The fabulous Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman whipped up a little magic in her kitchen recently. Ree seduces you with fabulous photos of her kitchen creations – hold on and check out her latest take on “Knock You Naked” brownies!
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Start by dumping this into a large mixing bowl.
What’s “this” you ask?
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It’s German Chocolate cake mix.
Not Devil’s Food
Not Chocolate Fudge.
German Chocolate.
And if you’re not a cake mix person, don’t worry: because of the way the ingredients are combined, the end result just doesn’t have a box mix flavor. Promise.
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Finely chop up some pecans.
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You’ll need about a cup of chopped nuts, which you’ll remember is quite different from a cup of nuts, chopped.
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You’ll also need some melted butter…
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And some evaporated milk.
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Pour the evaporated milk over the cake mix, as well as the butter and the nuts.
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Stir together until totally combined. It’ll be very, very thick–not at all like cake batter. More like a thick cookie dough.
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Spray a square (either 8 x 8 or 9 x 9) baking pan very generously with nonstick cooking spray.
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Divide the dough in half…
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And press half the dough into the bottom of the pan. Stick it in the oven for eight minutes.
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Caramels!
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Peel ‘em. Put ‘em in a bowl. Pour in some evaporated milk.
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Heat it over the double boiler, stirring frequently, until the mixture is smooth and melted.
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Pull the pan out of the oven. And pour the caramel over the top.
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Now, this is optional: grab some chocolate chips!
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Sprinkle about 1/3 cup over the caramel.
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Next, grab the other half of the cake mixture. The original recipe says to pour it over the top of the pan, but it’s thick and anything but pourable. So Ree roughly formed a large square with her hands.
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Carefully place the square of dough on top and bake it for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top layer appears “done.”
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This looks like a seriously delicious mess, that’s all I know. And I say “mess” in the most wonderful sense.
Now, this is important: you are not allowed to eat the brownies now.
I know. I’m cruel. But because of the gooeyness of the ingredients, the brownies must be cooled, then refrigerated for several hours in order to set the ingredients together. So whatever you do, DO NOT make this recipe if you’re in the throes of a wicked chocolate craving. In fact, eat a piece of chocolate before you make the recipe. Only then will you have the strength to resist…and refrigerate.
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After refrigerating, when you’re ready to dig in, sprinkle the top very generously with powdered sugar.
And when I say generously, I mean really lay it on, sister. Brother, if you’re male.
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Cut any way you like!
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Let’s examine: first of all, you see what she meant about the excessive chocolate. Granted, she did use a square pan instead of the 9 x 13-incher the recipe calls for, so the gooeyness is more pronounced. But this is definitely more chocolate than the brownies need; you want the caramel to be the star. But that aside: look at the deliciousness. Ree only refrigerated for one hour since she was chasing daylight; ideally, she says would have had more time to mitigate the ooze factor.
Plan to test out this recipe? Let us know how it went – and send pictures!
Knock You Naked Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix (I Used Duncan Hines)
- 1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
- ⅓ cups Evaporated Milk
- ½ cups Evaporated Milk (additional)
- ½ cups Butter, Melted
- 60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped
- ⅓ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- ¼ cups Powdered Sugar
Preparation Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.
3. Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
4. In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.
5. Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into either nine or twelve helpings, and carefully remove from the pan.
*Adapted from the standard/classic “Knock You Naked Brownies” recipe. These brownies don’t really knock you naked…but almost.
6 comments
Dalila says:
May 4, 2011
Looks great!
BTW, you have an amazing camera!
Noahs crew says:
May 4, 2011
This looks sooooo yummy!
Kelster says:
May 18, 2011
Typo *her
Have you tried making these brownies?
NewNaturalista says:
May 19, 2011
@Kelster – we have! Amazing treat and worth taking an evening with loved ones to make them! Thanks to PioneerWoman for the cool recipe and photos.
Nathaly says:
Jun 1, 2011
Amazing work! This brownie recipe is chewy and stretchy to eat. Each bite it’s like heaven. The sweetness it brings makes everyone feel better and satisfies their appetite.
Aurélie says:
Jun 10, 2011
I will soooo be trying these!