If I crave something sweet it usually involves caramel, or chocolate and caramel. Admittedly I use have a jar of homemade caramel in my fridge. I know….It can be a problem, but there is nothing better than stirring it into hot coffee. I have tried brownie recipes before that involve a layer of caramel but it always seems to disappear and I had an idea of folding these delicious little nuggets into the batter; more of an experiment than anything to see if they would totally melt or not. These are the things that keep me up at night; recipe ideas that swirl in my head; will a Rolo candy melt into brownies or not. Weirdness factor 10 out of 10 I’m aware. But this is when I usually get my best ideas; laying in bed at night pondering life’s mysteries.

So you know I HAD to try it out. Oh my….they retain their shape and that little bit of chewy goodness is divine when married with a fudgy brownie. This recipe is great if you like fudgy brownies; feel free to experiment and fold in other things like toasted walnuts or dried cherries if you want to play around and eliminate the Rolo candies. It’s a great base recipe if you need brownies for a crowd. If you want an 8×8 pan instead; just cut the recipe in half.

Rolo Fudgy Brownies

1 Cup all purpose- flour

1/2 Cup Dutch process cocoa powder [I used Hershey’s extra dark]

1 3/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 3/4 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 Cup dark brown sugar, packed

6 large eggs, room temperature

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 Cup unsalted butter

8 oz. 60 %  bittersweet chocolate

2 oz. milk chocolate

2 Tbsp. sunflower, grapeseed, or vegetable  oil

10 oz. unwrapped Rolo candies, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F degrees.
2. Save the butter wrappers and use to grease all sides and bottom of 9×13 inch pan. Line the pan with parchment paper across the width of the pan leaving at least 2 inches of overhang.
3. In a bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt, set aside.
4. In a heat proof bowl place the chocolate(s), butter and oil and place over a pot of simmering water and stir until melted, then remove from the heat while you proceed  with the next steps.
5. In a stand mixer bowl place the eggs and the sugars; being careful to hand sift through the brown sugar to catch and smash any lumps of brown sugar. Using the paddle attachment, on high mix the eggs and sugars until the mixture has become creamy looking; about 3-5 minutes.  Add in the vanilla. Stop the mixer and pour in the melted chocolate/butter-oil mixture.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in 5 oz. (half of your Rolo candies).
7.  Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and smooth out so batter is level. Set the timer for 13 minutes and bake the brownies. While the brownies are baking take the other half of the reserved Rolo candies and cut half of them in half; (cutting from the top down); keeping the other 2.5 oz. whole.
8.  After 13 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle over the reserved 5 oz. of  Rolo candies; randomly scattering over the top so you have both the full and half cut candies on top of the partially baked brownies. Immediately return the brownies to the oven and continue to bake about 25 minutes more; but checking them after 20 minutes to ensure they don’t overbake. Test with a wooden skewer and remove when you have moist crumbs.
9.  Allow the pan of brownies to cool completely over a wire rack. Once cooled; cut into squares.