Carissa’s $200 Brownies: the recipe.

    So everyone knows my feelings on THE MOST IMPORTANT part of any meal….THE DESSERT of course!  I come from a long line of ”sweet tooths.”  My Grandma Crosby was notorious for having a pieace of apple pie a la mode after every meal.  She definitely passed that on to her grandaughter and as you can see, her great grandkids as well!  So here is one of my all-time favorite dessert recipes.  They are named “Carissa’s $200 brownies.”  Not because they cost $200 to make, but because they brought in $200 at the church auction one time (thank you Tyson!) and ever since that, my mom has called them “Carissa’s $200 brownies.”   I have had several requests for the recipe lately so I thought I would just post it for everyone’s enjoyment.  It is pretty easy….there are just THREE MAIN THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO DO:

1.  Buy the right kind of brownie mix…YES!  It matters.  Hershey’s Triple Chocolate Chunk brownie mix only.  You can buy a huge box at Sam’s with 4 packages of brownies in it.

2.  Buy the right kind of Symphony bars.  You can get them on the candy aisle at the grocery store.  They are the HUGE, THICK Symphony bars, not the skinny ones.  Also…if you like nuts, try the blue labeled Symphony bars.  If you do not like nuts, try the red labeled Symphony bars.

3.  COOK TIME.  This is SO important!  I have a convection oven and I bake them for 325 degrees for no longer than 45 to 50 minutes.  You will need to adjust this cook time for non-convection ovens.

So here’s how you do it:

First: Mix two packages brownie mix with 1 cup of oil, 4 eggs, and 1/4 cup water.

Second: Layer HALF of brownie mix on the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan.

Third: Layer all of the Symphony bars on top of the brownie mix (see picture above).

Final: Layer last half of the brownie mix on top of the Symphony bars.

***Bake as specified above.  Do not cut until COMPLETELY cool which will take hours.  Sometimes I put them in the refrigerator if I am needing to serve them quickly.  You have to let the chocolate set or it will not work to cut them in squares (as shown in the above picture).  However, if you want to serve them a la mode.  Let them cool 30 minutes, scoop them into a bowl, then dump some ice cream and any toppings you want on top of that.  It will be an ooey, gooey mess because the chocolate will not have cooled but it is OH SO YUMMY!

If you make them, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!  Next thing up for my recipes will be Mexican Pinwheels.  Easton and I will be making these together tonight or tomorrow night.  They are so much fun to make with your kids AND I guarantee your kids will love them too!