Over Christmas break, I was scrolling through my virtual recipe box, looking for my most favorite caramel brownie recipe. I kept scrolling, up and down, then I used the search box to figure out why I couldn’t find it on my recipe page.
Well, it turns out that in over 4 years of blogging, I have yet to share my most favorite, super delicious, tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen brownies (that just so happen to start with a boxed mix!)
My mom often made these brownies over Christmas break — so I’ve kind of followed suit. However, there is nothing about them that limits them to the holidays… so yes, feel free to make them any time of the year!
As the name suggests, they are SUPER chewy, ooey, gooey, dense, fudgy brownies dripping with caramel.
They are quite rich, so you can definitely get away with cutting the pieces small (great for feeding a crowd) and as with almost all my recipes, they freeze marvelously.
If you’re looking for a delicious dessert that tastes gourmet, but only requires a few minutes of hands-on time… this recipe is for you!
Recipe for Chewy Chocolate Caramel Brownies
makes one 9″x13″ pan (I cut my bars into 48 pieces)
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 chocolate boxed cake mix (18.25 oz)
- 3/4 c. melted butter (1.5 sticks)
- 1 bag of caramels or caramel bits (approx. 11 oz.)
- 1/3 c. evaporated milk (here’s a recipe to make your own)
- 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease a 9″x 13″ pan and set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, mix melted butter with dry cake mix (mixture will be quite thick.)
- Press 2/3rds of the cake mixture into the bottom of the greased pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- While the crust bakes, mix caramels and evaporated milk in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave caramels in 30-45-second intervals (stirring in between) until caramel is fully melted.
- Pour caramel mixture over baked “crust” and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
- Use remaining cake mix to spread over caramel mixture (I make little patties and lay on top of caramel).
- Bake an additional 15-20 minutes, or until done.
- Let cool completely before cutting.
Are you drooling yet?
Like I said, they are very rich — so not necessarily something you’d want to eat every day of the year, but they sure are yummy for special occasions, to bring to an event (like an upcoming Super Bowl party), or just to pull a couple out of the freezer during nap time 🙂
If you like chocolate, caramel, and ‘easy’, you’ll LOVE these brownies!
What are your favorite overly-rich desserts?
Visit my virtual recipe box for more simple, delicious, family friendly recipes!
mara says
Made these last night, most went into the freezer for this fall when our 3rd baby is due, but we all sampled one YUM! I like this recipe because there were a lot of things the kids could actually do to help with this one so that was fun. Thanks 🙂
Andrea says
yay! Congrats on baby #3! And yes, these are fun for kids to make (and eat). Blessings on this new chapter in your life!
Elyse says
I make these same brownies with German chocolate cake mix, sweetened condensed milk, and Werther’s chewy caramels. They are an absolute favorite among my family and friends and I get requests to make them constantly!
Danielle says
My mom has also always made these….we call them carmel ribbon brownies. So easy and so yummy! Love your site!
Jamie says
Have you ever tried substituting caramel ice cream topping instead of melting the caramels and milk? I have a different bar recipe that this works well with. Might make them even simpler!
Andrea says
Jamie, I actually HAVE tried this — and it didn’t work for me. I think it’s because the ice-cream topping is more “liquidy” than the solid caramels. The bars were totally “soggy” and you could hardly eat them because the caramel dripped all over the place.
With the recipe as-is, once you let the bars cool, the caramel hardens back up to a semi-solid so they are very easy to cut and eat — but definitely still gooey 🙂
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving says
We make these and call them “Caramel Morsel Bars” in my house! Mom always chopped in nuts…and it was the only time I’d eat walnuts in my brownies…because the chocolate and caramel deliciousness covered up most of the nuts! Ha. I didn’t make these this Christmas, but they are a good recipe. I think buckeyes are my favorite overly-rich (but equally delicious) dessert. That, or chocolate chip cheesecake.
Andrea says
oh yum… chocolate chip cheesecake!!
JoAnn C. says
Been wanting to take something to the staff where mom has her dialysis. And I have all the ingredients in the pantry. Thanks, Andrea.
Andrea says
I’m sure they will love these!!
lydia @ frugaldebtfreelife says
Those look amazing! Ugh. You and another blogger I love both posted chocolaty desserts this morning. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a spinach smoothie to consume. But I am going to pretend it’s a brownie.
Andrea says
Sorry 🙁 Maybe you can make a pan of these for an upcoming party — that way, you’ll only eat one or two.
Also, remember that they freeze really well so you could always make some, cut them up into bars, freeze them, and consume one or two at a time for weeks and weeks 🙂
lydia @ frugaldebtfreelife says
Sold! The freezer idea I like.
Jenny says
It is rare that I don’t have to adjust your desserts for my kids food allergies (egg, peanut and tree nut) but I don’t have to alter this at all! Can’t wait to try it! And we have loved every recipe of yours I have tried!
Andrea says
yay! Glad to make your life a little easier 🙂
I honestly didn’t even think about the no egg in this recipe — I guess that could be a big deal for many people.
Jody says
These look amazing…I can’t wait to try them very soon. Thanks for sharing!
Jen T says
We call these Better Than Sex brownies…they’re that good, lol. I add salted peanuts to half. Yum!
Andrea says
yum! salted peanuts do sound like a good addition — although I’m not sure Dave would agree 😉
Verity says
These look amazing!
Anna says
These look delicious! I’ll have to find an excuse to make them soon 🙂
Andrea says
I have an excuse for you… “because it’s Wednesday!” 🙂