I grew up eating my mom’s famous caramel brownies made from a cake mix, and we’ve finally created a recipe for caramel brownies from scratch that’s even better than the ones my mom made!
Easy Brownies From Scratch
I’ve chatted about Mom’s famous caramel brownies a few times and we finally posted the original recipe a while back, but I somehow became convinced that we needed a perfectly comparable caramel brownies from scratch recipe and couldn’t let it go until I discovered it. And discovered it I did.
The secret is in the homemade brownie itself. You see, I tried a gazillion recipes and none of them held up against the caramel like I wanted. Too soft, too cakey, too runny (no really, it never set up), or way too dry. Ugh, it was annoying! And then I had the brilliant idea of going back to just why we loved Mom’s.
It was in the cake mix. It had to be German cake mix or it didn’t taste right and the texture was off.
So THAT was the answer! I’d start with the makings of a cake then ditch the rest of the ingredients and go back to the butter and evaporated milk just like Mom’s recipe. DING DING DING! Everything else fell into place and this is our new go-to brownie recipe from scratch!
Ingredients for Caramel Brownies From Scratch
Don’t let the layer of gooey caramel oozing out from the homemade brownies fool you into thinking these are anything but easy brownies from scratch. Here’s what you’ll need to make this caramel brownie recipe:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Dutch process cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Eggs
- Unsalted butter
- Evaporated milk
- Caramel squares
- Chocolate chips
How to Make Brownies From Scratch
These easy homemade brownies from scratch have a few extra steps, but the recipe is simple enough to make. Here’s how we make these caramel brownies:
- Melt the evaporated milk and caramel squares in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.
- Pour half the brownie batter into a greased 9×13-inch ban.
- Bake for 8 minutes, then remove from oven.
- Sprinkle with chocolate chips, then carefully pour the caramel over top.
- Gently press the remaining brownie batter over the caramel layer.
- Return the brownies to the oven and bake until done.
Can I Make the Caramels From Scratch as Well?
If you want to, of course you can! I recommend using our Homemade Caramels recipe if that’s the route you want to go.
Can I Omit the Caramel Layer?
If you want to make truly amazing brownies from scratch without the gooey caramel in the center, you’re welcome to omit it. But we think the caramel is what really takes this easy homemade brownie recipe to the next level!
Tips for Making the Best Brownies From Scratch
Be sure to buy evaporated milk and NOT sweetened condensed milk. They’re two totally different milk products, so it’s important that you buy the right one.
Also note that if you don’t want to pat each piece of dough out in your hand before placing on top of the caramel layer, you can just press it out on plastic wrap and turn it directly out onto the brownies. Just do whichever method is easiest for you!
Lastly, these easy brownies from scratch will stay fresh at room temperature for a few days. You can also slice and freeze individual servings for later, if desired.
More Decadent Desserts You’re Sure to Love:
- Dulce de Leche Chocolate Cheesecake
- Salted Caramel Crème Brûlée
- Lime Cheesecake with Triple Berry Sauce
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Mini Fruit Tarts
- Instant Pot Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
- Nutella Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake Oreo Brownies
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookie Pie
- All our DESSERT RECIPES!
More Homemade Brownie Recipes:
- Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake Oreo Brownies
- Skillet Rocky Road Brownies
- S’mores Brownies
- Caramel Nutella Brownies
- Fudgy Caramel Egg Brownies
- Copycat BYU Mint Brownies
- ALL OF OUR BAR DESSERTS!
Caramel Brownies From Scratch
Caramel Brownies from Scratch
Description
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- ½ Cup Dutch Processed Cocoa, plus 1 Tablespoon
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Eggs
- ¾ Cup Unsalted Butter, , melted, Plus 1 Tablespoon,
- 2/3 Cup Evaporated Milk, , divided, Plus 2 Tablespoons
- 1 Package Caramel Squares, , unwrapped
- 1 ¼ Cup Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9×13” baking pan.
- In a large bowl, add the caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk.
- Heat in the microwave, stirring at 30-second intervals until smooth. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add the butter and 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons evaporated milk and eggs and stir until the batter is thick and no flour remains.
- Press half of the dough into the pan.
- Bake for 8 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips.
- Pour the caramel evenly over the entire brownie. Go slow to be sure that everything is covered in caramel.
- Pick up small amounts of dough, about palm-sized, and press flat between your hands.
- Gently lay over the caramel and repeat until all of the caramel is covered.
- Bake for 15 more minutes and allow to cool before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Recommended Products
Jenny H
Don’t make these. I made for a family dinner party- they NEVER cooked and I even put them back in the oven for about 20 mins and then I tried letting them set up overnight. Total waste! They were straight batter. Please just delete this web page.
Sweet Basil
Hi Jenny! I’m so sorry for your frustration! We have been getting similar comments lately and I have no clue what is going on. I’m going to go in an rework the recipe and try to figure out where the problem is. I’ve never had problems with this one. Thank you for taking time to leave a comment!
Cherie Castle
I really wanted this recipe to be a success for us. We aren’t sure what we are missing either. We even tried the recipe twice. First, my (18YO) daughter attempted it, came out like others had mentioned in the comments—undercooked and raw. Second attempt was done by myself. I gathered the ingredients, watched the video, read through the instructions, and made according to how instructions were printed. I had the exact same problem. Undercooked and raw. So bummed as we really wanted caramel brownies. Best of luck to those whom attemp this recipe, may you have better success.
Renee
Followed the recipe exactly and it was more the consistency of raw brownie batter, even after baking. Flavor was delicious and we ended up using it like hot fudge on top of ice cream, but was a pretty embarrassing fail for our dinner party. I should’ve read the comments first. Others were surprised about no eggs, but the recipe has 2 eggs in it. Was it changed? A lot of effort for an embarrassing fail 🙁
Sweet Basil
Hi Renee! I’m so sorry about your frustration. I’m not sure what is happening with this recipe that is causing people problems, but I’m going to put it on my test list to revisit and verify the recipe is correct as written. Again, I apologize for the disappointment!
Megan
Just realized your ingredients list toward the top of the post doesn’t include eggs, but your actual recipe at the bottom does. Is this supposed to be with or without eggs?
Sweet Basil
Oops, sorry for the confusion Megan! With eggs!
Richard
No eggs and its a straight dry mix, I added 2 eggs and it was perfect…….
Holly
Tastes good but the consistency is that of uncooked brownie batter.
Thankfully I made these for my husband and I rather than for company. Didn’t notice the other similar reviews until it was too late.
Followed the directions & result was ‘Pinterest fail’ by appearance.
Needs more baking time/ less baking soda?
Honestly would recommend adjusting recipe or taking this down so others don’t have the same baking disaster.
Sweet Basil
Hi Holly! Did you bake the bottom half of the brownie first before putting the caramel on? The video is very helpful to see how to make them and what to expect for the final product.
Jillisa
These were disgusting! Did you forget to put eggs in the recipe? Something is very wrong with this recipe. Total waste of ingredients. I made them for company, and whatever they turned out to be was an embarrassment.
Sweet Basil
Hi Jillisa! I’m so sorry you have a negative experience with these brownies. They aren’t any eggs in this. These are actually a family favorite of ours. Did you bake the bottom layer of brownies and then add the caramel and patchwork the batter/dough on top? These are totally irresistible if they are baked correctly. There is also a video if that helps at all.
MARGARITA
A total waste of money, of time and even of a brand new pan. This recipe is for people to fail, a total mess!!!!! They even cooled down overnight. Why no eggs? Since the very beginning it seemed weird to me but I trusted a simple online page with no support and I didn’t read the comments before….
DELETE THIS WEBPAGE PEOPLE!!!!
Mary Kusack
I don’t know about anyone else but these were the worst. $16 worth of ingredients down the drain. It was like they never baked. A gooey rich mess. Why no eggs????
Sweet Basil
Hi Mary! I’m so sorry you were disappointed in these. Did you let them cool completely before cutting them? They are rich, but they should have held their shape.
MARGARITA
Dear Mary, I wish I’ve read your feedback before loosing such amount of money, time, even my new pan. This is a total mess!!!! I am so ANGRY with myself.
Jill P Mutek
What an absolute MESS!! I spent $20 to have to throw pan of ingredients in the garbage. The brownies NEVER setup! The top layer was refrigerated but still was like peanut butter and impossible to work with. Awful recipe! I think the box of Betty Crocker German Chocolate cake is way smaller than it used to be 5 years ago when this post was made and that through off all the rest of the ingredients. You MUST update this so others will know the recipe has to be changed! BEWARE people!
Sweet Basil
I am so sorry for the frustration Jill! I’ve had quite a few people having problems with this recipe lately. I need to revisit it and see what is going on. Again, I apologize!
Nikki
I’m curious about the Dutch process cocoa. I’m buying these ingredients later to bake for a volunteer event and I’m not sure if our grocery store has that. Is it different than regular cocoa?
Sweet Basil
Yes, it is different, and it will be right by the other cocoa.
Taylor
This looks awesome I’ve been looking for a caramel brownie recipe that wasn’t just from a box, and I’m about to make it, but I was wondering about the absence of eggs. Is there a reason there aren’t any eggs? I’m just curious because all the other brownie recipes I’ve seen usually have 4 or so eggs.
Sweet Basil
It allows the brownies to stay fudge-y and remain layered around the caramel rather than melding with the caramel.
Maiya
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!😁
Sweet Basil
Aren’t they heavenly?! This is our go-to for a treat! Thanks for the feedback Maiya!
Dana
If your using premade caramel squares its not from scratch…..I’m looking for a true from scratch recipe, any suggestions?
Sweet Basil
Here’s our caramel recipe, best of luck 🙂 https://ohsweetbasil.com/salted-milk-chocolate-homemade-caramels-recipe/
Claudita
Hello Carrian!! Questions:
I see you say evaporated milk twice on the recipe, is it 1/3 for the melting of the caramels and the other part for the cake batter? I just want to make sure I understood and not doing them wrong. Also, have you ever tried doing 1 cup granulated/1 cup brown sugar instead of 2 granulated? Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. They look amazing and decadent, can’t wait to make them!
Sweet Basil
Yes, that’s correct. Both the dough and caramel need the E milk. I haven’t tried the brown sugar, but it would lead to a more chewy brownie. I have cut the sugar in half with great results.
Margaret
Thank you for this recipe! I can finally ditch the box cake mix☺ I used milk chocolate chips and a 14 oz bag of caramels. I almost think an 11 oz bag would have been plenty!
Sweet Basil
Thank you Margaret!
Deb
I got all excited when I saw this was to be a “scratch” caramel brownie as I have an aversion to those Kraft caramels and I was hoping the caramel would be made from scratch too. They look really good though!
scratch games
i like food cook from scrach like you.
This is highly appreciate articel.