These Basement Brownies, also known as the best chocolate caramel brownies, are a big time favorite on RecipeGirl.com.

Watch the short video showing you how to make these Basement Brownies, then you can scroll down to the bottom to print out the complete recipe and make them yourself!

basement brownies on a blue patterned plate

They’re so easy to make, and there is a great story behind them!

basement brownies displayed on a white and blue patterned plate

I love a recipe with a good story behind it.  My family was recently visiting my brother and sister-in-law in beautiful Colorado.  As usual with my snoopy nature, I scoured my sister-in-law Sarah’s personal recipes with hopes of finding some new treasures to try.  These Basement Brownies caught my eye!

These Chocolate- Caramel brownies are called Basement Brownies because when Sarah was a little girl… she used to make them for her Dad, who used to sneak these brownies into the basement to hide them so he could have them all for himself.

The name, “Basement Brownies” has stuck!  Don’t you love that?!

ingredients laid out for basement brownies
You’ve gotta love a recipe with only 5 ingredients.  Super simple.  They start with a boxed mix… which is not usually my style of baking, but these brownies turn out so awesome that you can’t even tell it starts with a box.

And sometimes starting with a boxed mix is just what we need in our busy day-to-day lives!  It’s okay to take short-cuts once in a while.

four photos showing process of making caramel in a saucepan on the stove with a wooden spoon

showing process of baking basement brownies in four pan assembly photos of batter, caramel, chocolate chips

 

How to Make Basement Brownies:

The caramels are melted with a little bit of evaporated milk to create a caramel sauce.  Sarah says that in-a-pinch she has also used jarred caramel sauce in place of melting your own.

The cake mix is simply combined with evaporated milk and butter.  A portion of the batter is slightly baked, then topped with chocolate chips and caramel, then topped with more batter and baked again.

basement brownies in the baking pan
The result is not so impressive-looking, right?  Just you wait…!!

basement brownies on a blue and white patterned plate
The inside brownie part is slightly gooey, and there are two layers in there that can put anyone into a delightful sugar coma:  one layer of melted chocolate chips and one layer of ooey caramel too.

Oh YEAH.  Basement brownies.  After a few bites of these, I can completely understand how they got their name.

Sarah and Dad
And here’s the culprit right here.  This handsome guy is Sarah’s Dad, the brownie lover who gave these guys their deserved name– brownies-so-good-you’ve-gotta-hide-them-in-the-basement!  We understand.  Completely.

Thanks, Sarah… for a great recipe!

Here are a few more brownie recipes you might enjoy:

basement brownies on a blue patterned plate
4.75 from 16 votes

Basement Brownies

The best caramel brownies!
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 28 minutes
Total: 48 minutes
Servings: 20 brownies
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Ingredients

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x9-inch pan.
  • Melt caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until caramels have completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
  • In a large bowl, combine the dry cake mix, remaining 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter. Mix by hand until batter is smooth and combined.
  • Pour a little over 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes only and then remove from the oven. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top of the partially cooked brownie. Drizzle caramel on top of the chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter on top. You probably won't have enough to cover the caramel completely.
  • Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 18 to 20 minutes until the brownies feel fairly set on top and the edges are lightly browned and crisp. Let the brownies cool completely before cutting. The longer they have time to cool, the more they will firm up.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1brownie, Calories: 347kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 304mg, Potassium: 252mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 29g, Vitamin A: 260IU, Vitamin C: 0.3mg, Calcium: 107mg, Iron: 2.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.75 from 16 votes (1 rating without comment)

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156 Comments

  1. Lorrie says:

    Someone brought these to my baby shower in 1987 and I begged for the recipe. I kept it all these years!

  2. Annamaria at Bakewell Junction says:

    These look sooo gooood. I’ll have to try them.

  3. beth says:

    These are one of my standbys–I think the original name given to them was “better than sex” brownies. Heh. I usually just call them caramel brownies, or, ahem, caramel whities–I really like making them with yellow or white cake mix instead of the german chocolate). I also melt the caramel with evaporated milk in the microwave, but also caution to be VERY CAREFUL when pouring the caramel mixture over the brownie–my sister got it on her arm, which resulted in 2nd degree burns. I’ve never done that, but just pay attention. 🙂

    These are really amazing brownies.

  4. Maria says:

    What a fun brownie recipe! I want to hide in the basement with the entire pan!

  5. Ali @ Gimme Some Oven says:

    Ha!!! I think everyone has had a few “basement” favorites in their lives. These look so delicious!! 🙂

  6. Averie @ Averie Cooks says:

    Love the name/story behind these almost as much as I like the looks of them!!

  7. Aimee @ ShugarySweets says:

    Oh, I fall for caramel everytime! Look great, and easy too!

  8. Beth says:

    I love these! I made this exact recipe in college in the late 70’s. We called them “Fat Bars” because that’s what you would be if you ate too many of them! They are very good warm too – messy but delicious.

  9. Lori H says:

    These are wonderful brownies. We have always called them Sin Brownies, for obvious reasons 🙂