Knock You Naked Brownies aka Grandma's Got A Dirty Mind Brownies

      It is time for another literacy team meeting at school, which now means another excuse to bake.  I have a confession- I have been contemplating ending my blogging for the past few weeks.  My life has been a whirlwind lately and I've been thinking of ways to slow it down a bit.  But then when I really thought about it, I realized that I enjoy blogging and in return I now enjoy my time in the kitchen.  The whole reason I started blogging, a little over a year ago, was because I found cooking an anxiety ridden task.  This blog has helped me to foster richer relationships with people, I am able to share my creations and in turn share happiness, and when I make something that turns out good, I have this sweet proud feeling-like a little kid who is finally able to ride a two wheeler.  Now if I could say the same about grad school homework assignments, data collection for work, or rush hour traffic- I think my days would be filled with many more happy moments.
     So back to the baking.  This is a bit of a cheater recipe for me because it uses a boxed cake mix, but the title of the brownies totally sold me.  What better sweet to serve at a meeting at school than brownies called "knock you naked."

Knock You Naked Brownies
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman (Awesome sight filled with so many great things!)

Ingredients
1 box (18.5 oz) German Chocolate Cake Mix
1 cup finely chopped pecans (I left these out-nuts and schools don't really mix these days)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
60 caramel candies, unwrapped
1/2 evaporated milk (additional)
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Combine the cake mix, butter, and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk in a large mixing bowl.  Stir until everything is well combined.  This will be very thick.  If you are using nuts, you would add them in here as well.
2. Press half of the brownie mixture into a well greased 9x9 square baking dish.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the caramels and 1/2 cup of evaporated milk in a heat proof bowl over a pan of boiling water.  Stir frequently and continue to heat until the caramels and the milk combine and are smooth.
4. When the brownies are done baking, pour the caramel mixture over the brownies.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the caramel, evenly.
5. Place the remaining brownie mix on a clean surface and use your hands to press it into a square shape slightly smaller than the baking pan.  Place this layer over the chocolate chip layer.
6. Bake the brownies for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow the brownies to cool completely.  Then refrigerate for several hours before sprinkling with powdered sugar and carefully cutting the brownies from the pan.

Arnauld said he didn't even want to comment on this mess as he passed through the kitchen.  He went on to add, "it kind of looks like meatloaf."

 The Taste Test
   Well these were certainly not the most beautiful or neat brownie.  Somehow I think that 60 caramels may have been 1 or 20 too many.  First of all, the caramels seemed to take an extraordinarily long time to melt.  When they finally melted and I poured them into the smallish square baking dish, it seemed a little much.  I didn't realize the extent of the caramel until I opened the oven to find brownie oozing everywhere.  Then, when I went to cut the brownies from the pan, it appeared that the caramel overpowered the bottom brownie layer and instead of these being layered brownies, they were more like caramel with a spot of brownie mixed in.  Hey, I didn't hear anyone complaining about their odd shape or sticky mess as they ate these brownies up- but if there is a next time, I say cut the number of caramels in half!