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Caramel Hot Chocolate Brownies

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Chewy and delicious, these caramel hot chocolate brownies are always a huge hit! Grab your favorite hot cocoa mix and whip up a batch today.

To die for caramel hot chocolate brownies! A fudgy, creative dessert using hot chocolate mix. Drizzle with extra caramel after baking for a super decadent treat.

Sit down my darlings and let me tell you a story of how these caramel hot chocolate brownies came to be. Circumstances fell into place starting in September when we had a cool evening… by cool I mean under 70 F.

Cool evenings make me think of hot chocolate with my favorite people, and so on three *separate* occasions I ended up picking up a box of hot cocoa mix at the store “just in case” we had an evening where I wanted hot chocolate, but didn’t have the chocolate on hand to make hot chocolate from scratch.

This is a rational precaution in this house, until I realized I had three unopened containers of hot chocolate in the pantry. We maybe go through one in a year at most. What was I going to do? 

The answer is, clearly, bake something, because that is among the top three best answers to most questions in life. I’ve been on a bit of a brownie kick, and so brownies were the first thing that came to mind and these came out perfectly!

I was able to cut down on the sugar by using the sweetened hot chocolate mix, and the resulting brownies were chewy, fudge squares of happy. I wasn’t too happy that my caramel just disappeared right into the brownie though. If I hadn’t been packaging them up to give away, I might have drizzled them with a bit more caramel. But the flavor was there, and I couldn’t get over the delicious texture.

To die for caramel hot chocolate brownies! A fudgy, creative dessert using hot chocolate mix. Drizzle with extra caramel after baking for a super decadent treat.

Caramel hot chocolate brownies are definitely my new favorite hot chocolate treat. The itty-bitty mini marshmallows you see can by found in the grocery store by the hot cocoa mixes usually. Sometimes you can find the marshmallow bits in the baking section too.

I like how the bits provide a nice dry “crunch” to contrast the chewy, moist brownies. If you can’t find them, go ahead and substitute standard mini marshmallows. Real mini marshmallows will melt a bit, but will still work just fine.

If you are using mini marshmallows in the brownies and don’t want them to completely melt, add them in toward the last few minutes of the baking. I use this trick when making my Nutella s’mores brownies.

To die for caramel hot chocolate brownies! A fudgy, creative dessert using hot chocolate mix. Drizzle with extra caramel after baking for a super decadent treat.

So should you find yourself looking at your pantry and realizing you too have a surplus of hot chocolate, and some caramel sauce on hand, don’t fret… bake caramel hot chocolate brownies!

To die for caramel hot chocolate brownies! A fudgy, creative dessert using hot chocolate mix. Drizzle with extra caramel after baking for a super decadent treat.

Caramel Hot Chocolate Brownies

Yield: 18 brownies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Drink hot chocolate and eat it too with this easy caramel hot chocolate brownies recipe! Fudgy and cute, these unique brownies are sure to please.

Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup instant hot chocolate mix
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, 16 tablespoons
  • 1 3/4 c granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup caramel sauce (see notes)
  • mini marshmallow bits for sprinkling (see notes)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 9x13" pan. If you'd like to make the brownies a little easier to remove, line the pan with parchment paper, leaving "handles" protruding along the long side of the pan.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, salt, hot chocolate mix, baking powder, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed about 4 minutes.
  3. Combine the butter and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute, then additional 30 second intervals as needed, stirring after each, until the butter has completely melted and the mixture is hot (not bubbling) and a little shiny. If it gets too hot, let it sit a minute or two before moving on to the next step.
  4. Slowly drizzle the butter and sugar mixture into the egg and cocoa mixture, stirring constantly until smooth. Immediately stir in the chocolate chips.
  5. Add the flour and stir until just combined, then pour the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.
  6. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the brownies and sprinkle on the mini marshmallows.
  7. Bake the brownies for 33-38 minutes, until the edges are set and the middle looks slightly under-done, but not raw. A tester will come out with a few moist crumbs, and that's okay.
  8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a rack before slicing and serving. For an extra decadent treat, top with additional caramel sauce.

Notes

  • The marshmallow bits are the dehydrated marshmallows that come in a jar. My grocery store places them near the baking section, closer to the chocolate chips than the marshmallows. I have also seen them near the hot chocolate.
  • If you don't have caramel on hand, you can skip it without noticing too much. A thinner caramel sauce will disappear into the brownie and just leave a little flavor. I've made these brownies both with and without the caramel many times, and both are equally delicious.

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Eva Cameron

Wednesday 2nd of September 2020

Can the amounts be converted to grams or ounces?

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Wednesday 2nd of September 2020

Unfortunately, Eva, that's not something my recipe card currently supports. Hopefully soon! King Arthur Flour has an excellent table for easy conversions: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart

I hope that helps!

Libby East

Sunday 17th of November 2019

You may want to specify to use mallow bits and not mini marshmallows since that's what it looks like in the pictures. Other than that these look great!

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Thursday 19th of December 2019

Good idea, thank you!

Deb

Sunday 17th of December 2017

These sound amazing. Can you please verify for me if it is 2 Tbsp or 2 sticks of butter? The recipe seems to have both listed and I would hate to make them wrong and be disappointed. If I was guessing, I would go with the 2 sticks, but don't want them to end up too buttery. Is that even a thing? ;-)

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Monday 18th of December 2017

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) - I'm still working through the recipes after a recipe card conversion that left things a little wonky. Will update. I hope you enjoy... I've made 2 batches this week! One with caramel and one without for shipping. ;)

Sybil

Friday 1st of September 2017

I made these brownies today, it was a hit with my kids and I thought they were delish! It was easy to make. Deff making these again when I have company, its a great conversation piece! ! I mean HOT CHOCOLATE BROWNIES who would have thunk it! !!! So chewy and chocolaty!

Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

Monday 4th of September 2017

Wonderful!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed. <3

Tara

Monday 30th of November 2015

These look delicious! I love the little mini marshmallows on top!!

The Godmother

Tuesday 1st of December 2015

Thanks! I think they add something fun :)

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