Salted Caramel Brownies (Gluten-free)

In case you missed it, you can make brownies (or blondies) from almond butter!  It’s amazing–with just almond butter, honey, eggs, baking powder, and a few flavorings, you get a batter that actually bakes up into classic, fudgy, and delicious brownies.  I have Elana at Elana’s Pantry to thank for that genius discovery.

And, as you may already know, every dessert gets better when you add salted caramel.  I’ve already made several salted caramel treats (the sauce, cupcakes, skillet brownies, and peach bars), and thought it was time for a gluten-free salted caramel brownie.  If you’d like to make this recipe paleo, you can make it with salted maple caramel instead of the regular salted caramel sauce.  Either way, these brownies will be amazing.

We had friends over for dinner last night, and used these brownies as a base for brownie sundaes (the ultimate dessert, in my opinion).  We started with the brownies, followed by a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a generous drizzle of warm salted caramel sauce, whipped cream, and a sprinkling of chocolate chips.  The sundaes were so distractingly good that no pictures were taken, so you’ll just have to trust me and make some yourself!

Ingredients (adapted from Elana’s Pantry; makes 9-12 brownies):

1 cup (8 ounces) creamy almond butter or sunflower seed butter*
1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips, intact
1/2 cup salted caramel sauce or salted maple caramel (or your favorite caramel sauce), plus extra for serving

*I prefer the flavor of almond butter for these brownies, but the sunbutter brownies are still delicious and are, of course, nut-free.

Preheat the oven to 325 and line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment or greased tinfoil.

In a medium bowl, beat the almond butter with a whisk or a mixer until smooth.  Add the melted chocolate and beat until smooth again.  Whisk in the honey, egg, vanilla, salt, and baking soda.  Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.  Drizzle the caramel sauce on top, then use a knife to swirl it into the batter a bit.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until just set.  Don’t over-bake, or the brownies will not be as fudgy.  Cool completely in the pan, then use the parchment to transfer the brownies to a cutting board and slice into 9 or 12 bars.  Serve drizzled with more salted caramel sauce or as a base for the ultimate brownie sundae.