Let me start off by saying that viewer discretion is advised for today’s post.  OK now with the story that preludes possibly the greatest brownie I have ever sunk my teeth in thus far in my life.  Last Saturday Mrs. Zesty had a baby shower to attend and she was designated for a dessert/sweet treat for the girls.  Last week was a bit of a zoo and I think I forgot about prepping this dessert until Friday afternoon at work.  After work I did a quick scan for some ideas and came up with a chocolate caramel brownie.  I figured that would be a hit with a “bunch” of girls.

I knew time was tight and I didn’t want to spend all night Friday night to prep a dessert.  With that said, I counted on Google and did a quick chocolate caramel brownie search.  At that point you can say my life may have changed forever.  See below for all the details.

This recipe, I cannot take any credit for and nor will I try as it is compliments of Nestle Toll House and as you can see from the reviews…. I am not the only one that liked them.

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) chocolate cake mix
• 1 cup chopped nuts ( Optional )
• 1 cup Evaporated Milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
• 35 (10-oz. pkg.) caramels, unwrapped
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Combine cake mix and nuts in large bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter (batter will be thick). Spread half of batter into ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.



3. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Heat caramels and remaining evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Sprinkle morsels over brownie; drizzle with caramel mixture.







5. Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoon over caramel mixture.





6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set.
7. Cool in pan on wire rack.



8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The only tip I could recommend for this recipe is too make it at least in double batch form.  It is absolutely amazing.

If you like gooey, chocolate, caramel and oh did I mention brownies…. if so you have to make these TODAY!  As I know a lot of people have great brownie recipes from scratch but too follow this recipe which literally takes 10 minutes to prep, the results are so satisfying.  Girls if you are reading from the shower, let me know what you thought of the brownie in the comments.

Have an awesome Wednesday and let me know if you have any questions concerning this recipe or any other recipe that you see here.

Thanks

zesty

Happy Monday to you!  Let me first off say that I love Costco!  That was kind of random but I just needed to get that off my chest.  We were there yesterday and I was leaving I just said, the title of today’s post should be I LOVE COSTCO“.  It is such a great store and I had a great round of samples yesterday.

OK, the moment you have all been waiting for over the past couple of weeks.  I am about to announce the makeover winner but before I do  – I just wanted to go over some stats about the makeover.

Giveaway Stats

• Comments – 267
• Tweets – 99
• Trackbacks/Links – 41
• Blake Make Entries – 33

For a Grand Total of 440 Entries

And The Winner Is….

Kristen from IowaGirlEats.  Comment 177 and she wrote:

Here is a look at what her current blog looks like.

Kristin, contact me anytime and we can get started on your blog makeover.  I look forward to working with you.  For all of you that entered I want to thank you – it was a lot of fun.  If you still want a makeover feel free to check out Zesty Blog Consulting for more details.

Slice It Up

Ever spend a lot of time making a gorgeous dessert and then when you go to cut it… it looks like poo.  It has happened to me and if it happened to you, your not alone.  The key to rectifying this problem is using the proper style knife for the job.  Below I will go ahead and try to explain a few tips so that your desserts slice as good as they taste.

Slice cakes, tarts and pies like a pro.

1. For cheesecake and squares, keep a glass of hot water and a clean dish towel handy.  Before cutting each slice, dip the knife into the water and wipe clean.  The hot knife will slide right through the cake.
2. For pound or sponge cakes, use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to cut through without squishing or tearing the cake.
3. Use un-waxed dental floss to slice through the cake (great for the gooey or sticky cakes)
4. Lining your baking dish or spring form pan with parchment paper before baking squares and cheesecakes will help you pick up each slice cleanly.

So there you have it, a few cake slicing techniques and a fun makeover winner.  I hope you have a fabulous Monday where ever you may be today and I will talk to you on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty