My friend Ann is a wonderful baker and cook. The other day she brought me a brownie she had made. It looked so good, I had to take a picture of it and ask her for the recipe! She said it was made with a fudge brownie mix and topped with chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and caramel sauce…one of the most decadent brownies I’ve ever tasted!

This recipe makes an 8 x 8″ pan of brownies. If you buy a fudge brownie mix that makes enough for a 9 x 13″ pan, just double the other ingredients in the recipe!

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ANN’S DECADENT TURTLE BROWNIES

Makes an 8 x 8″ pan 

For the BATTER:

• 1 box of your favorite fudge brownie mix for an 8 x 8″ pan (if your brownie mix fills a 9 x 13″ pan, just double the rest of the ingredients)
• The ingredients needed to prepare the mix, such as water, oil, and eggs
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

NOTE: You can also make your brownies from scratch if  you prefer…just make your favorite brownie recipe.

For the TOPPING:

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup warmed-up caramel sauce or topping

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions; then mix the 1/2 cup chocolate chips into the batter. Spread batter in a greased 8 x 8″ baking pan and bake as directed on brownie package.

When the brownies are finished baking, top the hot brownies with the chocolate chips, sprinkled evenly over the top, and then the chopped pecans. Finally, drizzle the warmed caramel sauce or topping over everything. The topping ingredients will get nice and melty and gooey, as you can see in the photos…YUM! Cool brownies completely, then cut into bars.

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If you prefer using homemade caramel sauce or topping instead of store-bought, just use your favorite recipe for that! And if you don’t have one, here’s a good one to try:

CARAMEL SAUCE (Ina Garten’s recipe from Food Network)

Makes 1 3/4 cups

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mix the water and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil, uncovered, until the sugar turns a medium brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Watch it carefully at the end, as it can go from caramel to burnt very quickly! Stand back to avoid splattering, and gradually add the cream and vanilla extract to the sugar mixture. Simmer until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Serve warm, or add another 1/4 cup of heavy cream and serve room temperature.

If you like brownies, you’ll have to treat yourself to these! 🙂

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