Knock You Naked Brownies

Oh.My.Goodness.

I saw this recipe and had to make them. Well let me just say that it took two attempts. The first attempt failed due to the fact that I have two ovens. This is hardly an issue and I am so thankful for it BUT for the first time ever, I put something in the wrong preheated oven. Let’s just say that 475 for 20 minutes cooks quite differently then 350 for 20 minutes. Yes, there was some smoke and I couldn’t pry the burnt brownies out of the pan. I am not a quitter though so I went back out today and bought the ingredients .. again. Let’s just say that I am so glad that I did cause they really are amazing. My test taster son said that they were, “the best thing EVER“. OK, I thrive on compliments. It means I succeeded at following a recipe ;) This recipe came from the wonderful and oh so famous Pioneer Woman. I want to hug her.

Knock You Naked Brownies

Ingredients

  • 1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix (I Used 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 (I used the little round caramels that I buy at Target – no unwrapping needed!)
  • 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.

*Adapted from the classic “Knock You Naked Brownies” recipe, based on a dessert at the Salt Creek Steakhouse in Breckenridge. These brownies don’t really knock you naked…but almost.

A couple of other side notes:

  • I did not cool them cause I wanted an ooie gooie brownie warm with a  glass of cold milk. That being said, I don’t have a pretty photo to add cause mine was a yummy, sticky mess on my plate. Which was a good thing!!
  • I forgot to sprinkle with powdered sugar.
  • They were still amazing.

Enjoy <3