Snickers Brownies

It has been about 3 weeks since I posted a brownie recipe, quite obviously too long! In previous posts, we discussed some differences between cocoa based and melted chocolate based brownies. This over-the-top, decadent recipe for Snickers Brownies is a melted chocolate based brownie recipe. From there, we load them up with chopped Snickers candy bars, home-made crunchy peanut caramel, a thick layer of nougat and a boiled fudge frosting.

I won’t deny that these brownies take a bit more effort than your standard brownie recipe. There are four distinct components to be made and you’ll need to break out the candy thermometer for two of the four. But – this is one of the most frequently requested brownie variations I make.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of advance preparation you can do for these. The peanut caramel could be made a day or two ahead of time and warmed to a pourable/spreadable consistency, but the nougat and the frosting have to be used immediately after they are made so they can set in place on the brownies. Despite all that, I 100% recommend that you carve out the time to make these. They are more than worth both the time and effort.

Here are a few tips for success:

• When layering caramel in the middle of brownies, make sure you leave a bit of room between the caramel and the edge of the pan. Cover the caramel completely with the second layer of brownie batter to ensure it is fully sealed. Caramel that comes in contact with the pan or escapes to the surface of the brownie can get overcooked and too hard.
• Pay close attention to the texture of the nougat as you are beating it. If it does not start to pull away from the sides of the bowl, it will be too soft and may not hold its shape when you cut the brownies. If you beat it too long, it will be difficult to spread on the brownies and it will be dense and chewy rather than soft and pillowy.
• Don’t forget to use a timer for your fudge frosting. Under cooked frosting will not set up, leaving a pool of liquid fudge on top of your brownies. Over cooked frosting may become grainy and will set up too hard, cracking when you cut the brownies or becoming unpleasant to bite through.

Snickers Brownies

Inspired by the famous candy bar, these brownies combine all of the elements of the candy bar (nougat, caramel, and peanuts) with a dense fudgy brownie and fudge frosting.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bar, brownie, caramel, nougat, peanut, snickers

Prep Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 48

Calories: 319kcal

Equipment

• saucepans (small, medium and large)
• bowls (medium and large, microwave safe)
• Baking pan (9"x13")
• candy thermometer
• Electric mixer (stand mixer preferred)

Ingredients

Peanut Caramel

• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 10 tablespoon heavy cream divided use
• ¼ cup crunchy peanut butter

Brownies

• 12 ounce dark chocolate
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 10 fun size Snickers bars chopped
• 1 batch peanut caramel

Nougat

• 4 ounce milk chocolate
• 3 ounce creamy peanut butter
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites

Fudge Frosting

• 6 tablespoon milk
• 6 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate high quality

Instructions

Make the caramel:

• Place the sugar, water, and salt in a small saucepan with high sides over medium heat. Cook, swirling or shaking the pan occasionally until light amber in color. Immediately add ½ cup of the heavy cream and vanilla. Continue cooking until firm ball stage (245°-250°).
  ½ cup sugar, 2 tablespoon water, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract, 10 tablespoon heavy cream
• While the caramel is coming to temperature, heat the peanut butter and the remaining 2 tbsp cream in a medium bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds, stir until smoothly combined. As soon as the caramel is at temperature, immediately pour over the peanut butter mixture and stir until smoothly combined. Set aside.
  ¼ cup crunchy peanut butter, 10 tablespoon heavy cream

Make the brownies:

• Pre heat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease, or line with non-stick foil, a 9” x 13” brownie or cake pan.
• Place the dark chocolate, unsalted butter, and espresso powder in a large microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each just until the chocolate is fully melted. Whisk in the sugar, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs until well combined. Stir in the flour and cocoa powder just until the flour disappears. Fold in the chopped snickers.
  12 ounce dark chocolate, 1 cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon espresso powder, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon salt, 5 eggs, 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 10 fun size Snickers bars
• Spoon ½ the batter into the prepared pan, smooth out to the edges in an even layer. Drizzle the peanut caramel over the batter leaving about ½” around the perimeter of the pan. Spoon the remaining batter over the top of the caramel, gently smoothing to completely cover the caramel.
  1 batch peanut caramel
• Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes. The top will appear set, the brownies may wiggle slightly due to the melted caramel layer. Allow to cool while making the nougat.

Make the nougat:

• Melt together the chocolate and peanut butter, set aside.
  4 ounce milk chocolate, 3 ounce creamy peanut butter
• Combine sugar, water, corn syrup and salt in a 3 qt saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, attach a candy thermometer, and cook to 245°-250°. While the sugar mixture cooks, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks in the bowl of a stand mixer.
  4 cups sugar, 1 cup corn syrup, 1 cup water, ¼ teaspoon salt, 4 egg whites
• As soon as the sugar mixture reaches temperature, turn the stand mixer on to low and slowly drizzle the sugar mixture into the egg whites. Return the mixer to high and beat until the mixture looks like a dough (thicker than marshmallow cream and pulling away from the bowl slightly).
• Add the melted chocolate mixture to the mixer bowl and mix until combined. Spread the mixture over the top of the brownies; using a silicone spatula press and spread it into an even layer.

Make the fudge frosting:

• Combine milk, butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in medium saucepan on the stove. Turn burner on to medium. Heat the mixture, stirring constantly, to bring to a boil.
  6 tablespoon milk, 6 tablespoon butter, 1 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt
• When the mixture hits a rolling boil (a boil that cannot be stirred down), continue cooking and stir constantly for 1 minute (use a timer).
• Remove the pan from the heat. Quickly add the vanilla, and chocolate chips.
  1 teaspoon vanilla, 4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate
• Stir continually until blended and creamy. Watch closely, the boiled icing will go from shiny to flat in color. This means it is cooling and starting to set. Pour the frosting over the nougat layer and very quickly spread with spatula.
• Allow the frosting to set completely before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 138mg | Potassium: 140mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 2mg