Caramel Filled Brownies

Prior to making these brownies, peanut butter and chocolate had always been my favorite dynamic desert duo. But that all changed after one bite of these brownies! Caramel and chocolate snuck up from behind and is now in the runnings for my favorite duo.

Warm brownies, gooey caramel, and a scoop of ice cream! Need I say more? Off to heaven I go!

Caramel Filled Brownies
1 cup unsalted butter
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips

filling:
14 ounces candied caramels, unwrapped
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Grease 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Combine the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat. Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Stir in the flour until combined. Spread about half of the brownie batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes.

To make the caramel filling, combine the caramel candies and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Immediately spread the caramel mixture over the bottom brownie layer. Pour the remaining brownie batter over the caramel layer, taking care to pour and spread it evenly otherwise it will be difficult to spread evenly over the caramel layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the final brownie layer. Bake for 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Source: Annie's Eats

Knock You Naked Brownies

Oh my gawd! Delicious brownies with a generous layer ooey gooey caramel in the middle!

That ooey caramel was dripping on the counter the second after I snapped the photo! And the best part is that it was still soft and gooey after being refrigerated for an hour. Nothing worse than hard caramel that sticks to your teeth! But no worries about that with these scrumptious little babies!

The brownie base is actually made from a cake mix, but I promise you that no one will even be able to tell! Definitely doesn't have a "box cake" taste. Because of the cake mix these brownies are super easy and fast to whip up! The hardest part about making these is waiting for them to cool before being able to eat them.

These bad boys are delicious with a glass of milk, but are taken up a notch when served with a scoop or two of ice cream. Especially when they are still a little warm and they make the ice cream soft and soupy!

Knock You Naked Brownies

1 box german chocolate cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
60 Kraft caramels, unwrapped
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until well combined. Mixture will be very thick.

Press half of the mixture into a well-greased 8x8 inch pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a double boiler, melt caramels and 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When completely melted, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips over caramel layer.

Turn out remaining brownie mixture onto work surface. Use your hands to press it into a square that is slightly smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to lift it off the counter and place on top of the caramel and chocolate chip layer.

Return pan to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow pan to cool to room temperature. Then cover and refrigerate for several hours.

Source: Pioneer Woman
Linked to: Tidy Mom's I'm Lovin' It Friday

Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Brownies

Some of you may remember a few months ago when I posted about the Marshmallow Crunch Brownies. Well these babies are a spin-off from that delicious treat with the ooey-gooey marshmallow layer being replaced by an almighty peanut butter layer. I loved the marshmallow version, but of course I am a little partial to the peanut butter ones! Anything with peanut butter will always win!

Be prepared. You will become addicted to these. Seriously. I've been overtaken. Lost all control. Can't say I didn't warn you. They are one of the few treats that I haven't kicked out of the house immediately after making and boy am I am paying the price.

I can't even decide which layer is my favorite. The brownie layer is uber duber soft, chewy, and fudgey. Which might possibly be the result of me accidentally, maybe on purpose, cooking them a few minutes short. And then there's the chopped peanut and reese's peanut butter cup layer. Pretty sure by now you all know my love for peanut butter and it isn't necessary to say anything more. And the top layer of melted chocolate, peanut butter, and rice krispies. Oh. My. Lord. Could eat this by the spoonful! And quite possible that I did just that!


Chewy Brownie Layer
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Peanut Butter Layer
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts
8-10 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped

Rice Krispie Layer
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl whisk cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and stir until melted. Whisk in melted butter and vegetable oil. Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla. Whisk in sugar until incorporated. Add flour and stir until well combined. Fold in chopped bittersweet chocolate. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 28 minutes.

Remove from the oven and top with chopped peanuts and peanut butter cups. Return to the oven and bake and additional 3-5 minutes.

While they finish baking, in a microwave safe bowl combine chocolate chips and peanut butter. Microwave in 30-45 second intervals until chocolate chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Add rice krispies and stir until evenly coated. Remove the brownies from the oven and evenly spread the rice krispie mixture over the top. Refrigerate for at least two hours before cutting and serving.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Mini-Mint Brownie Cups

These little guys are just so perfect. You can pop them into your mouth guilt free. Well, maybe not guilt free. But who doesn't love something in mini? My Mom first introduced me to this recipe years ago. We had to stop making it awhile back because we couldn't find the mint-chocolate chips that this recipe calls for. Then, botta bang there they were on the shelf this year. :) These are easy to make and always a crowd pleaser. For those of you who like the edges in the pan of brownies, you will really dig these. They have that little bit of crunchiness on the outside but are soft and chocolaty in the middle.

2 sticks butter or margarine
1 bag (10oz) semi-sweet mint chocolate chips
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup flour

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange 36 (likely more) doubled mini-muffin baking cups (1 1/2inch) on cookie sheets with sides.

2. Melt butter in 3qt saucepan over medium-low heat. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted and smooth.

3. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar. Add eggs and stir briskly until blended. Stir in flour until blended.

4. Fill baking cups 3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes until tops look cracked and toothpick inserted in center has moist crumbs.

I never double the baking cups and always have success. I'll let you make that call for yourself.

Bake on!
-M

Marshmallow Crunch Brownies

These bars are oh so, so delicious. A guy at Zach's work deemed them "his favorite Jess treat!" They are the perfect combination of brownie, s'more, and rice krispie treats! Three of my favorite things! And the brownie was nice and fudgey! Yum-o!

Even though they were very tasty, I would make one change the next time I make them. I would highly recommend cutting the brownie portion of the recipe in half. This part of the bar was a little thick. Actually the bars were very thick overall. They came to the top of a cake pan, which is unusual for a cake, let alone bars. Cutting the brownie portion in half would help even out the portions of brownie, marshmallow, and rice krispie topping!

This recipe was found on The Brown Eyed Baker blog. This is the original recipe. The brownie portion has not been cut in half.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

For the Brownie Base:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Toppings:
1 bag (10½ ounces) miniature marshmallows
1½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter (don’t use natural peanut butter)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch pan.

2. For the brownies: In a medium saucepan, melt the unsweetened chocolate, butter and ¾ cup of the semisweet chocolate chips over medium heat. Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl , whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry sifted ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

5. Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.

6. Meanwhile, place the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly, until completely melted. Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

7. Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

Fudgy, Chewy, Cakey Brownies!

Yesterday I just had the itch to make something. Anything. Wasn't really in the mood to go through the many steps of making cupcakes. Wanted to do something a little more quick and simple. I was browsing through the recipe index of one my absolute most favorite blogs, My Baking Addiction and I was drawn to the "Bar Cookies" header. There were many recipes that made my mouth water a little, but one in particular that caught my eye! Anytime a recipe or blog post has the words best, perfect, or amazing I am sucked right in. I clicked on the link for "Amazing Brownies" and after seeing the picture and reading the blog post I grabbed my computer and headed straight for the kitchen!

The recipe is actually from the cookbook "The Perfect Recipe: Getting it Right Every Time" by Pam Anderson. In the cookbook Pam wrote "There are three different brownie camps- those who like them chewy and gooey, those who prefer them dense and fudgy, and a third crowd who like them frosty and cakey. I gave myself the seemingly impossible task of trying to please everyone. I had marching orders: to develop an intense, rich, chocolately brownie, with just enough structure and definition."

These brownies started to win my love before I even tasted the first morsel. The intense chocolate smell they filled the house with was amazing. Then the hope was that the brownies were actually as chocolately tasting as the strong aroma! And in fact they were! They were rich and decadent with an amazing fudgy, chocolately flavor!


Not that they weren't perfect already, but I think there is some room for a little playing and adapting with this recipe! I think the next time I will try them with either chocolate chunks, nuts, and swirled caramel! All I know is, I will definitely be making these again real soon!!

Amazing Brownies

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
veg cooking spray
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl; set aside. Spray an 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Fit a sheet of foil in pan and up two sides, so you can use it as a handle to pull cooked brownies from pan (I used parchment paper). Spray sheet with cooking spray.

Melt chocolates and butter in a medium bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each one before adding the next. Continue to whisk until mixture is completely smooth and glossy. Add dry ingredients, whisk until just incorporated. Stir in nuts, if using.

Pour batter into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in center comes out with wet crumbs, 35-45 minutes.

Cool brownies in pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Use handles to pull brownies from pan. Completely cool brownies on rack, at least three hours. Cut into squares and serve. If not serving immediately, do not cut brownies. Whole brownie cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap, then foil, and refrigerated for up to five days.

An amazingly sweet escape!!
-Jess