Cooking with Sara: Brownies with Caramel Sauce

(Welllll, you're not getting the usual slew of detailed photos or paragraph upon paragraph of instructions, but I'm ridiculously tired, so things are pared down and terribly sparse. Please bear with me.)

I was totally inspired earlier this evening by a woman who asked my advice for a bundt cake glaze. I thought, hey, my caramel sauce would beat the pants off a traditional glaze, so I sent her my recipe. And then after obsessing about the sauce for a whole 3 seconds, I decided right then and there that I absolutely HAD to make something to pour it over. We don't have any ice cream in the house (and I gobbled up all the non-dairy kind weeks ago), so I whipped up a batch of brownies.

See, I don't believe that brownies should ever be made from a mix. Making them from scratch doesn't take much longer, and they taste sooo much better. Trust me on this. I wouldn't lie, especially about baked goods. I think God would strike me down from heaven for committing such a sin.

So anyway, I thought I'd share the recipes with you. They're perfection for chilly autumn nights. Yummmm......

Bombshell Brownies
1 c. butter, unsalted, melted
3 c. white sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. unsweetened cocoa (I prefer Hershey's brand for these)
1 tsp. salt
1 c. chocolate chips (semisweet or milk chocolate)
1 c. toasted nuts, optional

Preveat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x13 pan.

Combine melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, mixing until thoroughly combined. Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and gradually stir into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and optional nuts. Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted is almost clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

Caramel Sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. unsalted butter

In a small pan, combine the sugars, butter, and whipping cream. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftover sauce in an airtight container.