Snickers Brownies

I'm sorry, I'm a terrible friend.  You come here looking for delicious recipes, and here I am hiding one of my favorite bar recipes since JULY.  You forgive me, right?  Okay, good, because I'm about to share a life changing twist on brownies.  Better late than never. 

I can't even put into words how incredible these brownies are.  It's all the sweetness and textures and flavors of a Snickers candy bar sitting on top of a brownie.  For me, these are even better than regular ol' Snickers bars....I mean, the brownie is like the perfect vessel to deliver the nougat, peanuts, and caramel to your mouth.

I admit, I cheated a little bit....I used a boxed brownie mix to speed things up.  But really, go ahead and make home made brownies.  Usually I do, but with all the other home made components and honestly feeling lazy, the boxed mix worked out just fine. Just make sure to use the large family-sized box that will make a 13x9 inch pan; likewise, if you make your own favorite brownie recipe.

So now I bring you Snicker Brownies, because you're not you when you're hungry.

Ingredients
Brownies
1 box of brownies, family-sized, baked according to package directions in a foil-lined pans

Nougat
1/4 cup butter, unsalted
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk (you can DIY your own by mixing 2 1/2 tablespoons of dry nonfat milk powder with 3 tablespoons water)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel-Peanut Layer
 14 ounces Kraft caramels
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, roughly chopped

Topping
About 1/4 - 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips for drizzling.


Directions

1. Prepare a 9x13 inch pan of brownies baked in a foil lined baking pan.  Set aside to cool completely.

2. Prepare the nougat.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Add evaporated milk and sugar and stir until dissolved.  Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, and vanilla, and stir until smooth.  Pour over brownies, smooth with an offset spatula, and set aside to cool.

3. Prepare the caramel-peanut layer. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat combine the unwrapped caramels and heavy cream.  Stir occasionally until smooth.  Once smooth, stir in peanuts.  Once the nougat layer is cool (or mostly cool), pour the hot caramel over the nougat.  Spread evenly with an offset spatuala and set aside to cool.

4. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a microwave (at 30 second increments at 50% power, stirring between rounds, until melted and smooth).  Put chocolate in a small zip top bag, snip a small hole in the corner, and drizzle over caramel layer.

5. Refrigerate for a few hours or over night so that everything can mingle together.  Before cutting, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Cut with a hot knife (I ran a metal knife under hot running water, quickly dried with a paper towel), cleaning knife between cuts as needed.

Eat and be amazed at a new and improved Snickers bar.


 Nougat and caramel recipe sightly adapted from How Sweet Eats.