Norwegian Brunost (Brown Cheese) Caramel Squares

Did I just buy a big block of Norwegian brown cheese so that I can add it to all my baked goods this Easter? Why yes I did. Because one thing I’ve learned in my decade living in Norway is that just about every dessert tastes better with brown cheese.

While not technically a cheese, brunost is made from leftover whey from the cheesemaking process. The whey is boiled down until it caramelizes. In Norway you can buy brown cheese made both from cow’s milk and from goat’s milk, with slightly varying flavors. And if you don’t live in Scandinavia don’t worry, you can order Norwegian brown cheese online here.

These brown cheese caramel squares might be my favorite brown cheese dessert of all! They have a shortbread crust and soft brown cheese caramel filling topped with dark chocolate. This recipe is from the Norwegian brown cheese cookbook Brunost. Fra farmors lefser til fjelltaco og brunostkarameller by Gry Nordvik Karlsen and Ane Nordvik Hasselberg.

My friends Lisa and Åsne came over for dinner on Tuesday, and because they are the two pickiest eaters I know (I really hope they don’t read that, but if you do, you know it’s true!) I decided to play it safe and make two desserts. This turned out to be a good plan, because Lisa did not like these brown cheese caramel squares, but she did love the brown cheese cheesecake I made. Meanwhile Åsne didn’t like the cheesecake, but she enjoyed these. Phew!

You can find my brown cheese cheesecake recipe here, my white chocolate and brown cheese cookie recipe here, and my spiced apple cake with brown cheese frosting recipe here.

Tips

Be sure to line your baking form with baking paper so it’s easy to lift out the squares when they have set.

You can make the shortbread base in a mixer or food processor, or you can simply knead it by hand. Make sure to use cold butter for this, though it will warm up a bit as you mix in the dry ingredients. I like to slice the butter into thin slices to make this easier.

Once the dough starts to look like wet crumbs you can press it together into a ball and then press it down into the bottom of your baking form.

Use your hands to press the dough down as evenly as you can. Then bake the crust for about 20 minutes, until the top just starts to turn golden.

While the crust is in the oven you can get started on the brown cheese caramel.

Add the sugar, butter and brown cheese to a saucepan and heat until the butter and cheese melts, stirring the entire time. The brown cheese will melt more quickly if you slice it into thin slices or grate it. Once the mixture is totally smooth you can remove it from the heat and pour over the baked crust.

Let it chill in the fridge while you prepare the chocolate topping.

Melt the chocolate and butter and stir until it’s completely smooth. Then pour it over the brown cheese caramel filling. This is easier to do if the caramel has already set a bit. Gently spread the chocolate evenly across the top of the caramel.

Let it all set in the fridge for at least an hour. Then lift it out of the baking form and cut into small squares.

You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.