These Basement Brownies, also known as the best chocolate caramel brownies, are a big time favorite on RecipeGirl.com.
Watch the short video showing you how to make these Basement Brownies, then you can scroll down to the bottom to print out the complete recipe and make them yourself!
They’re so easy to make, and there is a great story behind them!
I love a recipe with a good story behind it. My family was recently visiting my brother and sister-in-law in beautiful Colorado. As usual with my snoopy nature, I scoured my sister-in-law Sarah’s personal recipes with hopes of finding some new treasures to try. These Basement Brownies caught my eye!
These Chocolate- Caramel brownies are called Basement Brownies because when Sarah was a little girl… she used to make them for her Dad, who used to sneak these brownies into the basement to hide them so he could have them all for himself.
The name, “Basement Brownies” has stuck! Don’t you love that?!
You’ve gotta love a recipe with only 5 ingredients. Super simple. They start with a boxed mix… which is not usually my style of baking, but these brownies turn out so awesome that you can’t even tell it starts with a box.
And sometimes starting with a boxed mix is just what we need in our busy day-to-day lives! It’s okay to take short-cuts once in a while.
How to Make Basement Brownies:
The caramels are melted with a little bit of evaporated milk to create a caramel sauce. Sarah says that in-a-pinch she has also used jarred caramel sauce in place of melting your own.
The cake mix is simply combined with evaporated milk and butter. A portion of the batter is slightly baked, then topped with chocolate chips and caramel, then topped with more batter and baked again.
The result is not so impressive-looking, right? Just you wait…!!
The inside brownie part is slightly gooey, and there are two layers in there that can put anyone into a delightful sugar coma: one layer of melted chocolate chips and one layer of ooey caramel too.
Oh YEAH. Basement brownies. After a few bites of these, I can completely understand how they got their name.
And here’s the culprit right here. This handsome guy is Sarah’s Dad, the brownie lover who gave these guys their deserved name– brownies-so-good-you’ve-gotta-hide-them-in-the-basement! We understand. Completely.
Thanks, Sarah… for a great recipe!
Here are a few more brownie recipes you might enjoy:
Basement Brownies
Ingredients
- 50 caramels, unwrapped
- One 15.25-ounce box German chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup evaporated milk, divided
- 3/4 cup (1½ sticks) salted butter, melted
- 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x9-inch pan.
- Melt caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until caramels have completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry cake mix, remaining 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter. Mix by hand until batter is smooth and combined.
- Pour a little over 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes only and then remove from the oven. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top of the partially cooked brownie. Drizzle caramel on top of the chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter on top. You probably won't have enough to cover the caramel completely.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 18 to 20 minutes until the brownies feel fairly set on top and the edges are lightly browned and crisp. Let the brownies cool completely before cutting. The longer they have time to cool, the more they will firm up.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Someone brought these to my baby shower in 1987 and I begged for the recipe. I kept it all these years!
These look sooo gooood. I’ll have to try them.
These are one of my standbys–I think the original name given to them was “better than sex” brownies. Heh. I usually just call them caramel brownies, or, ahem, caramel whities–I really like making them with yellow or white cake mix instead of the german chocolate). I also melt the caramel with evaporated milk in the microwave, but also caution to be VERY CAREFUL when pouring the caramel mixture over the brownie–my sister got it on her arm, which resulted in 2nd degree burns. I’ve never done that, but just pay attention. 🙂
These are really amazing brownies.
What a fun brownie recipe! I want to hide in the basement with the entire pan!
Ha!!! I think everyone has had a few “basement” favorites in their lives. These look so delicious!! 🙂
I love this brownie recipe. Chocolate and caramel — yum! I want to thank you for inspiring me to adapt your chocolate chip-irish cream cupcakes. Here is my version: http://praycookblog.com/2012/08/black-and-white-irish-cream-cupcakes-and-baileys-cream-frosting/
Thank you!
Love the name/story behind these almost as much as I like the looks of them!!
Oh, I fall for caramel everytime! Look great, and easy too!
I love these! I made this exact recipe in college in the late 70’s. We called them “Fat Bars” because that’s what you would be if you ate too many of them! They are very good warm too – messy but delicious.
These are wonderful brownies. We have always called them Sin Brownies, for obvious reasons 🙂