Baking Weak

I'm baking weak. Yup, it's true. I have a weakness for baked goods. This week I've been on a baking mission. No reason really for it, just feeling the need to bake.

Earlier in the week, I bought a big bag of lemons and made lemon bars. I love theses but never have never tried to make them. They are super easy. The most difficult part was grating the lemons for zest.

Part II of the baking bars week was salted caramel brownies. Delicious. Sinfully rich. Ridiculously time consuming. Worth every minute - except the minutes when I had to run to the store because I didn't buy enough heavy cream. Not so fun there.

The brownie recipe I used was from Amelie's... supposedly. I used Ghirardelli's unsweetened chocolate but I think it was too rich. Usually the words "too rich" is not a part of my vocabulary. I may opt for another brand of chocolate next time. Also, the brownie part needs to be a little thinner. So, I'll just use a little less next time.

The caramel is my own recipe with 2 teaspoons of sea salt. The Amelie's recipe called for 4 teaspoons but that just sounded like a lot. But I don't think 2 teaspoons was quite enough. Also, the caramel needed to cook just a bit longer. It was getting late and I was tired of standing over the stove stirring for 30 minutes. Cooking it longer would have given it a richer toffee like favor and a little darker color. The caramel consistency is nice though; not too hard. It won't pull your fillings out.

I have some mini muffin pans and I think I'd like to try to make these in these pans. If the pan is well buttered they wouldn't stick. The little circles of brownies would be a welcome surprise and just the right size. They are rather difficult to cut in a 13" x 9" pan because the caramel sticks to the knife as you cut them. Maybe I should have tried a hot knife?

Overall, great brownies. I'm anxious to try them again with some tweaks. Savor the details.