I topped this with fresh unsweetened whipped cream to balance out the sweetness of the caramel and brownies. It is divine!!

As you have probably read in one of my previous posts, I started totally craving brownies as soon as I stepped foot onto the land of Crete.

I am used to having any shape or size pans, amazing cocoa powder, high quality chocolate and tons of brown sugar at my disposal at all hours. Here, I do not. I didn’t let that hold me back! NO!  I persevered and carried on and made those brownies.  The recipe was for brownies to be made in a 9×13 pan and I only had a 9×9 casserole dish…no worries.  It called for brown sugar, I only had white.  No problem, I used all white sugar and added some maple syrup. It called for dark cocoa powder (always my preference), I only had regular cocoa powder. I used extra dark chocolate. It called for espresso powder that I didn’t have…I used very fine ground coffee.

This is also the reason my caramel sauce is a peanut butter honey caramel sauce.  I had no corn syrup so I subbed in honey instead.  It was originally just going to be a caramel sauce but with such a strong honey flavor in the caramel now, I felt that peanut butter would make the perfect complement and peanut butter and chocolate just go hand in hand!

I think I will take a few down to the market at the bottom of the hill and tell them thank you for introducing me to the delicious Greek candies I have now become addicted to.

Super Thick Brownies (adapted from The Baked Brownie)

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 13 ounces quality dark chocolate (60-72%), chopped coarsely
• 8 ounces butter (2 sticks), cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 tsp super finely ground coffee
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 5 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light-colored metal pan 9x9x3 pan.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder.
4. Configure a large-sized double boiler. Place the chocolate, the butter, and the coffee grounds in the bowl of the double boiler and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler and add both sugars.
5. Whisk the sugar and maple syrup until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan. Mixture should be room temperature.
6. Add three eggs to the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined.
7. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not over beat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
8. Sprinkle the flour/cocoa/salt mix over the chocolate. Using a spatula (DO NOT USE A WHISK) fold the dry into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour/cocoa mix visible.
9. Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top with your spatula. Bake the brownies for 75 minutes (rotate the pan half-way through baking) and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Peanut Butter Honey Caramel Sauce

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup peanut butter

1. Combine sugar, honey, water and salt in medium sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
2. Allow to boil without stirring until the color turns do a dark amber and you can smell the caramelization.
3. Remove immediately from heat and whisk in butter. Be careful, it will steam and bubble as you add the butter.
4. Add the cream and whisk until smooth then add the peanut butter and whisk until smooth.