Caramel Brownies

With two words together like caramel and brownie, how could I not try this recipe? Usually, when I try homemade brownies, they come out and they aren't fudgy, chocolaty, or chewy enough. This recipe has all three plus caramel. Bonus! I was very pleased with this recipe, and so were the ladies that I shared them with. They were supposed to have walnuts or pecans, but to save a friendship and not be blacklisted for adding nuts to yet another dessert, I didn't put them in. :) The top picture was actually taken three days after I made them. I was in a hurry to get them cut and on a plate, so I didn't get any pictures the first day. They still look pretty good after the fact.

Caramel Brownies:

source: Taste of Home- The Cookbook (I'm telling you... if you don't have this cookbook, you need it.)

Ingredients:

2 c sugar
3/4 c cocoa
1 c vegetable oil

4 eggs
1/4 c milk

1 1/2 c flour

1 t salt

1 t baking powder

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c chopped walnuts (I think pecans would be tasty, too)
1 pkg (14 oz) caramels

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a large bowl, add the sugar, cocoa, oil,eggs, and milk. Stir to combine.

Put the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Whisk to sift. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. Stir it to incorporate. It seems like it will never mix in, and within a couple of strokes at one point, it's all done.

I lined a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil for ease of removal and cutting, but the caramel kind of put a damper on that process. That caramel was sticking to that tin foil like flies on fly paper. No bueno! I would skip this step.

Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour half of the brownie batter into the pan. If using, sprinkle on 1/2 of the nuts. This batter is pretty thick and won't easily spread in the pan. I put a plastic sandwich bag on my hand, coat it with butter, and press the brownie batter into the pan. Trust me- this will save you some serious frustration.

Bake for 12 minutes... Here is a picture of the timer in case you forgot what a 12 looks like. :)

Meanwhile, put the caramels and sweetened condensed milk in s saucepan and cook over medium-low heat. This can take some time to get completely melted.

When the brownies come out, they will look like this:

Continue cooking the caramels. I think I was cooking and stirring for 20 minutes.

Pour the caramel sauce over the cooked brownie layer. It looks like a lot, but it's good.

Plop small scoops of the remaining batter onto the caramel. As you can see, I didn't use too much rhyme or reason with it. I just got it all on there.

Take a knife and dip it in only about 1/3 inch. Drag the knife from one side of the pan to the other. Repeat this all the way down the pan. It will create a marbled effect.

Bake the brownies for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs, but not batter.

When you cut into these, there will be some carmely gooey goodness oozing out the middle of these brownies. MMM! My pictures just never do these recipes justice.