I like writing numbered lists, especially in class. It makes me feel organized. Even if my list is scattered and all over the place. Let’s talk pizza, TV, and fudge brownies, shall we?

1. Kyle picked up a pizza yesterday. A large delicious I-could-eat-you-everyday cheesy pizza. Inside the box was a small plastic container of Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. Kyle then tripped (though he may prefer if I say the box simply flew out of his hands) and the red pepper flakes burst open, and covered the pizza. The pizza looked like it had chicken pox! And I didn’t eat any of it. Why is this significant to me? This is the first time something has stopped me from eating delicious cheesy pizza. I may tell Kyle to drench all of our pizzas in red pepper flakes, since he loves the spice and I don’t.

2. I am looking forward to the next few months and the return of all my favorite TV shows. And the one I am most excited about? Sons of Anarchy. I think I would make a great biker babe. I look good in black. Anyone else watch? I am also looking forward to Boardwalk Empire, Grey’s Anatomy (which had the craziest finale last season), Vampire Diaries and Biggest Loser.

Get ready to go from Biggest Loser to brownieland…

As Carrie Bradshaw would say “Hello Lover….”

3. I finally added salt to caramel and realized what the hype was all about. I have had salted caramel desserts in the past, and loved every bite of every one of them. But something about a rich warm brownie topped with creamy caramel and tangy, bright salt, well, thats heaven. And you can only get that when you make them at home from scratch while everything is still warm and perfect.

However I started out by making normal fudge brownies. The man in my life likes simplicity. However I like flair and decided to add the salted caramel layer. The brownies can be enjoyed either way!

Fudge Brownies with Salted Caramel topping
yield: 24 brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) Butter
2 cups Sugar
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
1 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 cups AP Flour
2 cups Dark Chocolate Chips (I used Hersheys Special Dark)

preheat oven to 350 degrees,  prepare 9×13 pan

1. Melt butter in a sauce pot. Add sugar and stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until sugar has melted slightly and liquid is silky.
2. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl. Use a spatula to scrape all butter into bowl.
3. Add eggs one at a time, stirring between each one. Add cocoa powder and stir until fully combined.
4. Add baking powder, salt and flour. Stir until just combined, though make sure there are no lumps or ‘pockets’ full of flour in the batter. Add the chocolate chips.
5. Pour into a prepared 9×13 pan and use the back of a spoon to spread out evenly. Bake for 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool at least one hour before cutting.

Salted Caramel Topping
yield: 1 cup topping

1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Whole Milk
2 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
Salt, for topping

1. In a sauce pot, combine butter and brown sugar and turn heat to medium heat until comes to a slow boil. Add milk and bring back to boil.
2. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar. Use a wooden spoon to stir until powdered sugar is fully combined and mixture is creamy. If the mixture has some clumps, then strain before using.
3. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before pouring (all) of the mixture on top of the brownies. Sprinkle immediately with sea salt or kosher salt. Let set up, around 10 minutes, before cutting into squares.

Oh yes! There were two ways I could go with the caramel topping. Either something gooey that doesn’t set, or something that sets up nice and firm. I decided to make a firm topping since I wanted to be able to cut these, and easily bag them up for friends. After a few hours the topping is almost crunchy, and the next day it is reminiscent of praline candy. Which makes sense, since I made the caramel topping with brown sugar and butter. The salt does a great job of surprising your taste buds, and cutting through the intense sweetness of the fudge brownie and caramel topping.

And would you look at that, the perfect little brownie bite.