Yes! Yes! | Everyone deserves a gooey caramel brownie recipe

You may be as surprised as I was to learn that there are people who don’t have a gooey caramel brownie recipe. Shocking, I know. But if you are one of them, let me share my Yes! Yes! brownie recipe with you. In under 45 minutes, you’ll have a hot pan of gooey, caramel-stringy, could there be more chocolate, brownies on your kitchen counter.

The summer of 1990, I was just out of high school and I worked at 3M as a plant manager. Literally. Besides sorting smocks for laundry, I cleaned bathrooms, refilled vending machines in the cafeteria, and watered the plants around the offices and lobby areas. So they jokingly called me the plant manager. It was during this stint that a co-worker, Judy B., shared these brownies and I’m pretty sure I begged for the recipe.

Years, and years, oh my gosh, 23 years and 50 extra pounds later, my recipe card is bent and crinkled and the plastic protector is melted on the entire left side. When I bring these bars to work now, they disappear. But I never really thought there are people who don’t have their own recipe for caramel brownies. So I never blogged it. I assumed people would be like, “What?! As if I don’t already have a recipe like that.” Boring.

Then one morning I almost fell off my couch when I was watching my favorite T.V. show and Ree from Food Network’s Pioneer Woman showed the world how to make Knock You Naked Brownies. And I was like, “What?! I’ve been making those for years!” Not boring. And then I felt like there was no place for me in the blogging world anymore because anything I had to offer had already been done.

A few months later at work, my friend Mary said she was still waiting for me to blog my caramel brownie recipe. I told her I hadn’t blogged it because I figured everyone had a similar recipe and didn’t need mine. Mary didn’t. She needed my recipe. And for you chocolate lovers out there, you know I really mean needed.

So now, I share it with you. And when you bake them for your friends and they beg you for the recipe, you will say, Yes! Yes!.

{Yes! Yes! Caramel Brownies}

50 caramels (I buy a bag of Kraft caramels and use them all, minus the few my kids run away with.)

1 package chocolate cake mix (Any flavor will do – milk chocolate, chocolate fudge, german chocolate, etc.)

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 small can evaporated milk, divided into two portions, 1/3 cup each

1 cup chopped nuts, optional

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I cover the pan of brownies so who really knows how much that is.)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix melted butter, cake mix, 1/3 cup evaporated milk and nuts. This can be done by hand. Spread half of this mixture into a lightly greased 9×9-inch or 13×9-inch cake pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Take out of the oven.

Melt caramels with 1/3 cup evaporated milk. Stir until creamy.

Cover the hot crust with the chocolate chips, then pour the caramel mixture over the chips. Top with the remaining batter and bake the 9×9 pan for 20-25 minutes and for the 13×9 pan, bake 15-18 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container. Share with everyone you know.

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{Boozy Sweets from the Big City | Margarita Cupcakes}

Pull up a bar stool. Or an office chair. Maybe even a reclining Adirondack chair by the pool. Because no matter where you indulge in these margarita cupcakes, you’ll be transported to a dreamy beach lined with sandy towels and sun-baked flip-flops.

Just hope no one steps on a pop-top and has to head on back home.

If you like margaritas, you’ll enjoy these light little cakes spiked with tequila and a twist of lime. Top them with a generous helping of the tart, salty frosting and it’s like licking the rim of your icy margarita.

The recipe is new to me. A fellow blogger from the Minneapolis area, Michelle Hals, shared it with me at Minnesota Blogger’s Conference. The recipe comes from her parents who got it from her dad’s cousin when he made the treats for a high school reunion. Michelle just started a new blog at http://www.michellehals.com so stop by and say hi. She also blogs at http://shelbellescraps.blogspot.com.

Thank you for sharing this family recipe with us, Michelle.

I lovingly call Minneapolis the big city because I live on an acreage in southwest Minnesota. I used to live in the Twin Cities and I love it there.

Margarita Cupcakes

Makes 18 regular-size cupcakes with generous frosting for each.

1 box white cake mix

7-1/2 ounces original margarita mix

2 ounces tequila (or triple sec if you prefer)

1/2 ounce orange juice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a medium bowl, add all ingredients and beat on medium-high until fluffy. If you prefer, use triple sec in place of the tequila. The important thing is to use a total of 10 ounces of liquid. Line a regular cupcake pan with papers or grease with non-stick spray. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack.

Simple Lime Syrup (optional)

If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know that I am not a huge fan of cupcakes because they aren’t usually as moist as I like. I found these cupcakes to be a little drier than I like, but an easy solution is to add the following simple syrup:

1 cup fresh lime juice

1 cup sugar

Combine the lime juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar completely dissolves. Bring it to a boil and continue to boil for 3-5 minutes until it becomes a golden color. Cool. Poke holes in the cupcakes with a toothpick. Using a pastry brush, generously brush the syrup over the tops of the cupcakes. Let soak in for 10 minutes and then frost the cupcakes.

Salty Lime Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

5 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons lime juice (use 3 and add more if needed for spreading consistency)

1/2 teaspoon salt

couple dashes of green food coloring if desired

In a medium bowl, cream the butter. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lime juice and salt, beating until desired spreading consistency. Add small amount of green food coloring if desired.

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Do you like your margarita rim salty or sweet?

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{I Was a Better Than Sex Cake Virgin}

Although the names and variations of this caramel cake are as broad as Pink’s hair color, the dessert has been a family tradition for some people for so long they can’t imagine there are people trying it for the first time. For me, it was only a few years ago. My friend, Caitlin O., shared it with us at work and even though I was “cake reluctant,” I slid my fork in it and with one sticky bite I was hoping not everyone in the department knew we had cake = more for me.

The recipe graces pages of community cookbooks, from fundraisers, employee-submitted, family heritage, etc., but to find Better Than Sex Cake in a church ladies cookbook, you’ll find it under a discreet name like Better Than Anything (or Almost Anything) Cake, Better Than Whatever you Wanna Call It Cake, or Heath Cake.

I know, I know – some of you have been reading my blog long enough to know I don’t like cake. Especially the kind you poke holes in and pour in Jell-O or pudding. But this is different. It’s sweetened condensed milk and caramel. You use your favorite caramel ice cream topping. (Like the butterscotch one I drink from a shot glass when I make Chocolate Explosion Cheesecake.) Are you with me?

Better Than Sex Cake

1 box (13 x 9-inch pan size) German chocolate cake mix, and ingredients to bake the cake

1 can (14-ounce) sweetened condensed milk

1 jar (approximately 17 ounces or so) caramel ice cream topping

1 tub (8-ounce) whipped topping, thawed

1 package (8-ounce) chocolate toffee pieces (I use Hershey’s Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits)

Bake the cake according to package directions.

As soon as the cake is done, pull it out of the oven and poke holes in the cake with the handle of a mixing spoon. (I use a long-handled lemonade-stirring spoon.) Immediately pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the cake and repeat with the caramel topping.

Let the cake cool in the refrigerator until completely cool. Top with whipped topping and put back in the fridge. Immediately before serving, generously sprinkle the toffee bits on each slice. Store in the refrigerator.

Plan to share this cake because it’s best within 24 hours.

Will this be your first time eating Better Than Sex Cake? Do you have a different name for it?

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{Cake Batter Pancakes from How Sweet It Is}

When Jessica from How Sweet It Is posted her recipe for Cake Batter Pancakes, I saved it in my Favorites so I could make them for my son’s birthday party. He’s a huge fan of pancakes. And what kid doesn’t love sprinkles?! Even though the slumber partiers were up most of the night and didn’t get up until noon, I made these for “breakfast” anyway.

They taste like a cross between pancakes and yellow cupcakes topped with cinnamon roll drizzle and sprinkles. You’ll notice there are three candles on the “cake.” One is for my son, one is for his friend who is also celebrating a birthday, and one is for one of the dads whose birthday was yesterday. Yes, How Sweet indeed.

(Dear parents who entrusted me with their children: I promise they will run off this sugar high before I bring them home! And, if they talk about cereal bar kabobs they had with these, I’m not really sure what they are talking about.)

And were the pancakes a hit? Pictures tell it all:

For the Cake Batter Pancakes recipe and fun step-by-step photos, swing on over to Jessica’s blog. You may find yourself saving it in your Favorites folder too!

Thank you, Jessica, for sharing your wonderful recipe for the world to enjoy.

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{Black Cherry Soda Cupcakes}

Two things inspired me to create these extra moist, richly decadent cupcakes — old-fashioned, glass-bottle black cherry soda and chic & stylish cupcake papers.

I found the Olde Brooklyn Brighton Beach Black Cherry Soda at a HomeGoods® in Minneapolis. I love drinking ice-cold soda from a glass bottle. Who knows if it really tastes better or if it’s just the sentimental feeling it sparks when you pop the cap off.

The stylish cupcake liners were given to me by Sutton Gourmet Paper. I was excited to try them because the company claims that the papers keep their color and design even after baking chocolate cupcakes in them. They are right! As you can see in my photos, the liners look just as pretty after I baked the cupcakes. Thank you, Natalie!

Cupcakes are *rock stars* of the bakery world right now (although getting a run for their sugar from the current pie craze), but I’ve never really been a big fan of them. They are often dry with a big glob of frosting on top. But these are moist with the perfect balance of chocolate and black cherry flavor infused in the cupcake and frosting.

Makes 24-28 cupcakes

1 package chocolate cake mix (for 9×13 pan)

1/2 cup cocoa

3 eggs

1-1/3 cup black cherry soda

1 teaspoon cherry extract

1 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing

1/2 cup cherry flavored baking morsels, finely chopped or ground—I used my cheese grater to finely grind the chips into tiny shavings

Let’s bake!

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until blended. Fill cupcake liners* 2/3 full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting. Store frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator.

*Note: I used square cupcake pans.

Black Cherry Soda Frosting

8 ounces cold cream cheese

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

2 teaspoons cherry extract

1 teaspoon black cherry soda

2 to 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer just until blended. Be sure the cream cheese is cold and the butter is at room temperature. Add the cherry extract and the black cherry soda. Add 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar at a time and beat just until smooth. Add more/less powdered sugar and black cherry soda until you get your desired frosting consistency.

What’s your favorite glass-bottle soda?

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