Recipe: Caramel Fjord Brownies
This is my first time entering the BrownieBabe event. So I knew I had to come up with something good for Myriam over at Once Upon a Tart, and the rest of the fab bakers out there!
So without further ado!
This is not your ordinary brownie. This is something much more; it is decadence at its best. This is a family recipe, just not my family’s. It was given to my mom many years ago and had a rather non-descript name. So it is that same recipe, but it got a name makeover. Brownies are chocolate, so we didn’t need to stick that word in their title, but what makes these brownies so special are the little inlets of molten caramel that oozes through these brownies.
So after much deliberation, I decided to rename them Caramel Fjord Brownies! I hope you enjoy these little pieces of heaven and that I am worthy enough to become a BrownieBabe!
INGREDIENTS:
1 store bought German Chocolate Cake Mix – you can probably use any Chocolate Cake mix you like
2/3 cup evaporated milk
½ stick of butter
1 cup chocolate chips ( I would recommend Ghiradelli)
1 14 oz. package of caramels
1 cup chopped nuts (optional – take the option, unless you are allergic!)
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix cake mix, melted butter and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk in a mixing bowl. Fold in nuts. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Spread 1/3 of the mixture on the bottom of the pan with your hands. Bake for 6 minutes.
Melt caramels in microwave with 1/3 cup evaporated milk. When the six minutes are over, spread the chocolate chips evenly over baked dough. Then spread the caramel mixture over that. Crumble the remaining dough on top.
Bake 15-18 minutes. Cool completely and then put in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Cut and serve. Put remaining brownies in the fridge or you can freeze them! Enjoy!
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Shawnda - June 6, 2007 at 11:58 am
Oh. My. Goodness.
I have a dark chocolate cake mix in my pantry that has finally found its calling
The Leftover Queen - June 6, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Great Shawnda! I am so happy for you and your cake mix. You will make something beautiful together, I know it!
Katerina - June 6, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I can’t believe how easy this is! It is so rare the recipe is this much easier then it looks. Thanks for the post!
The Leftover Queen - June 6, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Yes, Katerina! That is one of my main goals here – easy food to make , but FABULOUS to taste! Thanks for the comment. It means a lot!
Julie - June 6, 2007 at 12:56 pm
I think I just gained 5 lbs reading this post. They look fabulous!
Thanks for the post and I love your blog!
The Leftover Queen - June 6, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Thanks Julie! I really appreciate it!
Patricia Scarpin - June 6, 2007 at 2:43 pm
That melted caramel is pure torture!
The brownies look deliciously gooey!
The Leftover Queen - June 6, 2007 at 2:47 pm
You said it Patricia!!!
Ramya - June 6, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Hi jenn,
hmmmmmmmmmmm….
mouth watering brownies….
U have taken the snap in such a way we feel like eating it from the site.
Good job!!!
minotte - June 6, 2007 at 7:41 pm
what a wonderful blog–and beautiful pics!
congratulations. . . i will try your recipes and i will visit often.
minotte
http://www.frugalme.blogspot.com
The Leftover Queen - June 6, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Thanks Ramya!
Minotte! I am so glad you like the blog and I hope you will come back often! I am going to be posting some really great stuff in the coming week! So be sure to stop by!
Cris - June 6, 2007 at 9:57 pm
You got a haircut? Oh I love milk caramel, in fact, I made some this week, I haven’t posted it yet… Take care.
The Leftover Queen - June 6, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Hey Cris!
Yeah, I actually cut it all off about a month ago, and decided I needed to update the pics, because those old pictures just don’t look like me anymore! LOL!
I will look forward to your post!
Ahona - June 6, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Oh my, I’m a sucker for caramel and these look sooooooo good!
The Leftover Queen - June 7, 2007 at 8:27 am
Thanks, Ahona!
Cheryl - June 7, 2007 at 8:51 am
Oh my!!! That picture is ridiculously evil to show me at 9am. They look beyond decadent. I must have one.
The Leftover Queen - June 7, 2007 at 9:33 am
It is one of my evil plans to take over the world with delicious food! Mwah-ha-ha-ha!
Mandy - June 7, 2007 at 12:51 pm
oh my!!! Gooey caramel, chocolate and nut. What is not to love? This is my kind of dessert!
The Leftover Queen - June 7, 2007 at 12:53 pm
You should totally make it!
Cynthia - June 7, 2007 at 1:53 pm
6 ingredients and such decadence! Jenn, this is sinfully good.
The Leftover Queen - June 7, 2007 at 2:01 pm
You said it, Cynthia!
Marye - June 7, 2007 at 2:02 pm
umm..Oh my gosh…I shared this entry with the readers of my blog at Baking Delights”
I am seriously waiting until the kids are gone and eating a whole pan myself.
The Leftover Queen - June 7, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Thanks Marye! I appreciate it! Did you make them?
Trish - June 7, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Jenn:
I can only say this is evil! I was at the store to buy ingredients for Ina’s bbq sauce and in the back of my mind I’m thinking hmmm…So, before I knew it, the cake mix, caramels, and ghridelli choc. chips jumped in my basket. Tomorrow’s the last day for one of my favorite co-workers so I’m making these to take to work – but – my husband says only if I leave a few here for us. Thanks for a great recipe!
Trish
The Leftover Queen - June 7, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Great Trish! I hope your co-worker enjoys them on their last day! And I hope you and your husband enjoy them too!
Arlene - June 7, 2007 at 10:48 pm
They are, in fact, as decadent as they look. It was hard not to want to eat them all up at once, so we froze a lot of them. This recipe does freeze well.
Looks like you have a lot of fellow fans of goo out there. They’re like eating a brownie and a candy bar all in one.
Mom
The Leftover Queen - June 8, 2007 at 10:09 am
Thanks mom for the tip about freezing!
peabody - June 9, 2007 at 4:04 am
I’m not a judge…but you should definitely win! YUM.
The Leftover Queen - June 9, 2007 at 10:22 am
Thanks Peabody!
Jerry - June 12, 2007 at 10:44 am
Oh I soooo had this idea for a brownie! Telepathic are we? Yours look more good then what I could have produced.
The Leftover Queen - June 12, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Great minds think alike, hey, Jerry?
Gilli Wrightson - June 14, 2007 at 12:32 am
Hi Jenn
These brownies look amazing. I was inspired by Paula Dean to make an equally decadent peanut butter and banana slice. She got her inspiration from Elvis.
Now I am going to have to make yours as well…should add a few extra pounds to our bodies.
The Leftover Queen - June 14, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Yum ,peanut butter and banana sounds so good! I love that combo but have never had it in a brownie! Leave it to Paula Deen to come up with that version!
Hope you enjoy both batches!
Sudha - June 15, 2007 at 4:17 am
Hi Jenn
How have u been? The brownies really looks tempting, and the caramel ,owesome! Really a great recipe.
The Leftover Queen - June 15, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Thanks Sudha! I have been great! Busy, but great thanks to all you wonderful food bloggers!
Sue - June 18, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Those look AWESOME. Don’t hate me, but I can’t bring myself to use a cake mix, but I will definitely be trying to figure out how to use this recipe with a one of my chocolate cake or brownie recipes. Who doesn’t LOVE melted caramels? (As long as you don’t say CAR-MELS, I like to get every delicious syllable out of them.)
The Leftover Queen - June 18, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Hi Sue,
The recipe I used called for German choc. cake mix, which was totally fine with me as I am not really into baking. But I am sure you could make your own as well. Hope you enjoy it!
Hendria - July 2, 2007 at 9:43 am
HI Jenn
I made these brownies and loved them. I used devils food cake mix, so they are very chocolate, and once they cool and you get the crunch of the chocolate chips, with the caramel….well everyone just has to try them…. My son really liked them.
The Leftover Queen - July 2, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Hendria! I am so glad you made them and played with the recipe a little, delicious!
Keli - October 15, 2007 at 3:19 pm
YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!!!!!! These were so good!!! My husband swears up and down that they are the best he has ever had. And I didn’t even use a full bag of caramels. I just used what was left over from caramel apples. I will be putting this recipe in my box permanently!!!
jessy - November 24, 2007 at 3:54 pm
hi! woow your brownies look fantasticly gooey! i was just wondering though, if maybe you could put up slightly clearer instructions, i would like to make these for my brother for christmas.
‘Crumble the remaining dough on top.’ you mean pour right, since it would still be mixture?
i dont mean to be rude i just dont wanna get it wrong! thank you!
The Leftover Queen - November 24, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Hi Keli and Jessy! Thanks for your comments and stopping by! To answer your question Jessy, the dough is kind of crumbly not very liquidy. I am sure your brother will love these as a gift!
kev - December 2, 2007 at 12:29 am
is it possible to make your own caramel?
do you have any recipe for it?
The Leftover Queen - December 3, 2007 at 10:53 am
Hi Kev – making your own caramel is ty easy. You can check out this post for more info: http://www.leftoverqueen.com/2007/08/29/daring-bakers-challenge-milk-chocolate-caramel-tart/#more-397
This is basically how:
In a saucepan, caramelize 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar using the dry method until it turns a golden caramel color. Then incorporate 1 Cup heavy cream or crème fraiche and then add butter. Mix thoroughly. Set aside to cool.
kev - December 7, 2007 at 12:48 am
cool, thanks alot
Porath - May 8, 2010 at 11:51 pm
We make these bars, but call them Marx bars (now “Poe Bar” ever since I took them to a high school cast party). We use white or yellow cake mix. Chocolate is awesome too. We don’t use the nuts. DO NOT eat these warm! The whole pan disappears when you do!!!
Porath - May 8, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Oh, just a thought. Kraft now makes caramel chips that melt just like the other caramels, but without all the unwrapping. Make this easy recipe that much easier.
Sandy - June 26, 2010 at 11:27 am
This looks delicious and I’m in the midst of baking it for my brother’s birthday. I don’t know if it’s because I use a Mac, but some of the text in the recipe is strange; for example, “1 store bought German Chocolate Cake Mix –.” Notice the letters after Cake Mix. While strange, it is easy to determine what is meant. However, for the third ingredient, “½ stick of butter”, the amount could be one-half cup or one and one-half cup, which is a big difference. Please advise, and thanks for your site!
Sandy - June 26, 2010 at 1:31 pm
I must be doing something wrong…this was a disaster. The bottom layer was a sticky gooey mess and stuck to my hands as I tried to spread it in the pan. Sprinkled flour on my hands didn’t help. It was so bad I had to scrape it back into the mixing bowl, add the rest of the ingredients to make it a regular cake and remix it, poured half in a 9×13 pan, sprinkled in chocolate chips and caramel chips, poured the rest of the batter on top, and baked it according to the cake box directons.
Can someone help…I would really like to make these, but am baffled.
Thanks.
The Leftover Queen - June 28, 2010 at 10:34 am
I am not sure why these didn’t work for you Sandy. The batter should be more crumbly as opposed to wet. You didn’t mix up the cake batter according to the box did you? You are only supposed to use the dry mix, and add the butter and evaporated milk . That is the only thing I can think of.