When cleaning our your cabinets benefits your coworkers

Do you ever clean out your cabinets and wonder things like "what on earth did I plan to do with all these caramels?" or is it just me? Right... Ok just me... anyway... We cleaned out the baking cabinets and realized we had a pile of caramels waiting to be melted and poured into something delicious. Oddly enough I had a brownie mix just waiting to be baked as well - what a perfect pair! Long ago and far away I remember my aunt making caramel brownies but she used a cake mix of some sort, I don't remember. But these.... easy and so gooey delicious. I did not use evaporated milk to melt the caramels. I mean sure I have a can - but for a 1/3 of a cup? With no other use for it? No thanks. I did have some left over half and half in the fridge for a different recipe so I used that instead - it worked just fine. These brownies need some time to cool before cutting otherwise you'll have a hot molten lava mess on your hands. Enjoy some rich indulgence - so good!

Caramel Brownies

Brownies
18 ounces brownie mix
1 to 2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Caramel Center
11 ounces Kraft caramels
⅓ cup evaporated milk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper and set it aside.
Place unwrapped caramels and the evaporated milk in a small saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring constantly so the caramels do not burn, until the caramels are completely melted, and the mixture is evenly smooth (5 to 7 minutes).
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together brownie batter ingredients.
Spread two-thirds of the brownie batter into the lined baking dish.
Spread the caramel mixture over the brownie batter. Dollop it across the top so that you are not spreading the caramel down into the brownie batter.
Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the top of the caramel.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the hot brownies.
Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Notes
You can use a 9×13-inch baking dish for a very thin caramel brownie or you can double the recipe.
Melting the caramel candies with the evaporated milk helps to keep the caramel nice and smooth and creamy in the center rather than crisping up.
Drop the caramel layer across the surface rather than pouring it into one spot and trying to spread it. Drop the top layer of brownie batter over the top to get some of the crackling of the caramel coming through after cooking.