Caramel Brownies

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and I almost didn't get a picture of them being that they we eaten so fast!  I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman recipe blog.  A lot of times when I try recipes I make changes to my liking but I didn't make any changes to this one.  I hope you enjoy!!!

Here is what you will need:

1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup melted butter

60 whole caramels (unwrapped of course :))

1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup powdered sugar

*double boiler pan

*9x9 baking dish approximate

Got the stuff we need for this?  

Ok then, let's get started.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Let's pour our German Chocolate cake mix into a bowl.

Add 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk.

I melted my butter in the microwave for about 45 seconds so now we can add our 1/2 cup of melted butter.

Now we will add 1 cup of finely chopped pecans (chop pecans first and then measure 1 cup as there is a difference between a cup of chopped nuts and a cup of nuts chopped)

Mix these ingredients together with a spoon.

Spray your baking pan with non stick spray and then spoon 1/2 of the mix into the pan.  Noticed I didn't say pour because it is pretty thick...don't worry this is what it is supposed to look like :)

Now bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

While that is baking, get your double boiler pan and put 60 caramels in.

Pour in 1/2 cup of evaporated milk.

Heat this on medium high stirring or whisking frequently, until the mixture is smooth and melted.

This is what it should look like; free of lumps, smooth and creamy.

I took my brownie mix out and it looks like this.  

After the cooked brownie has cooled a little, go ahead and pour all of the melted caramel mixture on top.

YUM

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chocolate chips over the caramel.  This picture does not show all of the chocolate chips I added.  You want them to be all over the caramel.  Use more chips at your discretion.

This next part is a little tricky...You want to take the rest of the uncooked brownie mix and flatten it with your hand, trying to create a flat shape of the pan before placing it in the pan.  I used my hands, rolled it in a ball and flattened it, trying to create the shape of the pan before placing it on top.  

Next time, I might let the caramel cool a bit before doing this step as it kind of sunk in.  They still turned out great though.

Place the pan back into the oven at 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove the pan and let cool for about 15 minutes.  

Wait, sorry but you can't eat them yet!!!

Because of the gooeyness of the ingredients they need to be refrigerated for several hours in order to set all the ingredients together.
I refrigerated them in the pan over night because I made them the day before serving them.  The next day  when I took them out of the fridge they were a little difficult to cut so I stuck them in the oven for a few min. (like 3-4 min. max).  I didn't want it to be completely melted and too gooey just enough to soften them.  Then I sprinkled a generous amount of powdered sugar over the top and cut them into squares.



Enjoy!!!

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