Chocolate Caramel Brownies

At work, the employees upstairs celebrate Treat Fridays, where someone is assigned to bring treats to enjoy during break time. Since I bake a lot and bring my experimentations into the office, the group upstairs usually asks me to participate and sign up for a Friday.

I put my name down months ago but completely forgot it was my turn this past week until I got a nice little reminder note. One thing I didn't think about when I signed up was that I gave up sugar for Lent, and Easter is later this year. I had a choice to make. I could either bring something healthy or make a dessert and not get to have any myself.

It didn't take too long to decide. I do have a reputation to uphold. So, it had to be sugary goodness all the way.

To find the perfect recipe to try, I referred to the Ivy Bake Shoppe Cookbook, a source of many family favorite recipes. I've almost worked my way through all the desserts, but I hadn't tried this recipe for Chocolate Caramel Brownies.

I admit I was initially shocked to read the recipe called for a box of cake mix. For me, there is pretty much only one exception to prefer a cake mix over scratch, and that is with this recipe for Chocolate Angel Food Cake. However, this cookbook has produced enough winners that I trust the Ivy Cafe.

I was not disappointed. Or, I should say that everyone who tried the brownies wasn't disappointed. In fact, everyone loved them, and several asked for the recipe. This is one way to kick the standard brownie up several notches, and they are incredibly easy. The hardest thing is unwrapping the caramels. I may even try next time replacing the caramel mixture with dulce de leche. Mmmmm...

Good thing Easter is less than a week away. I'm almost sure I will be making another batch. I just hope the past month and a half has taught me some restraint.

Probably not.

I can only imagine what this chocolatey, caramely, gooey temptation tastes like. Only. Six. More. Days...

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 box German chocolate cake mix
  
• 1 ½ cups butter, softened
  
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
  
• 1 cup chopped pecans
  
• 1 (14-oz.) bag caramels, unwrapped
  
• ¼ cup evaporated milk
  
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  

Assembly:
 
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9"x13" pan.


Mix first four ingredients together. Spread two-thirds of the batter on bottom of pan. The batter is very thick, and I found using an offset spatula helpful. Bake for 7 minutes.


Melt caramels with ¼ cup evaporated milk in the microwave for 3 minutes. Stir and then microwave 1 minute more. Stir until smooth. Pour mixture over baked batter and then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Dot with remaining dough. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Set on rack to cool. Cover and cool 6 hours before serving.