Cheesecake Brownie Bars with Caramel
These indulgent cheesecake brownie bars are just plain irresistible. You're going to love sinking your teeth into these beauties.
Ingredients
Homemade Caramel Sauce
- ½ cup White sugar
- 3 tbsp. Butter (softened)
- ⅓ cup Heavy cream (room-temperature)
- ½ tsp. Vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp. Salt
Brownies
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- 1 cup White sugar
- 10 tbsp. Butter (melted)
- 4 Eggs (room-temperature)
- 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
- 10 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1¼ cup Flour
- ¼ cup Cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. Baking powder
- 1 tsp. Salt
- ¾ cup Pretzels (crushed)
Cheesecake Fluff
- 12 oz. Cream cheese (softened)
- ½ cup White sugar
- 2 tbsp. Sour cream
- ¾ tsp. Vanilla
- ¼ tsp. Heavy cream
Instructions
Caramel Sauce
- Put the ½ cup of sugar in a saucepan over very low heat. Let the sugar start to melt. You have to be patient with this process. It will take a while before you even notice anything happening. You might be tempted to stir, but don't. I can't stress enough how important it is for the heat to be low when making this.
- Once the sugar has melted and is a nice caramel color, stir in the 3 tbsp. of butter. When it’s incorporated, slowly mix in the ⅓ cup of heavy cream. It will bubble up, but just keep stirring. Now that it looks like a sauce, add in the ½ tsp. of vanilla and ¾ tsp. of salt. Let it simmer on low heat for just a couple of minutes longer. Turn off the heat, and let it cool.
Brownies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Beat 1 cup of white and 1 cup of brown sugar and the 10 tbsp. of melted butter just until it's fluffed up a little. Beat the 1 tsp. of vanilla and the 4 eggs into the mixture, one at a time. Don't overbeat the eggs. Melt the 10 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips over a double boiler. After they're melted, stir the chocolate into the mixture with the sugar and eggs.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the 1¼ cup of flour, 1 tsp. of salt, ¼ cup of cocoa powder, and 1 tsp. of baking powder. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little at a time and stir until incorporated. Be careful not to overmix this. Pour the batter into a baking-paper-lined 9×13 casserole dish. Drizzle half of the homemade caramel sauce on top of the batter and sprinkle the ¾ cup of crushed pretzels on top as well.
- Put the brownies into the preheated oven. Bake them for about 45 minutes or until the center doesn't jiggle too much when shaken. Take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool.
Cheesecake Fluff
- While the brownies are cooling, beat the 12 oz. of cream cheese with the ½ cup of sugar. Once fluffy, mix in the 2 tsp. of sour cream and the ¾ tsp. of vanilla. Next, beat in the ¼ cup of heavy cream, a little at a time. Make sure the cream has fluffed up before adding more. Don't forget to make sure the content from the sides of the bowl is scraped down and mixed in. Refrigerate the cream until the brownies have cooled completely.
Assembly
- I recommend topping the brownies right before they will be eaten. This will keep the pretzels from getting soggy. When you're ready, spread the cheesecake fluff over the top of the brownies, cutting them into about 12 pieces. (I like to cut off the very edges of the brownies so that they'll be more square.) Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the cheesecake fluff, and you're ready to go! Enjoy!