Chocolate.  Caramel.  Pecans.   Oh, yes.  See how they look all gooey and fudgy?  That’s because they ARE gooey and fudgy.  Don’t make these unless you have a large glass of cold milk nearby…you’ll need it.  These are one of those treats that make you talk with your mouth full – you know, when you take a bite of something amazing and you automatically forget all about manners and mumble a garbled, “oh my gawd,” or “oh, wow…”  Or is that just me?  It’s probably just me.  But I really like dessert.

The most difficult thing about making this recipe was unwrapping a whole bag of caramel candies before baking them – really, it’s very easy.  I held back on the pecans a little bit because my mom doesn’t like nuts, but next time I’ll probably double the pecans.  And top the whole thing with chocolate chips.  (Because clearly, these don’t have enough calories in them already.)  But, the great thing about brownies is that you can cut them into itty-bitty little pieces so it doesn’t feel like you ate a big old brownie.  Denial works for me. 

I’m pretty sure that I’ll never make a boxed brownie mix again.  These were just too good.  Why have I never attempted from-scratch brownies before? 

I do hope you enjoy these.  Remember – milk.  Or ice cream.  And, sharing is good.  Call me when you make them and I’ll be right over.

Brownie Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted, room temperature butter

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

4 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 9×13 baking pan by lining it with foil and spraying liberally with cooking spray. 

In a medium bowl, combine butter and chocolate.  Microwave for 30 seconds, and stir.  If not smooth and completely melted, microwave another 30 seconds.  Once smooth, whisk in sugar, eggs and vanilla until well combined.  Stir in flour and salt until just combined, don’t over mix in this step.  Spread half of the brownie mix into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for an additional 20 minutes.  Prepare the caramel filling.

Caramel Filling Ingredients

14 oz caramel candies

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 and 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

Toast the chopped pecans in a medium sized skillet over medium-low heat.  Stir occasionally until nuts are fragrant and starting to turn brown.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine caramel and cream in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring frequently and taking care not to burn.  Stir in half of the pecans.  Spread the caramel mixture over the bottom brownie layer.  Top with the remaining brownie batter, and spread it evenly over caramel to completely cover.  Top with remaining pecans (and chocolate chips, if you like)  Bake an additional 20 minutes.   Cool on a wire rack before removing from pan and slicing – you can use the freezer to hurry things up.  Lift the brownies from the pan using the foil as a handle.  Remove the foil and cut into squares for serving.  Store in an airtight container. 

Enjoy!