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Monday, May 24, 2010

Caramel Brownies


Two years ago this May, my sister came to visit me for the first time in St. Louis. I was living alone, engaged to Ryan, and eating a lot of cereal for dinner. My how things have changed! I'm still in St. Louis, but Julia is too! I'm married and rarely eating cereal, unless it's mixed in with yogurt and packed in my lunch. Though a lot has happened in that passage of time, I haven't forgotten these brownies. Julia showed up on my doorstep with a large bag (we're notorious overpackers in our family!) and a plateful of these brownies.

I cannot believe I haven't made these brownies since then, although it's probably because I have memories of chowing down on brownie after brownie :) I was surprised to find out these use a cake mix and while I typically shy away from boxed mixes, these aren't worth trying to alter! They are rich and gooey, with a pretty even ratio of caramel to chocolate. A pan of these will feed a crowd...I cut my 9 x 13 pan into 40 small pieces. I left the pecans out this time, but plan to include next time...turtle brownies anyone?

Caramel Brownies

Ingredients:
-1 package German Chocolate Cake Mix
-3/4 cup melted butter
-2/3 cup evaporated milk, divided
-1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)
-1 bag individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
-1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.
2. Combine cake mix, melted butter, and 1/3 cup evaporated milk. Mix well and pour 1/2 the batter into the pan. If including pecans, press into the batter. Bake for 8 minutes and remove from oven.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and pour over cake.
4. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the caramel. Top with spoonfuls of remaining batter and carefully spread to cover caramel. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least half an hour before cutting.