Guest Post - Turtle Brownies

This is a guest post by Alea Milham from Premeditated Leftovers.  I will resume regular posting soon.

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I think there is a good chance that my husband married me for my brownies. He denies it, but I am pretty sure it was, at the very least, a contributing factor. What is so special about my brownies? I am always creating new varieties. When I tell my family that I am going to make brownies they are left in suspense until I present them with the finished product.

Every time I make a new batch my husband declares it his favorite. He waits until a piece has been cut and then he “just evens the edges”.  As long as one piece has been removed from the pan, my husband can finish the rest of the batch without ever cutting a piece. He just keeps evening the edges until there is nothing left to even. Once the pan is empty he asks me when I am going to make another batch.

Turtle Brownies

Ingredients:

4 – 1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup butter
1 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon sugar
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup caramel sauce (you can use store bought)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350^o F. Grease and flour a 13x9 pan. I use the wrappers from the butter to grease the pan.

In a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter.

Pour chocolate mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, eggs, water and mix well. Mix in flour, baking soda, and sugar. Stir pecans into batter until just mixed.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Drop caramel sauce into the batter by the spoonful:

Run a knife through the batter to swirl the caramel sauce into the brownie mixture:

Bake at 350^o F for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan before serving.

Last week I took on a big project around the house, didn’t have time to finish it and the house was still a disaster about 30 minutes before my husband was going to arrive home. I told my daughter that her dad wasn’t going to be pleased with the mess and she said, “You’re like Amelia Bedelia, as long as you bake him brownies, he will overlook your messes”. I decided to use the 30 minutes before my husband arrived home to bake rather than clean. ;-)

Alea Milham, of Premeditated Leftovers, has been married for 21 years to an amazing man, who has the unique ability to fix everything she breaks. They have three children, for whom Alea has forsaken a conventional career to homeschool. Her husband’s career with the Navy has caused them to live a nomadic existence, but has also provided countless field trip opportunities for their children. They currently live on 2 acres in the high desert, where Alea enjoys organic gardening and managing their small menagerie.