* or, "Why I should make sure, not to just stick caramel chews in a brownie and then bake them" :P

Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars - From:

http://traceysculinaryadventures.bl.....l#.UQkohWd5VEI

Salted Caramel Sauce:

1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1/4 cup sour cream

Cookie Bars:

2 1/8 cups (10 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
(its a stick and 1/2 folks)
1 cup (7 oz) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
6 tablespoons salted caramel sauce
fleur de sel, for sprinkling

To make the caramel: Add the sugar, corn syrup and water to a medium saucepan and stir gently to combine. Set the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture registers 350 F on a candy thermometer (if you don't have a thermometer cook until the mixture is amber in color). Turn off the heat under the pan and slowly add the cream (the caramel will bubble up quite a bit so be mindful) then the fleur de sel. Stir in the sour cream until the mixture is smooth. Let cool while you work on the brownies.

Er...this, I skipped, because I already had the caramels. Trader Joes Caramels with Sea Salt...which fits this recipe perfectly.

As for the cookie bars: Preheat oven to 325 F with a rack in the lower third. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides to allow you to lift the bars out after baking. Spray the aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. In a second bowl, combine the butter and both sugars, whisking until combined.

Here, I did something just a bit different: I let the butter melt, but let it get more browned. Browning butter will give your cookies, cakes and brownies a LOT more depth. The thing is - you CANNOT GET DISTRACTED BY ANYTHING. No matter what, you -MUST- keep stirring it, at medium high heat and keep an eye on it until it gets that nice brown tint!

Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and whisk to completely incorporate. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and use a rubber spatula to fold the dry into the wet just until combined. (The batter will be quite thick.) Use the rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips. If its still too thick and floury - which it was for me - just add 1, maybe 2 tablespoons of water but no more.

Transfer half of the batter to the prepared pan, pressing it into an even layer in the bottom. Pour the caramel sauce over the cookie dough, leaving just a little space around the edges. Use a small cookie scoop to dollop the remaining cookie dough over the salted caramel. Press down gently with your fingertips to distribute. It's fine if the caramel layer isn't completely covered - it will spread to cover as it bakes. Sprinkle the top with fleur de sel. (Or in my case, stick the caramels right in there, derp derp derp *dies* - next time, I'll just stuff the brownies instead!)

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the bars are golden brown and slightly firm to the touch.

The only other thing - and yes, these are certainly very tasty - they still came out a bit dry, even with the butter added in. Im almost certain that it was because I browned the butter instead of just melting.

Yes, as I said before, browning the butter will give your brownies, cookies and cakes more depth.

BUT (Im sure you knew that was coming)

It also evaporates a lot of the oils needed to make the brownies moist...so if I were to make these again, I would probably add maybe 1/4 cup canola oil to keep them from drying out.

P.S.: Hey Huttser, you can always butterscotch chips to this, or toffee chips...either one works :P

Ah well, nom nom!