My mom made salted caramel brownies late last summer and they were a huge hit. I recently wanted to recreate the sweet and salty treat, and she pointed me in the direction of Ina Garten’s recipe (link here). My usual approach to recipes is to look to see if I understand it all and/or if there is a completely acceptable way to cut a corner or two (shortcuts are a completely necessary element to my cooking/baking). Although the ability level indicated “easy,” I read things like “melt in a bowl set over simmering water”  or “sift” (that’s right, “sift” can turn me away) and I thought “nope, not happening.” But wait, these are brownies. Totally acceptable to use one of many wonderful mixes out there, right? Ms. Garten herself uses a jar of caramel sauce to top the finished brownies, after all! Interestingly, I did make the caramel sauce from scratch (funny story about that in the “Reality Check” below). I like to have some element of a recipe be homemade, otherwise I may as well grab the treats from a lovely local bakery. Plus, topping a dessert with regular caramel and sprinkling salt on top doesn’t really seem like true salted caramel. Not that I am doubting Ina Garten, I just really have a thing for salt and wanted to have it as part of the sauce, not just as an added garnish. I went on the hunt online for a salted caramel sauce recipe. Keeping in mind my preference for uncomplicated recipes, I would immediately hit the back button if I saw a candy thermometer referenced. I found a great one here, and was really happy with the result. Original recipes in links above, with adapted recipe (with a range of various shortcuts) below.
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I tend to lean heavily on spices when cooking, and this recipe caught my eye because of the interesting addition of cinnamon. A lot of recipes I try have the cayenne/paprika combo, so I thought it would be a twist to add an element of sweet to the spice. Overall I likely prefer a more traditional roasting recipe to this one, but its nice to mix it up every once in a while.

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As is usually the case with a holiday at my parents’ house, there was no shortage of yummy food this past weekend. But this appetizer of salmon cakes on Asian slaw was a definite crowd pleaser. It was a healthy and relatively light but still filling afternoon snack, and definitely enough to help curb the craving to dig into the kids’ Easter Bunny candy reserved for the hunt the next morning. Recipe below.
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