Chewy Caramel Twix Brownies

Quote of the day:

"Mom!  Look at all that WEED!"

(My 3 year old, as we drive past a farm where a farmer is harvesting hay into those rectangular bale things)


Luckily he doesn't know what "weed" actually is.  Or he better not, because he's only three.  But I'm pretty sure I almost ran into a fence I was laughing so hard.  I hope he doesn't go to preschool next month and tell his teacher about all the "weed" in our backyard.  That would be an interesting parent teacher conference.  If I had to bribe her *not* to call social services, I would probably do so with these twix brownies:

Bribing a teacher has to be a sure thing my friends.

(Seriously, these are YUM!)

Chewy Caramel Twix Brownies

-Brownie mix, and all ingredients listed on the back to make said brownies  

(Call me crazy but my favorite basic box mix is Betty Crocker regular fudge brownies.  Not the dark chocolate, not the kind with the syrup packet, just the plain red box.  These are SO chewy and yummy and they are almost always on sale for a buck.  Buck well spent I say.  Or 10 bucks if you really like brownies)

-7 Twix bars Just to be clear, that's 14 twix sticks (I know this is ridiculous.  Just trust me. The cheapest way to do this is probably to buy 4 King Size bars and just set aside 2 of the sticks. For good behavior. Yours, of course.)

-1/2 cup Kraft caramel bits (You can find these at Walmart in the baking section).

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (or follow the box instructions).  Line a 13x9 inch pan with foil, leaving a few inches of overhang on the handle sides.  This will allow you to easily pull the brownies out of the pan and cut them once cool. Spray your foil with Pam.  (Super important because we're using caramel here people.)

Chop up your Twix bars. Don't mince them, but make sure the pieces are bite-sized or smaller.  Mix up your brownie mix according to package directions and stir in Twix pieces. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Microwave your caramel bits in the microwave with a few teaspoons of water or milk.  Remove every 30 seconds to stir until completely melted.  If you need to, add more liquid so the caramel is pourable but not too liquidy.  I'm guessing I used about 1 Tbsp water.  It should be the consistency of thick ice cream topping caramel.

Pour your caramel over your raw brownie dough.  I just drizzled it, but you can also use a toothpick or a knife to swirl the caramel or make pretty patterns in it. It will start to set, so make sure you do it quickly.

Bake according to package directions, and be careful not to overcook!  I baked mine at 350 degrees for 30 minutes*. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then move to refrigerator to cool completely.  After several hours, remove brownies from pan by pulling both foil "handles" firmly from the pan and set your ginormous brownie on a cutting surface.  Peel the foil down from the sides and use a huge knife to make nice long even cuts in your brownies. You may want to rinse your knife after every cut in hot water, especially if the caramel is clumping to your knife. Although if it is pretty bad, your brownies probably weren't all the way cooled.  Tut tut. 

Consume immediately with a nice tall glass of milk.


*After 30 minutes my toothpick was still not coming out clean.  Don't worry.  30 minutes is long enough, and they will set up nicely once refrigerated.  If you continue to cook past 30 minutes you will nuke your brownies and they will be dry and hard.