Homemade salted caramel turtle brownies begin with a batch of one bowl homemade brownies and are topped with pecans, homemade salted caramel, and a sprinkle of sea salt. They’re rich, decadent, and impress every time!
Sharing salted caramel turtle brownies today *in hopes* that you’ll find time to make these salty, sweet, sticky, ooey, gooey, chocolatey, fudgy bites of decadence as soon as possible. They’re just like my regular homemade brownies but we’re adding delicious pecans, caramel on top, and a sprinkle sea salt for a little something extra.
Truth is, I wanted to share these brownies earlier, only I couldn’t because I kept miserably failing at the recipe. After three recipe disasters, I realized what I was doing wrong: I kept trying to bake homemade salted caramel into the brownies. Layering the caramel inside the brownies resulted in burnt edges and the caramel layer virtually disappearing. I kept imagining how perfect these calorie bombs would be so I tried one more time. Success! Aren’t we all motivated by dessert?
Learn from my mistakes and follow this recipe closely. Let’s get started!
Why We Love Salted Caramel Turtle Brownies
So much to love about these brownies!
- Easy, one bowl homemade brownies
- Sweet, salty, crunchy, and gooey in every bite
- Rich, decadent, and totally over the top
- Makes a lot of brownies so it’s a perfect recipe for a crowd
- They’re incredibly impressive and no one will know just how easy they are to make
- Topped with pecans, homemade salted caramel, and a sprinkle of sea salt
- Did I mention salted caramel?
What are turtle candies? Turtle candies are candy clusters made with pecans, caramel, and chocolate. So there’s no confusion, there are no actual animal turtles in today’s post. 🙂
If you love these flavors together, try this caramel turtle brown pie, caramel turtle cheesecake, or chocolate turtle cookies next! And while they do not have nuts, these chocolate whoopie pies with salted caramel frosting also hit the spot.
Turtle Brownie Batter
We use my favorite recipe for homemade brownies as the base of this recipe. A one-bowl recipe! I used this particular brownie base because it makes a large 9×13-inch pan, perfect for large gatherings and can support the decadent toppings.
Topping for Salted Caramel Turtle Brownies
I wanted to incorporate homemade salted caramel into these brownies, not store-bought caramel candies. Why? Because homemade salted caramel is liquid gold! Made with 4 simple ingredients, it takes just a few minutes to prepare. It’s a reader favorite recipe, marking its spot in the top 10 most popular recipes on my website. It’s sweet, sticky, buttery, and tastes phenomenal on anything it touches. Here are 50 ways to eat salted caramel!
Instead of baking salted caramel into the brownies, we pour slightly cooled salted caramel ON TOP of the warm brownies. Like a caramel blanket of sorts. (!!!) The salted caramel slightly thickens as the brownies cool. Then, when cutting, the salted caramel gently seeps over the edges. YES!
Turtle Brownie Success Tips
For best results:
- Layer the brownies in one layer. The salted caramel on top stays a little sticky so I do not recommend stacking these brownies.
- Slice them small because they are pretty rich.
- These can be made as a smaller batch! Make my frosted brownies (minus the frosting) and pour about 3/4 cup of the salted caramel on top. Super simple.
- Not a fan of nuts? That’s ok, you can leave out the pecans. The brownies will no longer be turtle-y though. Just plain ol’ salted caramel brownies. Which definitely isn’t a bad thing.
More Caramel Recipes
- Chocolate Turtle Cookies
- Snickers Caramel Tart
- Salted Caramel Pretzel Crunch Bars
- Caramel Apple Spice Thumbprints
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars
Salted Caramel Turtle Brownies
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: 24 brownies
- Category: Brownies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Salted caramel turtle brownies are deliciously rich with homemade salted caramel and pecans!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter
- one 4 ounce (113g) semi-sweet chocolate bar, coarsely chopped*
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (82g) unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder*
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (120g) chopped pecans
- 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (full recipe) homemade salted caramel
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished brownies/caramel out of the pan as a whole. This makes cutting easier. I recommend parchment paper because the caramel won’t really stick to it.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and 2 ounces of chopped chocolate. Melt in 30 second increments, whisking after each, until completely smooth. Whisk in the sugar until completely combined, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla. The batter will be light brown and a little dull looking.
- Add the cocoa powder, flour, salt, remaining 2 ounces of chopped chocolate, pecans, and chocolate chips. Fold it all together with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. Batter will be very thick. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then test the brownies with a toothpick. Insert it into the center of the pan. If it comes out with wet batter, the brownies are not done. If there are only a few moist crumbs, the brownies are done. Keep checking every 2 minutes until you have moist crumbs. My brownies take 31-32 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and pour slightly cooled salted caramel on top of hot brownies. Spread it evenly on top. If desired, and if you like very salty/sweet, sprinkle top with coarse salt. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares. I like to stick the pan in the refrigerator to speed things up.
- Cover and store leftover brownies at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Brownies, with or without caramel, freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Pan | Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Cooling Rack
- Chocolate: Chocolate bars are typically sold in 4 ounce bars. 2 ounces will be melted down into the batter and 2 ounces will be chopped up and folded into the batter. I suggest Ghirardelli, Baker’s brand, or Lindt.
- Cocoa Powder: You can use either natural or dutch-process cocoa powder. I prefer dutch-process for a smoother flavor.
- Smaller Batch: Make these frosted brownies (minus the frosting) and pour about 3/4 cup of the salted caramel on top.
Dear Sally, you had an recipe named brownie bites with color sprinkles on top … but i can´t find it on the website anymore. I loved the recipe and made it a few times but i never saved it. Is it the same dough like this one? Thanks a lot!!! Greetings from Munich. Jasmine
Hi Jasmine! The batter was this brownie batter if you want to use that instead. But you can use this batter, too. The other ones are a bit richer.
I hate to be a stickler, but there is a duplicate word in the 2nd sentence “Line a 9×13 inch pan pan with parchment paper”. You wrote pan twice.
Thanks for pointing that out!