Knock Your Socks Off Brownies

For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you know I finally made The Pioneer Woman’s Knock You Naked Brownies last week.

And now that I have my clothes back on, I wanted to tell you they were divine.

Don’t they look divine?

So I thought I’d share the recipe with you here.  I did alter them, both in ingredients and instructions, so I went ahead and changed the name too.  That and I wasn’t sure about having the word “naked” in my blog post title.  Who knows what kind of weirdos would land here.

(And for those aforementioned weirdos who landed here by mistake, you will find no such nonsense on this blog.  This is a G-rated blog.  Usually.)

Anyhoo, I actually have some recommendations for you if you make them yourself, so keep reading past the directions for some helpful hints.

Here we go!

Knock Your Socks Off Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk (this is not a misprint — one is for the cake mix and one for the caramel layer)
• 40 whole caramels, unwrapped
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
• Powdered sugar for dusting, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 or 9×9 pan with foil so the edges hang out (so you can lift the brownies out when finished) and spray with cooking spray.

Mix together the cake mix, pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk and butter.  Divide into two.  Press half the mixture into the bottom of the lined pan.  Bake for about 8 minutes, then set aside to cool.  In the meantime, place remaining dough in the refrigerator.

Using a double boiler or a heat proof microwave bowl, melt caramels and with the 1/2 cup of evaporated milk.  If you use the microwave be sure to heat at short intervals and check and stir to avoid burning the caramel.

When caramels are melted, pour evenly over brownie base.  Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top of the caramel.

Remove remaining dough from the refrigerator and turn it onto a flat surface sprayed with cooking spray.  Form the dough into a square to fit the pan, but just slightly smaller as the dough will expand when cooked.  Carefully, using a spatula or other flat tool, lift the dough onto the top of the caramel/chocolate chip layer.  Press lightly into place.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool entirely and refrigerate slightly before cutting.  Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Makes 9 or 12 or 16 bars depending on how big you want them.

Some tips from me:

• Definitely do the “line the pan with foil” step.  It will save you so much hassle and fallen apart brownies.
• Do wait until the brownies are completely cooled before cutting.  I cut too early and also didn’t refrigerate after they were cooled, and I wished I would have because it would have saved two fallen apart brownies.  That I then had to eat myself so no one would see the mess I made.  So wait, scratch that, dig in once they’re out of the oven so you have the “excuse” to eat them all yourself.
• I made these on a warm summer day.  I left the dough for the top half sitting on the counter and when I went to put it on top of the caramel layer it all fell apart on me because it was too flimsy.  That’s why I recommend leaving the dough in the fridge until you’re ready.  They still tasted fantastic, but it was a bit of a mess getting the layer on the top.

• If you compare to Ree’s recipe I use less caramel and more chocolate chips.  This is because I was using an 8×8 pan vs. her 9×9, plus the bag of caramels I bought only had like 40 in there.  You can do 60 (and if you do, up the evaporated milk to 1/2 cup), it will definitely bring the focus of the brownie to the caramel, but I’d worry it would be a little too much caramel.  But it’s all a matter of taste, you make it how you want.  Also I might try again with a different chocolate cake mix, like fudge.  I’m not sure how much of a difference it will make, but again, play around with it, make it how you want.
• If you have a 2 1/2 year old around the house, I highly recommend having said 2 1/2 year old help unwrap caramels.  A) it saves you the work.  2) it gets them involved in helping in the kitchen and helps develop fine motor skills.  Finally, it’s much more fun to make brownies with someone!  Just make sure they don’t eat too many of the caramels.  Or pick their nose while opening them.  Also a I bet a 3 or 18 or 33 year old would work for this step too.

So there you have it and there you are.  I highly suggest making these now.  As in stop reading this, go to your local store, buy the ingredients, and make them today.  You will not be disappointed.

Why are you still reading this?  Get out of here!  Scram!