Ooey Gooies!

Every summer the Pedersens (my hubby/our family, his parents, his 4 sisters & their families) all go camping together. It's just what we do. I guess you could call it a reunion since we come together from 3 different states to make it happen. There are no grand plans, nothing is over-scheduled... or scheduled AT ALL, for that matter! LOL We just hang out at the lake, around the fire, wander the wilderness & enjoy each others company. This has been a tradition since they were kids. This summer will be my 9th time attending this camp out & it's always a lot of fun. So let's go back. Come with me - 9 years ago - to my first camping trip with them. They opened up the cooler & introduced me to a little piece of Heaven. An Ooey Gooey. What's an Ooey Gooey, you might ask? Scroll down & find out. You won't regret it!

Here are our ingredients:

A box of Devil's Food cake, chocolate chips, caramels, evaporated milk, margarine. You can also add walnuts, if you'd like. I recommend it. But my hubby prefers it without them - and sometimes I let him have his way - so no nuts in these today!

*Side note: I usually buy the individually wrapped caramels but I saw this bag of little caramel beads for melting right near the chocolate chips & I thought I'd try it - less work not having to unwrap all those caramels! I think I regret it. Not quite as awesome & I think I needed more than what was in the bag. I'll go back to old school next time.

Mix 1/3 cup of evaporated milk & the caramels in a small sauce pan & melt them together. Stir it around so it doesn't burn!


Once you get that mixed up set it aside. Now pour the rest of the milk, the dry cake mix & melted margarine into a bowl & mix them together. It'll be thick. Don't worry - you didn't do anything wrong! (If you were using walnuts this is the step you'd throw them in! Just add it to the batter & stir, stir, stir!)


Now divide that batter in half. Spray a 9x13 pan with PAM & carefully press half the batter into the pan. This takes some patience & effort. It's not thin like cake batter. You gotta get your hands in it like Playdoh. I usually take the half of the batter I'm using for the bottom layer & divide it into 1/4's. Then methodically work your way to filling the whole bottom of the pan. Seriously - this takes some love! Smash it flat in your hand/on the counter - whatever it takes to make that 1/2 of the batter cover the whole bottom of your pan!


Now pop it into a 350 oven for 7-10 minutes. Now pull it out of the oven & get ready for the magic!

Pour your caramel over the top of it.


Gently spread it around to even it out. Gently! You don't want to pull the cake apart! Then sprinkle the chips on.


Now for more puzzle piecing with the playdoh... I mean cake batter! Don't forget to work in small sections at a time. And this time you're putting it on a hot surface so be careful!

Can you see my seams?

Pop it back into the oven & bake for another 15-18 minutes.


Let it sit to cool for about 30 minutes (or longer if you can handle it!) to give the caramel a chance to set up a little bit.

Here you go!

I wish I had a better camera so I could do these babies justice! It's a brownie with an OOEY GOOEY layer of chocolate & caramel in the center! Mmmmmmm, boy. So good. We cut these into small squares - like maybe 1 1/2"...? That's all you need!

Ooey Gooies:

14 oz caramels
2/3 cup evaporate milk, divided
1 box Devil's Food cake
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350.

Melt caramels together with 1/3 cup evaporated milk. Set aside.

Mix dry cake mix with remaining 1/3 cup milk, melter margarine & walnuts. Stir until well combined. Spray 9x13 pan with PAM, then layer in 1/2 the cake mix & pat it down. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven. Pour on caramel, sprinkle with chips & layer remaining cake batter on top. Return to oven for 15-18 minutes.

Cool for about 30 minutes before serving.