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
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- 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.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- 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.
- Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoon over caramel mixture.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set.
- Cool in pan on wire rack.
- 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
{ 161 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks over the top delicious!!! Can’t get much better for sure!
This is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
BRAVO!!!
Lol, there is no “god”, silly!
LOL, actually there IS a God. SILLY!!!
I’m glad that’s settled. Thanks for clearing it up for everybody
I guess “God” gave me diabetes so I could think about dialysis when I saw these delicious looking brownies. intelligent design of the pancreas… thank god for that!!!
this is about brownies and you guys are being dicks about religion. christians and atheists alike, please proceed to get over it.
If there was no suffering then we wouldn’t know what happiness is. I’m not trying to insult your condition. But just because you have diabetes doesn’t mean there is no god. If everything in the world was happy and perfect. Then we wouldn’t know what suffering feels like and there would be no need for God. He’s here to help us not to laugh at us.
I believe there is a God, and that He would love these brownies!
I am God guys, of my own religion. Do you honestly believe that out of all the religions in the world, your god is the one who really exists? How naive is that? While I do believe in a higher power, until science can definitively prove where we came from, I do not believe in any form of religion. If we do have an all powerful creator, do you think he is really selfish enough to want us to come and worship him once a week? Religion was made up in a time of uncertainty to keep all hell from breaking loose. We are no longer in that time of uncertainty, and our society would be better off as a whole if we could stop living for somebody in the sky, and start living for each other. While god may or may not exist, RELIGION is the joke. That being said, my aunt has been making these brownies for years, they are the most decadent brownies ever.
Cook the brownies, remove brownies from oven, eat brownies, leave the religious issues in your oven you imbeciles! You must be Americans’!
OH MY! You have no idea how badly I would like to make these today!!! AMAZING!
Drool hitting the keyboard Zesty….sometimes something takes us completely by surprise! Glad they turned out so well!
I am normally a brownies-from-scratch kind of girl, but you may have just convinced me to buy a cake mix. Those brownies look/sound fantastic!
Yum! I’d say the only flaw in the recipe is having to unwrap all those damn caramels. But I’m sure it’s worth it.
Instead of unwraping all the caramels you can buy carmel “chips” and melt them down, they have them in the baking isle and usually have a picture of a dipped apple on the front. It makes this recipe even easier.
@Carroline – Thanks for the heads up on the Caramel chips. I will look for them since un wrapping the caramels were the least fun part of the recipe.
Oh my goodness…these look incredible. Dangerous, but incredible!
Zesty,
I am so making these for my family. We are huge brownie fans. I love the simplicity of it and I love using boxed cake mixes for quick and simple desserts. Thank you SO much for sharing these. I can’t wait to get the ingredients.
… holy crap. I need to make these, I’m taking this recipe right now.
Ohhhh wow..these do look like mind altering brownies!!!
OMG I’m so excited to try this recipe!!! Looks amazing.
Did you double the ingredients for you 13 x 9 pan?
@Julie – The recipe is not doubled. You just use half the batter to cook the bottom and the remaining batter after the caramel and chocolate. Hope this makes sense.
zest
Julie,
I found that I had to double the batter part of the recipe for a 13 x 9 ” pan, but used the same measurements for the chocolate chips, remaining evaporated milk, and caramel.
Seriously, those look like a pregnant girls DREAM. I was trying not to gain anymore weight…but…I just might have to make an exception now
gosh those look so good. who would have thought that was a nestle recipe!
Ooooh my god. BROWNIES! Had to keep myself from licking the screen they look so good.
Would this work if I substituted a package of dark chocolate mints instead of the caramel? Or would it end up too sweet?
I’m guessing if you wanted to use dark chocolate mints you might need to use unsweetened chocolate if you want to avoid a sugar overdose
You could try mint chips that are of a similar shape to the caramel chips mentioned earlier.
dear god these are brilliant.
Put down the brownie and slowly back away from the table, fatty.
I made these, I made these. They were DIVINE! I knew they would be so I made a double batch. 1 for my hubby and I and 1 for my nieces birthday. They were all gone in less than 24 hours. I will not make them again and keep them in the house, if I do I will need a special door build so I can fit inside!
These look AMAZING! I can;t wait to try and make them!
I still haven’t read a reply yet from someone who has actually baked this intriguing recipe.
I am terribly conflicted because I was just diagnosed with diabetes, and I’ve been ordered off of sugar for the remaining years of my life.
How unjust!
Ahh geeze, now I want to make a midnight run to the grocery store. So much for not eating after 8PM! My husband may have to restrict me with duct tape. . .
I made these and they turned out great. Unfortunately I don’t know where my brains went when I made them, because I kept forgetting to add things and ended up making a huge mess. But…they still turned out. My kitchen on the other hand…
For some reason my Walmart doesn’t carry caramels, very lame.
Also, I recommend to anyone making a double batch, make sure you have two baking pans, otherwise you will have to wait too long. Also, I think it would be easier to mix the batters one at a time, because for me it was hard to eye how much to put in each pan.
Lastly, don’t make a double batch! You will get fat, or sick, or…very satisfied
@Kristen – I am glad you loved them. I tend to agree with you on the double batch front!
Kirsten,
Did you look on the candy row at Walmart? I’ve never seen caramels on the baking row, but I have found large bags of caramel chews with the candy.
Hope this helps!
Sub Cannabutter for butter !!!!!!!!!
I used to make these every single week while I was pregnant. I added pecans. Trust me, that makes them even more amazing. In fact, I’m having a bad day, so I best be making these today. Thanks!
I found these in a 1950′s cookbook… it called them “knock you nakeds”… and the first time I made them we had to pull the shades!
I’m baking these as I write this. Not sure how they’ll turn out yet. I couldn’t find anything that I could use for caramel as something seperate from chocolate so I used cadbury’s caramel chocolate bites and halved the amount of chocolate chips.
Also, I recommend anyone in england reading this to use victoria tins as the size specifie in the recipe is somewhat impossible to find here…
very disappointing. these brownies did not turn out well at all. the chocolate was burned. more like thick cake batter than brownies, which is what they are.
Worked out great! easy peasy, next time I will substitute dulce du leche for the caramel, and see if that works!
I Love brownies! I am so making these for my family. We are all chocolate lovers though. I dont just have a sweet tooth, I have sweet teeth! Will try to report back on how this turns out, but just looking at the recipe, it seems hard to be disappointed! If anyone likes tropical plants but lives in colder climate or wants to know how to closet grow, then click it.
You can now purchase little caramel bits…one bag is equal to unwrapping all of those caramels!! My family LOVED this recipe!
HI! These brownies look amazing and i´m dying to make them! the thing is i live in Mexico and there is no such thing as “caramels” so i was wondering if you could tell me hoe to make the caramel from scratch.
Thanks!
C
A quick Google search turns up several websites for making caramels from scratch, just be sure to have a candy thermometer handy!
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/caramels/Detail.aspx
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/recipe-caramels.html
http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2007/11/do-it-yourself-.html (A corn syrup free version if you’re so inclined.)
Good luck and happy candymaking!
Oooohhhh. These sound fabulous. I love the suggestion of adding pecans! Can’t wait to try them. I guess this won’t be making my “Thursday Healthy Recipe” post on my blog!!
perfectly delicious~
Ooo… this is perfect! I used to buy individual caramel-cheesecake brownies once upon a time at Dayton’s. I have, over the years, been able to copy everything except the caramel layer — it always absorbed into the brownie, no matter what I tried — and I never thought of using evaporated milk! Tuxedo brownies here I come!
It’s almost midnight, I’ve been “stumbling” around the internet for an hour, and now I’m starving thanks to this post! Thanks!! BTW, these look awesome!
My husband requested these for his birthday. I’ve seen them before called “Killer Brownies” but I much prefer your name for them. Thanks for the great pictures and the “new” old recipe.
Yummy! These look delicious
Not to rain on your parade but my family has been making these since I was in high school…. I’m 32 now. And yes they are 150% delicious. They sit like lead in your stomach too…. small price to pay for delicious.
Joel, No raining here – I know I didn’t invent the recipe… I just love it as much as the next person.
These look great can’t wait to try!
I’m speechless.
WOW sounds incredible!
These look SCRUMPTIOUS! One question though, how are they as far as their chewiness factor? I love chewy brownies but since this is based on a cake mix I wasn’t sure how their final texture compares to that of traditional brownies.
These are very chewy Laura… the caramel enhances the chewiness factor
Hm, I don’t have evaporated milk… think whipping cream would work?
@Margo – I don’t think it would have the same effect. Do you have Eagle’s Brand milk? That may work well.
They smell soooooo good! I’m baking them in the oven right now. Can’t wait to try them. Thanks for the recipe!
Cheryl – Let me know what you think of the finished product.
Zesty,
These were absolutely fantastic! Loved the chewiness of them as well. As mentioned, I made them last night and everyone was raving about them today. I think there may be 2 left….haha… Thank you for sharing!
I think the caramel in these is the absolute best part! It’s what all the others are missing out on.. Can’t wait to make these again. Maybe next time I’ll actually share with the family.. it didn’t happen on the first go round!
-Camille
Medical Marijuana Scales
i make the same ones…but add salty cashes over the caramel layer…they are always a hit.
I’ve been making this recipe my whole life, originially got it from my great-grandmother! The only difference is that I use german chocolate cake, and it’s absolutely amazing!
I’m so excited to try them! Theyre in the oven as I’m writing this and the whole house smells amazing… I cant wait!
Let me know what you thought of them? I am always curious!
I’m sure that these brownies are fantastic. But why, oh why are you so obsessed with cake-mix in the US? If you’re gonna bake, why not from scratch? It’s not a big difference, and cheaper and tastier without all the additives.
Made these today and they turned out perfectly.
Accidentally bought condensed milk rather than evaporated and used it, and still turned out fine.
Couldn’t find caramels, so bought a bag of “toffees”, and only had 24 but that was plenty. Because condensed milk is thicker, the caramel mixture was very thick so i added a splash of milk and it finally gave me a nice creamy, smooth caramel.
Baked for exactly 25 mins and they were perfect. They are very gooey, sticky and chewy….just like every brownie should be!
thank you thank u theres no evaporated milk where i live neither caramel so i was thinking i can never try this recipe when iread your comment.thank u 4 sharing your experience
My life will change forever: I will become OBESE!!!
isn’t reading a weblog in the shower a little dangerous? lol
I’m going to try these at some point.
this is a staple in my family…for a twist, try white chocolate chips! delicious!
Oh Nice idea…. Would you replace the milk chocolate chips totally or do half and half?
Wonderful!
Thank you!
I am so making these in the morning! thanks for the recipe!
Sorry, I was not impressed with this recipe. The first layer turned out too dry. Maybe 30 min. was too long for the second time in the oven. I LOVE a good brownie and am considered to be a good cook, but will not make this recipe again.
I was inpatient at removed the 1st layer after 10 minutes and second time in the oven for 20 minutes or until my eyes and nose told me they were done… .I never go by actual cooking time.. always always less.. . especially for brownies..
I’ve made these before for bake sales. The first time I took them, the first person in line bought one, and then turned around and bought the entire pan!
However, I use German Chocolate Cake Mix in mine… will have to try the chocolate!!
These look perfect. Usually, I mix my brownie batter with small chunks of Cadbury milk chocolate or indeed – white chocolate. It turns out amazing.
Though I am not one of those chocolate freaks but this one was yummy!
What kind of cake mix do you use? I’m a pretty religiously scratch kind of girl, but I know there are mixes that just call for water, for oil and water, for an egg….. etc
Holly – I have used both Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker. It does not matter as you do not follow the recipe on the cake mix…. you just use the powder so to speak.
I just made these. Delicious and super easy! Thanks
Thanks Tracy!
They’re called yummy bars. My mom has been making them for years, and her mom before that, so a good like 60 years of yummy bar making in my family. My mom was bringing some to a party once. Her friend (I forget his name, some football guy) accidentally dropped one in the hot sauce for the chips. He ate it anyway and from that day on, my mom was required to bring yummy bars and hot sauce to EVERY greek party.
Oh my gosh. I just made these today for the first time, and they changed my life! Seriously… I followed the recipe, but used 1 C semi-sweet chips & 1 C milk-chocolate chips.
They seemed underdone when I took them out of the oven the second time after 25 min, but definitely take them out even if they dont seem QUITE done. You’ll be happy you did.
Thanks for this recipe! It’s seriously TO-DIE-FOR!
Thanks Grace – Glad you loved them!
que DELICSIA..
Holy lakfjs;dlkfj. That just looks incredible! Wow. And yum. This will have to be made when there are a lot of people around- cause I’d eat the whole thing.
So I made these once and decided to get crazy…I placed strips of bacon on the top for the last few minutes of the bake. (Cooked the bacon first so it was done but still flexable)…….I think I’m in heaven….
Yummy!!!! Yes it will change our life…..
THESE LOOK SO GOOD!!!!! i am going to try these using brownie mix and caramel chips. thanks for the recipe!
Can you substitute dulce de leche for caramel?
Holy Mole-y, these look unbelievable!!
oh this looks delicious! can’t wait to bake it for the family. Can you imagine putting marihuana in this? It would be absolutely delightful! So expensive I’ll have to sell Tommy’s old gameboy.
These are FABULOUS!!!! I’m a 5 ingredient or less kinda person so this recipe is perfect for me… They are very easy to make and I would definitely make this again!
Indeed, looks and sounds yummy! I’m going to give a try to this brownie recipe that looks quite easy but tasteful to make!
All I can say is WOW! I stumbled upon this recipe last night, and went out and bought all the ingredients today.
I am trying half peanut butter and half white chocolate chips though…. It is cooling as we speak! So excited!
These are the most amazing brownies.. and I’ve got an office full of co-workers who will testify to that! I have to admit that I did make some changes to them.. but the basis was the same and they were AMAXZING!!!!
Thanks Orla!
oops.. I mean they were AMAZING!!
instead of Carmel… How bout peanut butter??
@Abby – This is an option that I never thought of for sure.
yes, add also real butter, so your diabete will reach 800ml/dl
THESE REALLY DID CHANGE MY LIFE!
SO SO SO GOOD!
i couldn’t find caramels so i used butterscotch chips AND IT’S SO SO SO DELICIOUS!
i have to actively try to only eat one at a time!
thanks for this recipe!!
I have made these brownies for 30 years! I had a group of friends, all with kids, and when there was a crisis in any of the families…one of us would make these! They eventually got the name “Crisis Brownies” and they softened any crisis immediately, especially if you sat around the table with your friends and ate them all!!
brownies are the best food ever
omgoodness these look amazing!!!!
These are 1000 calories per piece. It is amazing how Americans are getting so large eating so much fatty food.
@Nick – I think you have to enjoy in moderation.
my mom has this recipie from high school and we dont make them as often as i would like. but, they are most certainly the greatest brownies ever! instead of chocolate cake mix, my mom uses german chocolate cake mix and bakes them for about 15 minutes at first, then adds the chocolate and caramel and remaining batter for only 8 to 10 minutes… makes them soooo gooey and delish!
do you need to actually make the cake mix or just mix the cake powder and the nuts?
@Lindsay – Yeah you use the cake batter as per instructions on the recipe and than bake half of the batter first and than continue on… hope this helps
Forget calories, forget diet. If I get hands on one of these, im going to munch them down like theres no tommorrow.
I found this recipe on StumbleUpon, and it REALLY is the brownie that has changed my life. Seriously, I make these ALL THE TIME. So easy once you get the hang of it, and so so good. I make them for parties, sick friends, presents, everything! These things are absolutely amazing, thank you SO much(:
These look AWESOME! Wow, what a brownie!
OH MY GOD THESE ARE AMAZING. i just made these last night and they are so soft, chocolatey and gooey with the caramel, it is the perfect combination!!! AAAAAH i am def making these again. i love this recipe!
I would imagine if you added some fleur de sel to the caramel, and a dash of cinnamon or chili powder to the batter, it would just elevate these things to even more greatness!
Also, I think it’s cute that you say to “cool” these. Psht, yeah, I’m totally gonna wait until they cool to try one. *nods*
My wife has been making these for years… they are incredible. One thing she’s found, rather than putting semi-sweet chocolate chips in the middle layer, she has started putting mint chocolate chips. The mint is not overpowering, you still get the caramel and the chocolate. Great addition.
I never thought that life is not complete without brownies.
I love this recipe! I found it originally in a book ‘its called a breakup because it’s broken.’ This recipe will make you forget about your Ex. FULLPROOF!
Is it true? will these change my life? I hope so! hee hee I need to try these soon!
Yes
I can’t wait to try these..my daughter is allergic to eggs, so this would be great!!
hello, sorry but could you tell me how to make chocolate cake mix? huh? east europe, sorry but i really dont know, and google just say how to make cake mix
Saulius, I always buy the cake mix at the supermarket. Do you have anything like that available?
I need to check it more carefully. But i believe that we dont have
I made these last night and brought them to work today. My Mom and I think they are awesome! I used Werther’s Original Soft Chew Caramels. My only “complaint”
was that the chocolate chips that were not covered by the top layer of cake mix did not melt but they look amazing and still taste YUMMY! This will be my new favorite recipe. I added walnuts to mine and I don’t see how you could make them without. It gives an amazing contrast in texture! Thanks for this recipe!!
There is no god, silly.
Uhhh Yummmm!!!!!!!!! These look amazing! I need to make these right this instant!
You should definitely check out this cookie recipe: http://vancitybookgirl.blogspot.com/2011/07/delicious-healthy-cookies.html
why not grease the pan?
I just made these and the top cake mix didn’t flatten- stayed clumpy… Strange….but still good! My daughter is allergic to eggs and she likes it!! I had doubts- but it’s really good!
I made these and for some reason they came out like burnt on top and so undercooked in the middle? My hopes and dreams of changing my life were crushed. Why, god? Why?
i made these yesterday with my daughters. They’re really easy to make and they’re delicious and gooey. Not life changing or the best I’ve ever had but they’re very good.
These are a favorite in our family and they definitely brighten up the room when they come out of the oven!
Just wondering how it would turn out if I used actual brownie mix as opposed to cake mix… sounds more like a brownie to me! But either way I’m making these as soon as possible!!! thank you
Hi, so this looks amazing and I had to feature it on blog teezaknows.wordpress.com (of course giving your site credit) just to share this goodness with everyone I know
This looks perfect and I cannot wait to make it all for myself! Great job on this post.
i made these last night and they really did change my life. i will never go back to regular, boring brownies again. thanks for sharing this recipe! soooo yummy!
This recipe looks so simple but so tasty. I wouldn’t mind adding sea salt to the caramel mixture though.
Instead of wrapping all those caramels, would it be possible to use the tub of caramel you usually find in the produce section, especially in the fall when caramel apples are made? I have some recipes that call for the caramels too and hate unwrapping them. This recipe definitely looks decadent!
YUMM so good. Made them for my roommates birthday and they were a hit! only problem…i forgot to add the butter to the cake mix before spreading it in the pan and putting chocolate chips on top. Ended scraping it back out and mixing the butter in with the mix, and chocolate chips. Also, I used a 9 x 9 inch pan because that was all i had. All in all so yummmy!
i will definitely try this one…… looks so gooey yummy brownies….thanks for sharing Mr. Zesty….
Zestycook, thanks for the tip on whether or not to also follow the recipe on the cake box, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to do that as well. These look fantastic, I’ll be trying them this week to bring in for a work potluck!!
Thanks Brook – Let me know how they turn out. These have been to many a potluck so I can’t wait to hear the results
Wow, those look like the perfect “take me away” treat at the office! I could always use a break from my desk job with Pueblo Personal Injury Lawyers!
what kind of caramel can i use???
Paulina, I used the square caramel candies that you have to unwrap. You can usually get them at any grocery store. Hope this helps.
Ok, so after reading every single review and dreaming about these brownies, I went to the store and got all the ingredients. Followed instructions and baked these puppies only to find out that I HAD to have done something wrong because my preparation did not look too much like your pics. I then realized that I was using brownie mix and not cake mix!!!!! I didn’t think it would kill the brownies, but it did because all that happened was it made the batter so gooey that I baked them FOREVER because they seemed to never be ready. We’re waiting for them to cool, but I can already tell that they definitely didn’t turn out like the brownies I’d been dreaming of stuffing in my mouth.
. So, to the couple of you that said you’d try it with brownie mix…DON’T. And I will definitely HAVE to try these again, just with cake mix this time.
I find that using cake mix for pretty much anything makes it taste 10x better! Except for actual cakes of course
Using a box of cake mix for making cookies makes them dense and absolutely fabulous.
How about using chocolate a little bit lovelier, like couverture from Valrhona?
Z – these brownies look INSANE! who knew such decadent, perfect brownies could come from a chocolate cake mix. love the catchy blog title too – i’ll have to try these out
Interesting, Cooking Light had this recipe…wonder who really developed it. I have been making these for about ten years…they are amazing!
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