Mom’s Easy Caramel Brownies

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Mom’s Easy Caramel Brownies

Mom’s Easy Caramel Brownies

My mom’s famous caramel brownies are hands-down the most requested recipe in our family. These cake mix caramel brownies are fudgy, gooey, and unbelievably easy to make. All you need is cake mix, chocolate chips, caramel, butter, and evaporated milk to create the most irresistible brownies ever!

A stack of brownies with each with a gooey layer of caramel.

Caramel Brownies with a Cake Mix

My mom has been making these caramel brownies for as long as I can remember. They were the birthday request of choice in our house and a must at every Fourth of July pool party. Everyone looked forward to them. They’re that good. When Cade and I got engaged, I baked a batch for his birthday and left them on his counter as a surprise. Two days passed, and he still hadn’t touched them. He was deep into clean eating and avoiding sugar. I felt crushed. I told him how much it hurt, so he tried one. Ever since, they’ve been his favorite dessert. Now, my mom even mails him a batch every so often.

The secrets? We always use margarine instead of butter. It makes the brownies extra gooey but still hold their shape. Only Betty Crocker German chocolate cake mix and Kraft caramels will do.

Now go make these brownies and leave a little love note for my mom so she feels special.

Ingredients for an easy dessert. Cake mix, buttery sweet candies, butter, chocolate chips, and cream!

Can a Chocolate Cake Mix Really Make Brownies?

You know what I love most about this recipe? No tedious sifting of flour, sugar, salt, or cocoa powder. Instead, it uses just a few simple ingredients! And the best part? N

Homemade Box Brownies

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Homemade Box Brownies

a photo of three chocolate brownies stacked on each other

Everybody loves brownies! Am I right?! These homemade box brownies are fudgy and chewy with that crackling on top that just screams brownie. I’ve been working on this recipe for a while and I’ve finally nailed it!

Brownies, ugh, the nightmare of homemade brownies! They are so tricky to get just right! Our oven is not cooking evenly which I can manage 90% of the time but brownies are really tricky. Add on top that I’m obsessed with a crinkle top and these brownies have taken years to develop! They are Cade’s favorite dessert next to or equal to ice cream so the need to find perfection was big! And these are perfection!

These brownies are easy and fudgy and made totally from scratch! I’m not going to lie, the Ghirardelli brownies boxed mix that you can buy at Costco are my go-to when I’m in a rush, but this homemade brownie recipe rivals those Ghirardelli box brownies! There’s just something about homemade that feels and tastes so much better!

Ingredients for Homemade Box Brownies

There are some ingredients that are an absolute must for the best brownies. For a crinkle top and best flavor you have to use cocoa powder and chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. You also must use oil and butter. Here is a complete list of everything you need:

  • Butter: use unsalted butter to control the salt in the brownies and you want it melted to get the right texture and the crackly shiny top on the brownies
  • Vegetable Oil: helps the brownies be moist and fudgy
  • Sugar: adds sweetness and balances the bitterness of the cocoa powder
  • Brown Sugar: adds more sweetness and richness in flavor
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: adds all the chocolate flavor
  • Eggs: adds structure to the brownies
  • Vanilla Extract: adds flavor
  • Espresso Powder: found in the baking section and is used to enhance the chocolate flavor. It can be skipped if you absolutely cannot find it or substitute with instant coffee.
  • Salt: enhances all the flavors
  • Flour: just regular all-purpose flour is all you need
  • Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: adds texture and more chocolate flavor

The measurements for all these ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Box Brownies at Home

These fudgy brownies are made in just about 30 minutes and they taste even better than your favorite boxed brownies. Here are the steps for making them:

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9×9 baking pan with foil (or parchment paper) and then cooking spray.
  2. Stir: Combine the melted butter, oil, sugar, and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until well combine and shiny.
  3. Whisk: In a small bowl, add the eggs and whisk until pale yellow. Add in the vanilla, espresso powder and salt. Add to chocolate mixtu

Easy to Make Blackberry Lime Bars

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Easy to Make Blackberry Lime Bars

a photo of a blackberry lime bar sitting on a small plate with a corner scooped off by a fork sitting on the plate next to it.

These blackberry lime bars are creamy, bright, and super delicious. A little lime juice, a handful of blackberries, a simple graham cracker crust, a few easy steps, and you have sweet, tangy bars that everyone will enjoy.

I learned long ago that women love chocolate and men love berry desserts… supposedly. Things like, Berries and Cream Cheesecake Bars, Razzleberry Pie, or Deep Fried Strawberry Cheesecakes. But that is so not the case with my husband and I.

I definitely prefer all things berry and he is all about the chocolate. Well, unless it’s his favorite Lime Pie Brazil. Which is where this recipe came from. His lime pie recipe that he learned while living in Brazil is made with a cracker crumb crust, sweetened condensed milk, media crema, eggs and lime juice of course.

One day we were trying to decide on dessert and he voted for his pie, but I was in the mood for blackberries. The juicy blackberries were making the filling too soupy when baked, so we took the crema out and it turned out perfect. It totally reminds me of our lemon raspberry bars.

There’s just something about a fresh fruit dessert that makes me feel so light and wonderful. I mean, really. Even if it’s a long and nasty winter I’ll bust out these blackberry lime bars and suddenly winter doesn’t seem so bad.

Oregon Berries

Last summer we had the chance to go to Portland to visit Oregon Berries and it was incredible! The taste of those fresh ripe berries were unlike anything you can buy at the store here. When we buy local we ensure quality and secure the livelihoods of families who are making our country a place of variety and success. Cade and I committed right there to check where our berries are coming from and only buy local.

The blackberries we tasted there made me think of these blackberry lime bars and I just knew I had to reshoot this recipe. So here you go!

Ingredients for Blackberry Lime B

Creamy Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

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Creamy Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

a photo of a square piece of strawberry cheesecake bar sitting on a small dessert plate.

Creamy strawberry cheesecake bars start with the most delicious flaky crust topped with a sweet but tangy cream cheese layer all topped with gorgeous juicy strawberries! Life will never be the same!

I’m closing down the blog and walking away. I’m living my life out as a middle-aged Momma who wants nothing more than to LIVE and PLAY and EAT. These bars are one of the best recipes we will ever share on Oh Sweet Basil.

I mean, I’m not really shutting down the blog. I couldn’t ever be as fulfilled without a creative outlet, but these strawberry bars are one of the best desserts I’ve ever brought to the site. If it’s the only spring dessert recipe you make, you will be forever happy. Once again, we have Megan to thank, so let’s all give her a little praise for continuously sending amazing recipes to us! If you haven’t tried the mixed berries version of this recipe, do that asap!

The crust is a flaky, perfectly made crust but the best part is, in my opinion, making the dessert a day ahead so that it softens a stitch. Oh my goodness, my mouth just started salivating! WHAT IS MY DEAL?! I’m obsessed! 

The filling is the most delicate cream cheese, almost cheesecake filling, while the topping is a burst of vibrant strawberries, reminiscent of a strawberry pie! It’s honestly like a creamy strawberry shortcake, which happens to be my most favorite dessert ever.

Ingredients for Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

I’m going to divide up the list of ingredients by layer so it’s easy to see what is needed for each step. Here is what you will need…

Crust Layer

  • Flour: regular all purpose flour
  • Salt: enhances all the flavors
  • Sugar: adds a little sweetness to the crust
  • Vegetable Oil: the fat needed to create the flaky but strong base for the bars
  • Milk: helps bind all the ingredients together

Cheesecake Layer

  • Cream Cheese: you can use full fat or 1/3 fat but I do feel like the full fat sets up better, make sure it is room temperature so the cream layer isn’t lumpy
  • Powdered Sugar: adds sweetness to the filling
  • Heavy Cream: helps thin out the filling a little
  • Vanilla: adds flavor

Strawberry Layer

  • Strawberries: fresh bright red ripe berries
  • Sugar: adds sweetness to the topping
  • Ultra Gel: my preferred way for thickening the strawberry topping, see recipe card for using cornstarch the thicken
  • Lemon Zest and Juice: balances the sweetness of the berries
  • Water: thins everything out to create

Orange Cranberry Bliss Bars

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Orange Cranberry Bliss Bars

a photo of several orange cranberry bliss bars stack on each other. they are drizzled with a white chocolate drizzle and topped with dried cranberries.
Orange and cranberry go together like pb and j or better yet, like pb and chocolate! These orange cranberry blondies are so soft and chewy. It’s like Christmas in your mouth!
You know how some things just belong together? I believe that oranges and cranberries are one of those combos that is just meant to be. Have you tried our orange cranberry glazed poppy seed bread?  Oh man, it’s so good! Then there is our orange cranberry pull apart bread that is just to die for!
There’s just something about the tartness of the cranberries with the tanginess of the orange all together with the sweetness of the blonde brownie and frosting that makes for one blissful bite!

Speaking of Things that Go Together…

Oranges and cranberries are foods that go together. Just like certain foods taste better together, I believe that some people are better together too. So much about being a mother is hard! Is anyone out there with me? It’s hard to sacrifice so much so constantly, but it’s worth it.

I was having a conversation with a friend about going to the park the other day. I secretly hate going to the park (I know, worst mom ever!). I don’t want to try the monkey bars. I don’t want to play pirates. I don’t want to climb up the slide.

And then there is the imaginative play! I can’t do it! I don’t know what it is, but it’s actually physically and mentally imp

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