Caramel Chewies.

This recipe makes something similar to a "blondie", but taken to a whole other level. The brown sugar magically transforms into pockets of caramel during the cooking process, and the flavor is simply addictive. It takes less than 10 minutes to stir up a batch, and a half-hour of cooking. Let them cool for about an hour for the flavor & texture to properly synthesize. And then watch them disappear. I used an 8.5 X 11 pan so that they would be a little thicker, so the cooking time was about 35 minutes. You do not want to overcook these.


Caramel Chewies
from James Villas

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups firmly packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9X13 baking pan and set aside.

In large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating till well blended. Add vanilla, flour, and salt and beat till well blended. Add one-half cup pecans and stir till blended.

Spread the batter in the pan and sprinkle remaining nuts on top. Bake just till the cake is slightly firm, about 30 minutes, cool a bit, then cut into chewies.