Knock Your Socks Off Brownies

KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF BROWNIES

       It's been like mourning the death of a friend, ever since my oven started sparking and then caught on fire. I guess it was a sign that I have been baking too much....seriously, I didn't realize how much I cooked and baked, um yeah, I forgot...I am a Food Blogger. So what do you do when your baking element breaks in your oven? You broil everything, which can be challenging and even dangerous, do not answer your phone when broiling or your door for that matter...result...burnt garlic bread..I'm just warning you...

I know, I know, there are a lot of friends out there that really don't care for cooking and baking, I get it, kind of, well not really, I am all about food. A great day for me consists of reading cookbooks, cooking magazines, cooking TV shows, Food Blogging, Facebook blogging on my food page, Twittering about food, saving recipes on Pinterest, deciding my meal plan for the week and Food shopping! Don't forget cooking and baking in between all of this, only if I feel like it, not because I have to, because I want to. Plus I would be happy to go out for dinner every single night and still spend my day saving recipes.

So this is the first dessert that I baked after my oven was repaired. Knock Your Socks Off Brownies! This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. I saw Ree make these brownies one late night on TV and have been dreaming about these chocolate caramel dream of a brownie ever since. Do you ever do that? See someone bake something and you just can't get it out of your head. I do and these brownies are worth dreaming about! Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix ( Duncan Hines)
• 1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1/3 cup Evaporated Milk
• 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk (additional)
• 1/2 cup Butter, Melted
• 60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped
• 1/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.
Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.
Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into either nine or twelve helpings, and carefully remove from the pan.