‘Tis the season for Mocha Caramel Brownies with Stacy Wise!

INGREDIENTS

For the brownies:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1½ cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ tablespoons instant espresso coffee (I used Medaglia D’Oro because I like the fine ground.)

For the caramel filling:

14 oz. caramel candies, unwrapped
1/3 cup heavy cream

Cooking View

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil and grease the foil well with butter or cooking spray.
Combine the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth. (Alternatively, microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.) Remove the bowl from the heat. Whisk in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until incorporated. Stir in the flour and salt just until combined. Spread about half of the brownie batter in the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, maintaining the oven temperature, and let cool for 20 minutes.
To make the caramel filling, combine the caramel candies and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Immediately spread the caramel mixture over the bottom brownie layer. Pour the remaining brownie batter over the caramel layer, taking care to pour and spread it evenly otherwise it will be difficult to spread evenly over the caramel layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the final brownie layer. Bake for 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving. (To speed cooling, chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.)

*I converted this yummy recipe from http://www.annies-eats.com.

One of my favorite parts of writing Beyond the Stars was trying delectable new recipes. Since Jessica Beckett, my female protagonist, is an aspiring pastry chef, I simply had to do research. And taste testing, of course. The mocha caramel brownies recipe was one of my favorites, and I’m happy to share it with you today.

I can’t take credit for creating it—I simply altered a recipe I found on the amazing annies-eats.com. Some other delicious creations Jessica made in Beyond the Stars were an apple crumble cake, double chocolate brownies, and a peppermint tunnel of fudge cake. Later this month, I’ll include these recipes in my newsletter! You can sign up at stacywise.com. Until then, happy baking!

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About Beyond the Stars:

Falling for him wasn’t in the plans…

Most girls would kill for the opportunity to work for Jack McAlister, Hollywood’s hottest actor, but twenty-one-year-old Jessica Beckett is ready to kick him out of her red Ford Fiesta and never look back. She should be spending her junior year in France, eating pastries and sharpening her foreign language skills. Instead she’s reluctantly working as Jack’s personal assistant, thanks to her powerhouse talent agent aunt.

Jack is private, prickly, and downright condescending. Jessica pushes his buttons—she’s not the type of girl to swoon over celebrity heartthrobs, precisely why her aunt thought she’d be perfect for the job—and Jack pushes right back.

But as she begins to peel away his layers, Jessica is shocked to find she craves her boss’s easy smile and sexy blue eyes. The problem is, so does the entire female population. And what started out as the job from hell soon has Jess wondering if a guy like Jack could ever find love with a regular girl like her.