I've made out of it (so far) has been fantastically tasty.  Honestly, though, I got the book for one recipe in particular.  The one that alerted me to the world of Baked (the sweet kind, not that other type) and convinced me that I had to own this book.  It is... drum roll please... sweet and salty brownies!!

Although salty brownies may sound disgusting not so appetizing, let me assure you that the fabulous authors of the book know what they're talking about.  It's not the browines themselves that are salty, however, but a surprise in the center of the brownie.  Salted Caramel.  Although I had trouble making the caramel the first time and ended up burning it (in my defense it looked fine), the second batch came out golden and uber delicious, with a hint of salt.  After spreading half of the batter in the pan, I added the caramel in the middle and then the rest of the batter on top, and sprinkled it with coarse raw sugar to add a little crunch and sweetness when it came out of the oven.  I guess I'm always a little nervous when trying out new recipes, so I was worried that the brownies wouldn't come out right.  Needless to say my worries were uncalled for.  The brownies were rich and dark chocolatey, with the carmel adding subtle notes of  butter and salt.  They were even better microwaved for a bit so that the caramel started to ooze out of the brownie and make it super moist.  The only thing I have left to say about them is:  TRY THEM!