Dulce de Leche Brownies

I just finished reading The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz. While expounding on the inconveniences and curiosities associated with Parisian living, he also describes the wonders that are the chocolates, cheeses, and breads to be found in that city. I have to question his assertion that there's not a decent cup of espresso served anywhere in Paris, but I’m sure he’s checked every viable option. I reached the end of the book too soon, wanted to read more stories about the real Paris, but also couldn’t wait to get cooking. I started with the last recipe in the book which is dulce de leche brownies. Lebovitz used these brownies as bargaining chips and gained friends quickly with these in tow. They’re easy to make, and with dulce de leche involved, I couldn’t resist.

Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate is recommended, and I used a bittersweet Callebaut. That was melted with butter in a saucepan over low heat. Cocoa powder was whisked into that mixture, and then three eggs were incorporated one at a time. Sugar, vanilla, and flour were added, and I included the optional toasted, chopped pecans as well. Half the batter was placed in the baking pan, and then one third of the suggested quantity of dulce de leche was plopped on top. It was swirled into the batter, topped with more batter, and more dulce de leche was spooned on top and swirled. I can’t be sure that I used the correct amount of dulce de leche. It’s entirely possible that I used a little extra and then set about greedily swiping what remained in the jar into my mouth. You’re instructed to only slightly swirl the dulce de leche into the batter to avoid it baking into a bubbly mess. I don’t know if I achieved perfection in swirlation, but the resulting brownies did not seem bubbly or messy.

Despite the fact that these brownies included dulce de leche and pecans which are two of my favorite things, I really baked them for Kurt. He liked them when they were first cut, but true to form, he was even happier with them after they had been chilled in the refrigerator. I usually disagree with this cold cookie and dessert bar preference of his, but I have to admit these brownies were great either way. Even chilled, the dulce de leche was luscious as ever, the chocolate was rich-tasting, and I’m not even a brownie fan.

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Carmelitas

It doesn’t take much to talk me into baking. Someone at work made an off-handed comment about how she deserved some cookies, and that was enough to send me to my kitchen. I had tucked away this recipe from Food and Wine’s March 2007 issue. These are Texas-standard cookie bars, but I had never baked them. I’ve eaten carmelitas from Whole Foods, and theirs are fantastic. They’re very dense and filling but deliciously so. The chewy layers of chocolate chips, pecans, and caramel make it hard to stop with just a dainty bite.

While shopping for ingredients, I was reminded that dulce de leche is also known as cajeta. I thought it would be easy enough to locate, but two grocery stores later, I finally found it near the peanut butter and nutella. You can also make your own from sweetened condensed milk. The brand I bought is made from goat’s milk, but others are made from cow’s milk. I could have happily sat down with the jar and a spoon and called it a day, but instead I assembled and baked the carmelitas.

The dough comes together quickly, and the half used for the base gets pre-baked. Then, the other ingredients and crumbled remaining dough are layered on top, and the pan is returned to the oven. There is a curious instruction about leaving the pan to cool and letting it sit uncovered at room temperature overnight. Uncovered all night long? I couldn’t do it. We have a cat, and who knows what other creatures could have found their way into the carmelitas overnight? I left it for several hours and then covered the pan before going to sleep. Maybe being left uncovered overnight makes for a firmer cookie bar. Mine were a little crunchy on the bottom, yielding in the middle, and just slightly firmer on top, and I was quite pleased with my result. I brought the cookie bars to work, and happy munching ensued.


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