M&M Blondies

I made this recipe last fall for a football party. I love blondie brownies and this was a very simple from-scratch recipe. What's great is that I pretty much had everything in my pantry, so it's something you can whip up rather quickly without needing to stop off at the store for extra ingredients (or a box mix!). Please note that this recipe was modified from a recipe on The Little Kitchen.

M&M Blondies

Ingredients:

·         3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar

·         1 large egg

·         2 tsp vanilla extract

·         8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

·         1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1/2 tsp baking soda

·         1/8 tsp salt

·         3/4 cup M&Ms, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Take an 8-inch square pan and cover in foil and spray with baking spray.

Using an electric mixer, cream brown sugar and egg until it's light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and melted butter, mix well with electric mixer.

In a separate bowl, mix together with a rubber spatula the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in batches and incorporate with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to over mix your batter.

Stir in M&Ms, using rubber spatula. Again, do not over mix. Add batter to pan. Spray an angled spatula with baking spray and use it to smooth over the top.

Bake for about 25-28 minutes. The top will be dry and flaky and a toothpick test should come out clean with a few crumbs attached. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack. Hold using foil sides and remove from square pan. Enjoy!

Knock Ya Naked Brownies

This was on The Pioneer Woman's cooking show about a month ago, and I just loved the name. Oh and they looked sinful, so of course we had to try this! I have made 3 batches in about a month...ooops! Ok one for the family, one for a Superbowl party and one for some friends. So far no one has been knocked naked (thank goodness...wouldn't that be kind of weird), but my brother claimed on Facebook that they kind of made him want to go streaking, so just beware...you have been warned!

Just look at those layers of goodness!

A couple of things to note:

1. When adding the top layer to the brownies, don't worry about it being perfect. If there are some small holes, don't worry the batter will puff up and fill in these holes.

2. It really helps to have some kiddos help with unwrapping the caramels, but beware they may eat a few of them.

 Helper #1

Helper #2

Helper #1 also assisted with stiring the brownie mixture

3. These are really gooey when you first make them, so either be prepared for them to look like a hot mess when you first get them out of the pan, or you can put them in the fridge a set the caramel. They are really tastey though when they are still warm and gooey!

4. These are NOT healthy, but who cares!

Knock Ya Naked Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix
• 1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1/3 cup Evaporated Milk (get the whole milk, tried 2% version and it was ok, but not as good!)
• 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk (additional)
• 1/2 cup Butter, Melted
• 60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped
• 1/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar (optional, we did not do this and it was still just as awesome!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.

Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.

Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours (or eat it as an ooey gooey mess like we did!). When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Enjoy!