I'm a baker and have been making this bar for years. Here's how we make it: Don't melt the butter. Pecans instead of walnuts use a 14 oz. bag of caramels. Put 2/3 of the batter in the pan and bake about 6-8 min.(not 3) until the top is no longer dark and shiney. Pour caramel over then sprinkle the chips on top. Spoon small mounds of remaining batter over the top. Return to oven 6-8 min. You may have to adjust baking time the second time depending on your oven. It's also best to let it sit for several hours or overnight for before cutting.
Oh my! I made these for the holidays and people loved them even if most thought these were brownies. I used Swiss chocolate cake mix because I could not find German. Also I used caramel spread (like kids put on toast) instead of the melted caramels. This was easy and tasted great. I was sure that I did not have enough "dough" to cover for the top layer but the cake batter spead nicely while baking and they turned out perfect.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm good! I messed up the dough and only added 1/3 cup of evap milk. I baked the dough for about 10 minutes- until the top was no longer shiny. When I melted the caramels in the microwave I added 2/3 cup evap milk (to make up for what I didn't put in the batter originally) poured that over the baked dough sprinkled the choc. chips on the caramel sprinkled the nuts over that (used walnuts) and then plopped 'piles' of remaining batter over the toppings- didn't try to spread it out at all. I ended up cooking this for much longer than the recipe states- started with 15 minutes and checked it 5-10 min. intervals until it wasn't 'jiggly' anymore- I think I ended up cooking it for about 35 minutes. Keep an eye on it as it's cooking and you'll be ok. These are DECADENT and delicious!!!!!!!!! Thanks for a great dessert!!
This is such a cool recipe. I asked myself about a hundred times though "really no eggs no oil?" I followed the suggestion by the baker-reviewer and when I was spreading the first part in the pan I thought for sure I was making it wrong but then it came out looking ok. I was kind of confused because there wasnt much dough left over for the top but I found that through cooking it spread out and in the end this is a great looking dessert!
This is very similar to a recipe that I've been making for years (Turtle Brownies) with the cooking times being just a bit different: the first half of the cake batter is baked for 6 minutes (then the caramels & stuff are layered on) and then final assembled pan is baked for an additional 20 minutes. It's delicious & decadent...and meant to be chewy & soft. Try it!
I do not believe the baking time was correctly submitted. Is it possible to have that checked into? The taste was excellent I am just concerned again about the actual cook time.
I have sent this to my husband's workplace and taken it to my own company holiday party. People LOVE IT! I used pecans instead of walnuts because my husband loves pecans. I have also substituted caramel chips/melting pellets (bought by the bag that usually come with a pack of sticks inside the bag since they're sold to melt for caramel apples) instead of unwrapping all those caramels. When I'm a little short on caramel chips I've also substituted a bit of caramel ice cream topping to make up the difference & there is no difference in the end product. I did follow several reviewer's advice to pour 2/3 of the mix (not 1/2) in the pan to bake the first time (bake 6 - 8 minutes or until top no longer shiny) then at the end I add the remaining 1/3 of the mix (not 1/2) on top of the caramel nuts & chips & bake an additional 6 - 8 minutes to finish it off!
These won me a cookie-contest at work! I followed the review from the baker too and it came out fine but I had to spread the mounds of cake mix out with a spatula during that second round of baking. The caramel gives it a distinct "oomph" that distinguishes it from other brownies/bars. Thank you!
I just made these and although they were runny they were excellent. I found out the next day it was much easier to cut and serve as "bars". These are the best bars and everyone thought they were brownies. Great to make ahead of time for a function in the next day or two.
I followed recipe exactly and baked the times as suggested 6-8 min split. I took to a party and only 3 people ate. It was not good at all! Way too much carmel (which I didn't know I could say). It was just a total embarrassment and I'll never make again.
