The Craftiest Workshop

Do you ever feel on a holiday like today, Thanksgiving, your mind starts to think about the next holiday? With Halloween approaching, I feel like it is a perfect time to share another family favourite recipe with everyone.

This one takes me back to the late 70’s and early 80’s when I would be out trick or treating. I grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan and every Halloween we would go trick or treating at neighbour’s houses and at a few other friends and family in town. Back then we would get things like apples, peanuts with shells and sunflower seed packets along with the usual candy treats. One candy treat that I don’t recall my children ever getting that was always in my candy sack was individually wrapped caramels. They were always Kraft caramels back then. This recipe uses those individually wrapped caramels.

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• caramels- 30 Kraft or Carnaby OR 40 Regal

• 1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix
• 3/4 cup melted margarine (40 sec in microwave)
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup chopped toasted pecans (8 min @ 350 to toast)

• 1 small bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

The first thing you will need to do is chop the pecans. I have a Pampered Chef chopper which I only use for nuts. A knife and cutting board would work as well.

How small you chop the nuts to is your choice. I like mine really fine. Place them on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven for 8 min.

While the nuts are in the oven start unwrapping caramels. Each brand of caramels is a bit different in size and taste. You will need more of the Regal brand than if you use Kraft or Carnaby. I personally prefer the Kraft caramels for taste but once in the brownie, you won’t really notice the difference.

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Leading up to, and right after Halloween is the best time of the year to find and buy caramels. They sell them these days for those people that make caramel apples. You can buy a bigger bag and they usually have about a year of expiry date but I have used them a few months past their date and they still taste fine.

Once all the caramels are unwrapped, place them into a small pot on the stove with 1/2 cup of evaporated milk. Put them on a low heat and let the milk warm up. Once the milk is hot you will have to start stirring.

When all the caramel is smooth, you can leave the pot on the lowest heat just so it doesn’t thicken too much.

The next step is to take a mixing bowl and add the cake mix, 1/3 cup of evaporated milk, the melted margarine and the nuts. Stir by hand until it resembles cookie dough texture. This Tupperware bowl is always my go to bowl for this recipe. It was a gift from my cousin Kim at our wedding so I always think of her when I make these brownies.

Grab a 9X13 pan and grease the bottom and sides. I have always used a glass pan for this recipe but I am sure a metal pan would work just as well.

Take half of the dough and press it into a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. There should just be enough to cover everywhere but don’t make it too thick. Put it in the oven for 6 min. It won’t look cooked through but it will just be starting to hold together.

Sprinkle the entire bag of choc chips over the crust as evenly as you can.

Drizzle the still warm caramel back and forth over the choc chips making sure it gets all over.

Take a small amount of dough in your hand, make a flat patty with it and place it on top of the caramel.

Continue making brownie patties and placing them all over the pan. It should look like this when it is ready for the oven.

Bake in the same 350 oven for 15-18 min. The top should look slightly cracked.

I like to let the brownie cool on a rack until I can handle the pan with my hands. I then transfer it to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before cutting it. The edges do get a bit crispier so I often cut my pieces a 1/4 inch in from the edge and snack on the edge pieces.

Yes, this recipe takes a bit of time and the cost of ingredients can add up, but it is so worth it.

Please let me know what you think if you try to make it and if you use any variations that worked for you.