Salted Caramel Bourbon Bacon Brownies. (Gluten/Dairy/Egg/Refined Sugar Free)

These brownies are absurdly good. They are a perfect combo of sweet and salty. You must make them. They are rich, and the flavor might just blow you mind. I could literally not believe how incredible they turned out.

As with most of my recipes they can be altered and customized in a number of ways.

Make sure to read through the whole post- as there will be lots of little details to help you make them just the way you want!

Lets talk substitutions before we jump into the recipe.

Substitution & Recipe Notes

• The Bourbon flavor in these brownies is intense- just the way I wanted it.  If you are fond of bourbon you can replace half of it with milk.
• If you want to remove the bourbon completely use instead: 5 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoon of Milk (dairy or nondairy) and 2 Tablespoons of Vanilla Extract. 
• In the brownie portion of the recipe you can use a variety of granulated sugars. (Make sure to use granulated ONLY. Liquid will not work.) My favorite to work with is Truvia Baking Blend made out of xylitol and zero glycemic. If using Cane Sugar or Truvia you will only need about 1 cup of sugar. If you choose to use Palm Sugar or Sucanat use up to 1 1/3 cup of sugar as they are not as sweet. Taste your brownie dough- start with 1 cup and up the extra 1/3 cup if you want them sweeter. (Note: that in the oven the sweetness will lesson from that it tastes like in the dough).
• In the caramel portion of the recipe use only the sugars I have suggested below. Truvia will not work.
• If you aren’t a bacon fan- feel free to leave it out! The brownies will still taste fantastic.
• If you want to use a different liqueur than bourbon- feel free to experiment. Just keep in mind that some are sweeter than others- and if you select one with sugar that may want to cut down slightly on the granulated sugar amount. Be aware that if you remove too much sugar the texture of the brownies will change some.
• Instead of blanched almond flour feel free to use another homemade nut or seed flour. Sunflower seed flour reacts to baking soda and powder and turns green if you surpass a certain amount of baking powder per cup of flour. (I don’t know what this exact amount is and will be toying with this in the future.) This is something to be aware of if you try using homemade sunflower seed flour,  If your not a risk taker- then try using less baking powder in the recipe than I have called for. 
  
• To make your own Nut or Seed flour: simply run the nut or seed in a high powdered blender or coffee grinder until you have a super fine flour. (If the flour is course- the recipe might not work as well.) If you flour is course, then be aware that your brownies may not cook through properly.
• Coconut flour or any of the starchy grain based flours will NOT work in this recipe (This includes all gluten free flour mixes). Only use other Nut/Seed flours.
• PLEASE follow these guidelines if you would like the recipe to work! Making other changes will give you different results. Experiment at your own risk.

Brownies

• 3 Packed Cups Blanched Almond Flour (see substitution notes above)
• 2/3 Packed Cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Tbs. Baking Powder
• 1 – 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar to taste (see notes above )
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract 
• 7 Tbs Bourbon Whiskey (or rum would taste good too!)
• 4 Tbs room temp. Butter (dairy or nondairy) or coconut oil melted.

Salted Caramel 

• 1/4 Cup Butter (Dairy or Earth Balance) or Coconut Oil.
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar Or Coconut Palm Sugar or Sucanat.
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of “Cream”. This can be regular heavy cream Or Heavy Coconut Milk from a can OR MimicCreme.
• Course Sea Salt. 

3-4 pieces of crisp bacon chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper in a 6 x 6 pan.
2. In a bowl mix together all of the brownie ingredients. The dough will be thick- more like a cookie dough.
3. Press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake 36-40 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and let the brownies cool completely before trying to slice them. If you cut them too soon they will crumble! To speed up this process place the pan in the freezer.
5. While the brownies are cooling make the caramel. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan combine all the caramel ingredients and bring it to a gentle boil for 1-2 minutes until it thickens slightly. The longer you boil, the thicker it will become. (It will also thicken quite a bit as it cools down).
6. Drizzle the caramel over the brownies and then sprinkle on top the course sea salt and the chopped bacon.

If you opt to use bacon store the brownies in a tightly sealed bag or container in the fridge or freezer. If you did not use bacon they can be left at room temperature also in a sealed bag or container. 

-Brittany-