Dulce De Leche Brownies for Cinco de Mayo

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and in honor of this holiday, I wanted to make a Mexican inspired dessert. We've already posted several great brownie recipes, like The Most Amazing Brownie, Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownie and Decadent Brown Butter and Toasted Walnut Brownies, but this time I wanted to incorporate Dulce de Leche (since that's what I had in my cabinet). This recipe is based on a David Lebovitz recipe but I added my own twist!

Dulce de Leche Brownies
Adapted from David Lebovitz
Makes 16 small or 12 large brownies

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes at room temperature
6 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli Bittersweet chips)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 cup flour
3/4 cup Dulce de Leche (I used La Lechera brand)
Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Line an 8x8 square baking pan with non stick foil or spray regular foil with nonstick spray

In a medium sized saucepan, over low heat, melt butter. Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted.

Remove from heat, whisk in the cocoa powder and espresso powder until smooth, then whisk in the eggs one at time. Stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour, stirring just until combined.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer. Spoon half of the Dulce de Leche in dollops over the top of the brownie batter. Using a butter knife, swirl the Dulce de Leche through the brownie batter. Top with the remaining brownie batter and spread evenly. Dollop the remaining Dulce de Leche over the top of the brownie batter and swirl slightly.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chocolate chips on top.

Bake for approx 35 minutes or until the center feels just slightly firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing into small squares.

Store leftover in an airtight container for up to 3 days.