fat kid brownies

aaron keeps saying he's a fat kid.

let's note, please, that he's 5'10" and maybe weighs 160.

maybe. :)

so when he changed my flat yesterday morning

i decided the only way to thank him

was to thank him the way fat kids like to be thanked.

with brownies.

and caramel.

and LOTS of m&ms.

it just so turns out that i live in a healthy household

where e makes food out of organic, local ingredients

and does it very, very well.

we like heathly eating.

so yesterday, when i'm stirring a melting pot of caramel over the stove

m&ms separated and in a bowl

first layer of brownie goodness baking in the oven

and layer two spread and shaped on the counter,

nobody in my house really knew what to make of it.

we stopped.

we stared.

we kind of salivated.

and then i just kept mixing it up!

because, all things considered, it's not hard to make a delicious brownie.

and if you're in the business of making Said Fat Kid adore you

then why the hell not!

go ahead a toss another handful of m&ms on those babies

and give that caramel an extra shot of zing

we'll cover eating habits later. :)

for the curious recipe-minded, we'll have the breakdown this way.

make some brownie batter.

split it.

bake a bottom layer for 8 minutes.

let it cool.

melt 50 pieces of caramel and 1/2 cup evaporated milk.

spread it entirely over the first layer.

put your poison in (m&ms, nuts, choco chips, mint, whatevs,)

cover with remaining brownie batter.

NOTE. i used a brownie batter that mixes up almost like a cake. it's light, it's thick, i can actually pick it up and shape it with my hands. i'm telling you, you're gonna get better results with something like this. a messy, sticky batter is just too messy and sticky.

*besides we all want caramel to be the rockstar here, not the chocolate.*

oh and then i decided what the hell and tossed the rest of the m&ms on top.

fat kids love m&ms, what can i say.

bake it up!

20-25 minutes later, pull it out and LET IT COOL.

remember all that caramel? it's hot. it's gooey. it's super delicious.

if you were to put your fork in the brownies now and take a little bit of the corner

you probably would want a second bite. and a little nibble.

and i'm not saying that i did that or anything,

but there were nine fat, square brownies when i brought it out of the oven

and only eight of them made it to aaron. soooo, you do the math.

NOTE. that picture, the one at the very top, is me trying to remove a brownie before putting them in the fridge. i mean, it was delicious, yes, warm and gooey, BUT not entirely transportable. be patient, obi-wan.

but back to the caramel, you want it to re-harden.

put it in the fridge.

and when you're ready

(and seriously, i went to sleep on this one)

cut it up, wrap 'em up

(soo gooey)

and put 'em in a cute box.

i did that.

the cute box thing.

with polka dots and colors and stuff.

and then give it to aaron.

he'll kiss you and tell you AWESOME!

and your work here is done.