X is for eXtra

 

I am stretching the ol' rules of the A to Z Challenge a bit with today's post, but I have no regrets for that: I turned an every day treat into something a little eXtra!

My husband is a big fan of brownies, and he got our children hooked on them, too. I used to be uppity and only made brownies from scratch, but when the demand surpassed my desire to be uppity about scratch cooking, I started buying brownie mixes. They are certainly quick, easy, and reliable. The other three always wanted me to add chocolate chips to the brownie mix each time, and I did, sometimes, but I don't care that much for chocolate chips, especially IN BROWNIES, so I ignored them as often as I could get away with it.

The other day, I remembered some brownies I was once served at friend's home that were her "go to" for company. She took a regular brownie mix, made it according to directions, poured half of the batter into a pan, then took an almond and toffee chip Hershey's Symphony bar, broke it apart, and laid the pieces over the batter and covered them with the remaining batter. The brownies were extra moist and had a little crunch from the almonds and toffee. That's extra, right? A big candy bar buried in a brownie? 

I picked up a Symphony bar and a brownie mix at the store and set to work mixing the batter. But as I did, I felt that adding the candy bar to the brownies wasn't enough to make this recipe "extra" enough. I dug around in my baking supplies and came up with a bag of Kraft caramel bits. For those of you not in the know, the caramel bits are like you took Kraft caramels, pinched off pieces, and rolled them into balls about the size of a piece of Trix cereal (I have no idea what else to use for scale). So after I laid the pieces of candy bar all over the batter, I generously sprinkled it with caramel bits. Still not satisfied, I came up with a bag of pecan pieces and sprinkled those on next, then I scattered some mini chocolate chips over the whole thing, carefully poured the rest of the batter over all the extra stuff, and baked it. 

Nuthin' fancy, just Betty Crocker
fudge brownie mix

Symphony bars first. See all the space that
doesn't have candy on it? Need to fix that.

Okay, fixed it!

Ah, sweet mystery of life, at last I found thee! These brownies are excellent! The chocolate bar melted into the brownie, making them extremely rich tasting. The chocolate chips did the same, and the caramel bits also melted into the brownie and made them extra chewy and gooey. The pecans provided excellent crunch. These brownies are exponentially better than the ones with just the candy bar baked into them.

Fresh out of the oven. Doesn't look like
much, but there's potential lurking under there.

I ate half of it before I remembered I needed a photo

If you want a brownie to end all brownies, this is exactly what you need to make