You might think this a weird name for these brownies, but let me tell you, it’s actually the perfect name for them. At least it was in the case of my husband and I it was. We met working together on an offshore oil platform. See photo below. Pretty romantic place, am I right??
I worked as a night cook/baker, and the hubs, relatively unknown to me at the time, worked as a drilling supervisor. I worked nights and he was on call 24 hours a day.He caught my attention quickly though. Our paths started crossing frequently, mostly me trying to get his attention, and him trying to be professional. Gosh… it was really annoying.You probably have noticed there is a little bit of an age difference between us, so he was trying not to look like a Chester. Plus, he’s kind of a reserved guy, and I’m definitely not. I should also note, it must have been true love because he was sporting a pretty serious mullet when I met him. (They are still in style in the oilfield in Alaska to this day. True story.)
I finally asked him out. Again, he was reserved, I’m not. The rest is practically history. We dated for almost a year before I decided I was ready to be a little more serious. He had tasted plenty of my food by the time we started dating and while we dated, which is why it surprised me so much, that this was the recipe that helped take our relationship to a whole new level. You know from my other recipes, most of what I make is from scratch, and generally whole foods. In fact, this is the only recipe I use from a mix. Go figure. It was a recipe I had gotten from my grandma years earlier. I had modified the measurements a touch, until I had got it just the way I liked it. Well, I decided to surprise my man with it one day and it changed everything. I swear there were stars in his eyes after that first bite. He was hooked. I guess you could say things got pretty serious after that. He proposed shortly after, maybe he was afraid I would make these brownies for someone else, and we were married. To this day, these brownies are still on his top 10 list of desserts I make. We have been married almost 17 years and still going strong! Maybe it was the brownies, I’m just saying… So, if you have a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend you are trying to take the relationship to the next level with- this will do it. Well, unless they don’t like chocolate, or caramels- in which case, maybe it’s best you just move on.
Start with a chocolate cake mix. I prefer a dark chocolate, but this is what I got! This is great too.
Before I start with the cake mix, I unwrap all my caramels. This takes awhile and I like to have it done first. So, unwrap and get them in a pan.
Mix the cake mix and evaporated milk.
Take a little over half the batter and spread in the bottom of your prepared pan. Start baking.
Now with the caramels. Add the butter and evaporated milk to pan.
Once brownies are par baked, pour caramel mixture over them.
Make sure it is spread , try and keep it off edges, it is kind of a pain to clean a pan with caramel all over the edges.
Then sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Next, pecans. Finish topping with the rest of the cake mix. I couldn’t get photos of this. My youngest came in with his hand cut so badly, we had to take him in and get stitches. Well, the hubs took him in, he didn’t want to risk the brownies not turning out, so I stayed and finished. Just imagine though, I took small amounts of batter and spread them over top of the cake, caramels, chocolate chips and pecans. I sprayed my hands, the batter is really sticky. You can either use pan spray or even just wet them. You will need to do this often, as it will continue to stick. So take small amounts and flatten across the top. You won’t cover the top entirely, and it’s not a big deal. When they are cut, you don’t even notice.
See, the tops of the brownies look awesome. The pieces with the caramel showing through look so good!
Allow to cool almost completely if you want your brownies to look like this. If you prefer and want to get into them right away, scoop them out while they are still warm and serve with ice cream. This is so delicious!
Remember these brownies when you are wanting to take a relationship to the next level, secure a relationship you are already in, or just wanting to make a really good brownie for yo self!
Best served with a large glass of milk!
Sit back and enjoy. You definitely deserve it!
Get Yo Self A Man Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 chocolate cake mix
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 30 caramels, I used Kraft
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 3/4-1 cup whole pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 9×13 pan. You can simply spray, or line the bottom with parchment, like I did.In a medium sized sauce pan, preferably heavy bottomed, open caramels and put in pan. Set aside.In a medium sized bowl, add cake mix and 3/4 cup evaporated milk. Mix well. Spread a little over half of the batter in bottom of 9×13 pan. It will be thick and really sticky. I like to spray my hands, or wet them, and press it in the bottom. Don't worry about perfection here, it will spread and even out when it bakes. Place in oven. This will be par baked, that's partially baked.While it is baking, add butter and 1/2 cup evaporated milk to pan with caramels. Place over medium heat. Melt caramels, mixing really consistently. They will burn quickly, so be careful with them.Once brownies are partially baked, mine took about 8 minutes, remove from oven. Spread caramel mix over top, spreading almost to edges. Next sprinkle chocolate chips over caramel, then pecans. Last, take the remaining batter and working with small amounts spread it across the top. Again, it will be very sticky. I prefer to do this with my fingers, so make sure to spray or get them wet. Spread the small amounts out to small disk shapes ( about 1/4 inch thick), nothing perfect here, then lay them across the top. It won't cover the whole top, and that's just fine. This is not a perfect type of recipe, so don't sweat it!Return to oven and continue to bake until the caramel bubbles on edges and the top layer of cake batter is cooked through. Mine took about 10 minutes. Remove from oven.At this point, it is up to you how you proceed. You can either scoop it and eat right away while it is warm. It's really good with some ice cream! Or you can allow them to cool and cut into squares, like we did. I prefer them this way. The choice is your's though, they really are amazing either way. Next, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it, and let this sweet little numbers work their magic. Im telling you, it will happen.
Such a sweet story!! I just adore recipes that hold such meaning and such great memories. So beautiful Amy!
XO – Anita
Thank you Anita!! That is a very sweet compliment!