Caramel Twix Brownies

Are you looking for a way to use up all that left over Halloween candy? If so, boy do I have a recipe for you. Caramel Twix brownies. Now how good do those sound? There is nothing like a good 'ol brownie, but sometimes you just have to mix it up. Especially so when you toss in handfuls of Halloween candy. Without the wrappers of course. 

If your family is anything like mine, you always buy way too much Halloween candy and never get as many trick-or-treater's as you thought. Surprisingly, we got more than we thought this year, but we still have tons of candy left over. More than I hoped for, especially since it's staring at my right now saying, "Christina, eat me. EAAAATT MEEEE!". So far, I have been strong, but it's only a matter of time (let's say, while doing my homework tomorrow afternoon and stressing out because I am stuck on a stupid foreign exchange problem) that I reach into the bowl and take one. Or two. Or three. Hey now, they are small pieces! So, the sooner I get the candy out of sight and out of mind, the better. Thus, here is where the caramel Twix brownies come in. 

Now, this recipe will feature the candy Twix, but don't be afraid to use something else. The following would work just as well in this brownie, should you not have Twix - Milky Way, Snickers, Rolo's or Baby Ruth. Pretty much any candy with caramel should work just fine. Don't worry, if you have any peanut butter cups left (my all time favorite!), try out this killer peanut butter cup brownies). They are beyond delicious, totally addicting and a must make. But now back to the caramel Twix brownies. These brownies are super simple to whip up and can be made in one big pot with one spoon. Now that's what I'm talking about. Super easy and super delicious.

The batter starts off with two sticks of melted butter and a couple of cups of sugar. As if the candy we will add later isn't sweet enough already, right? Then you'll thrown in some eggs and vanilla. At this point, make sure everything is mixed in really well. Then comes the dry ingredients - cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and flour. Give everything a mix just until it's incorporated. The batter will be thick, so stir gently. It will all come together, I promise. Once the batter is all mixed and ready to go, you will throw in just about two cups of chopped Twix (or your candy of choice). Fold it all in just until it's combined and then pour into a prepared pan. You can prepare your pan with butter, but I always use a non-stick spray. Once the batter is in the pan, comes the last and most important step- the caramel! I would usually make my own, but this time, I didn't go that route and decided to use store bought. If you have homemade caramel in your fridge, feel free to use that or you can get whatever brand you like from the store. You can usually find the bottled caramel sauce located next to the ice cream. Drizzle the caramel sauce all over the top of the batter. Like all over in every direction. Make sure you get enough on there. Then, gently swirl it in the batter with a couple of toothpicks and bake for about 40 minutes or so until they are perfectly done and your house smells so good that you can barely stand it! 

so good, you could eat the batter with a spoon!

Caramel Twix Brownies (slightly adapted from Two Peas and their Pod)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped Twix candy bars (or other candies of your choice)
1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Place butter in medium saucepan on the stove. Heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add cocoa; stir until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; stir until combined. Stir in Twix candy bar chunks. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Drizzle caramel evenly over the brownies. Using a toothpick, swirl caramel into brownies. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool brownies completely in pan on a wire rack. Once cool, cut into squares and serve.

Candy + brownies = deliciously dangerous!