Thanksgiving Treats!

It is surreal to be home for Thanksgiving after being away for three months for my first semester in college! Thanksgiving is always one of my favorite holidays to spend time with family, and after being away at school, I was especially looking forward to sharing food and fun times with my relatives. I also like getting together for the holidays because it gives me an excuse to bake! With little time to pick out a recipe and start baking, I turned to my Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. If you followed my blog over the summer, you know that many of my posts came from this this trusty cookbook. Well, I am pleased to say, I ended up with another fool proof, delicious dessert! I knew that my other relatives would be bringing fruit pies and pumpkin desserts, so I opted for the chocolate brownie route. But these are no ordinary brownies, no, they are made with caramel, peanut butter chips, and toasted pecans. So even after filling up on turkey and casseroles galore, my relatives were able to make room for these decadent brownies.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES WITH CARAMEL, PEANUT BUTTER, AND PECANS
printable recipe

CRUST
2 1/4 graham cracker crumbs (about 16 full graham crackers)
1 1/2 sticks butter (melted)

CARAMEL FIlLLING
1 pound caramels
1/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup pecans (coarsely chopped and toasted in the oven at 350  degrees for about 10 minutes).

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

BROWNIE
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 9x13 inch pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press into greased pan to serve as crust.

Melt the caramels and heavy cream over low heat until smooth. Pour over crust.

Sprinkle toasted pecans and peanut butter chips over caramel.

Melt unsweetened chocolate and butter in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Pour chocolate into medium bowl and add sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until combined.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture until combined.

Pour the brownie mixture into the pan over the other ingredients.

Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Recipe from: The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

My mom and sister also took on a baking project of their own that was too cute not to share! These turkeys are made out of candy and Oreos, and they are, of course, a Pinterest find!

Enjoy!