Heart of Darkness Brownies

These Heart of Darkness Brownies are loaded with rich chocolate, chopped Snickers Bars, chocolate chips, and toasted pecans, and then topped with melted marshmallows and caramel. 

These heart of darkness brownies are ridiculous, in a very good way. Dark chocolate. Caramel. Marshmallows. Chocolate chips. Roasted pecans. Snickers bars. These brownies are about the most gooey and messy dessert... and well worth it. 

These brownies are baked in muffin tins mostly because they would be too hard to cut apart due to their gooey-ness. Plus, they are such cute little packages. 

The hardest part of making these brownies was getting them out of the muffin tins. I used to have some silicone muffin pans that would be perfect for these, but, regretfully, I gave them away a long time ago. 

Hints for de-panning these brownies: 

Run a knife around the sides of each brownie in the muffin tin one at a time, and then tip the the pan over to gently let the brownie drop out into your hand. 

If a chunk of a brownie remains in the muffin tin, dig it out and paste it onto the bottom or sides of the brownie/muffin. Once the brownie cools, it holds together. Don't panic.

My favorite baking non-stick spray is bak-klene ZT. It's the best. If you make a lot of bundt cakes, it's really works. 

You could also make up a mixture of 1 part oil, 1 part shortening, and 1 part flour and paint it on the inside of the muffin cavities. 

But don't worry if they isn't that the point of gooey desserts?

Ingredients You Will Need for These Brownies:

Unsalted butter. You don't need to worry about getting it to room temperature because you will be melting it.

Unsweetened chocolate. Baker's Chocolate will work just fine. 

Raw pecans: Be sure to chop and toast them. 

Pantry Ingredients: Large eggs, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, granulated and brown sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chips, salt, and heavy cream. 

Caramel candies: If you have the individually wrapped candies, you will need about 13. 

Snickers Bars: The oddest part of making these brownies involved the search for the Snickers bars. The original recipe calls for full sized 2.07 ounce bars. Evidently, Mars downsized Snickers to 1.88 ounces in 2013 (and now to 1.86 ounces). 

Reality? It really doesn't make a huge difference, but, just in case, I've provide the ounces/grams in the ingredient list. 

These brownies are amazing. I'm just saying.

How to Make These Brownies:

First, melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a saucepan. Pour the ingredients into a bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, flour, salt, pecans, chocolate chips, and chopped Snickers bars. 

Bake the brownies and then top them with the marshmallows and then bake them for a couple of minutes more until the marshmallows melt a bit. 

Drizzle the tops of the brownies with the caramel topping and let it harden. 

These brownies are totally decadent. 

Ingredient Substitutions and Recipe Variations:

If you like, you can substitute almonds or walnuts for the pecans. 

For the Snickers, you could easily substitute Milky Way Bars, especially if you don't care for peanuts. 

If you like, you can use a culinary torch to brown the tops of the marshmallows. 

You could also top the caramel with a  bit of flaked sea salt for the salted caramel flavor. 

Best Brownie Recipes from Our Dinner Table Group:

• Copycat Cosmic Brownies from Books n' Cooks
• Crumbl Brownie Batter Cookies from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Dr. Pepper Brownies from That Recipe
• Heart of Darkness Brownies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pink Peppermint Crunch Brownies from Palatable Pastime

We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table! Join our group and share your recipes, too! While you're at it, join our Pinterest board, too!

This is an updated post, originally published on March 4, 2013. I've added updated photos along with enhanced instructions and a printable recipe card. 

Heart of Darkness Brownies

Yield: 12 Brownies

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 22 MinTotal time: 1 H & 22 M

These Heart of Darkness Brownies are loaded with rich chocolate, chopped Snickers Bars, chocolate chips, and toasted pecans, and topped with melted marshmallows and caramel.

Ingredients

For the Brownies

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) of unsalted butter
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup plus two tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs, whisked together in a small bowl
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 91 grams (3.2 ounces/3/4 cup) all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted in a 350 degree F oven for 8 minutes
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 3/4 full-sized Snicker bars, cut into 1/2 inch squares (5.17 ounces/146 grams)
• 1 1/2 cups of mini marshmallows

For the Caramel Topping

• 3 ounces (about 13) unwrapped caramel candies
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a nonstick 12 cup muffin tins with baking spray.
3. Melt the butter and chocolate in a sauce pan over low heat until fully blended.
4. Pour the butter/chocolate mixture into a large bowl.
5. Stir in the sugars.
6. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until fully combined.
7. Sift the flour and salt through a sieve into the chocolate mixture and stir just until blended.
8. Add the pecans, chocolate chips, and Snickers pieces.
9. Divide the dough between the muffin cups, about a half cup per muffin cavity.
10. Bake the brownies for 20 minutes, until they have a shiny cracked "brownie" surface.
11. Remove the brownies from the oven and top each one with the mini marshmallows, dividing them evenly among the brownies.
12. Return the brownies to the oven for two minutes until the marshmallow begin to puff up and slighly melt.
13. Place the brownie pan on a wire rack and cool the brownies in the pans for about 10 minutes.
14. As the brownies are cooling, run a thin knife around each brownie to loosen them from the pan.
15. Remove the brownies from the muffin tin to cool on a rack.
16. While the brownies are cooling, make the caramel sauce.
17. Combine the sauce ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments until smooth, stirring in between.
18. Drizzle the caramel over each brownie and let the caramel harden.
19. These brownies will keep for up to three days covered in an air tight container.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

408.09

Fat (grams)

23.57

Sat. Fat (grams)

12.31

Carbs (grams)

48.71

Fiber (grams)

2.42

Net carbs

46.3

Sugar (grams)

36.89

Protein (grams)

4.75

Sodium (milligrams)

99.06

Cholesterol (grams)

79.22

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2013/03/heart-of-darkness-brownies.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

brownies, caramel

Dessert

American

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Recipe adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth, by Jill O'Connor, published in 2007. I've made several recipes from the book, and they are all outstanding. 

She also has a companion book, Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey Treats for Kids.