Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Add the flour, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and salt to a small bowl and whisk together.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan (or in the microwave), add the vanilla extract to the butter and stir, then pour into the dry ingredients and stir together until thoroughly moistened. 
3. Press the dough evenly along the bottom and sides into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
4. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until the crust looks dry and matte instead of glistening with butter, about 20 minutes. (It can be tricky to tell when dark chocolate doughs are baked enough without burning because the color doesn’t change much. The dough will go from glossy to matte and smell lovely and chocolatey when it’s baked enough. Check at 18 minutes and every minute until it looks done.)
5. Let cool before filling.

Make the Brownies Caramel:

1. Caramel requires all of your attention – so measure all the ingredients beforehand and keep them close by, you don’t want to be scrambling to measure something while the caramel burns!
2. Make a dry caramel: In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, cook ¼ cup of the sugar over medium-high heat. As soon as the sugar starts to melt, use a heat-resistant spatula to move it constantly around the pan—you want it all to melt and caramelize evenly to a gorgeous amber color. Once the first amount of sugar has taken on color, add an additional ¼ cup sugar to the existing caramel in the pan, repeating the previous steps—cook and stir, cook and stir, until the mixture is once again a gorgeous amber color. Continue adding ¼ cup sugar twice more until all your sugar has become one pretty pan of caramel.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in the unsalted butter until melted.
4. Next, carefully and slowly stream in the heavy cream, whisking all the while. The mixture will sputter and bubble and produce a ton of steam so watch your hands.
5. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted.
6. Finally, add in toasted brownie mix, cocoa powder, and salt and whisk until smooth.
7. Transfer caramel to an airtight container and chill for at least an hour, or until thick and glossy.
8. Pour into the cooled crust, and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

For the chocolate topping:

1. Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil in 30 second increments in the microwave.
2. Once melted and combined, pour over the still-cold caramel layer, and spread into an even layer.
3. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, and allow to cool completely.
4. Best served cold!