Dense dark chocolate brownies layered with melty caramels and chocolate peanut butter krispies!
I have to warn you guys…these brownies are dangerous.
I say this because once you take one bite, you’re doomed to finish the entire pan if left alone at your own discretion. Luckily for me, being a food blogger for the past two years has helped me to build up some of that willpower, which can be especially tortuous when you spend at least an hour photographing each tempting treat when it’s literally inches away from your mouth.
The struggle is real.
My mom fell prey to these sinful little devil squares after I left a piece for her. Mind you, this wasn’t a small piece at all. She took one little bite…and it was over. She had succumbed to the persuasion of these devilishly rich and chewy dark chocolatey brownies.
But can you blame her??
I mean, just look at these layers…
Let’s start with the brownies, shall we? The beautifully dark (almost black) color of the brownies is the best indicator of just how rich, fudgy, and lusciously dense they are. You’d think I used the highest quality and most expensive cocoa powder to achieve such darkness and smooth richness, but I actually used good ol’ Hershey’s! More specifically, their Special Dark Chocolate cocoa powder. No fancy schmancy Valrhona and none of that costly Ghirardelli or Godiva. Just a $3 canister of good American Hershey’s!
Next up is a layer of ultra gooey and seductively sweet caramel. I removed the brownies from the oven a few minutes before they were done, then I topped them with as many Milky Way Simply Caramels as I could to make one single layer–about 1 1/2 (7 oz) pouches. I returned the brownies to the oven for a few more minutes (4 minutes was the magic number) to finish baking up as well as to soften the caramels. Immediately after taking them out of the oven, I used an offset spatula (a butter knife or rubber spatula works too) to gently smooth the individual caramels into one even layer. While the caramels will be somewhat melted, they should still keep they’re shape without a ton of caramel spilling all over the brownies. They’re basically being “stitched” together.
To add to the extravagance of these brownies, I made a third layer of peanut butter-chocolate krispies by melting together milk chocolate (Hershey’s again!) and some dark chocolate peanut butter.
I then folded in some crisp and crunchy Rice Krispies cereal and poured it on top of the brownies.
And that’s it!
Oh, and now for the hard part…you have to allow the brownies to cool completely and set up BEFORE cutting into them. Thankfully, this process can be sped up by placing them in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours–maybe less if you’re lucky!

Crack Brownies
Ingredients
For the Brownies
- 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅔ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Topping
- 10 ounces Milky Way Simply Caramels*
- 8 ounces milk chocolate
- 1 cup creamy dark chocolate peanut butter
- 1 ½ cup crispy rice cereal
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line an 8x8-inch glass dish with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cocoa powder together and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat, and stir in the sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, stirring until fully incorporated. Stir in the flour and salt.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with Milky Way caramels in a single layer and return to oven for 3-5 minutes. Using a spatula, smooth melted caramels over the top. Set aside while you work on the crispy layer.
- Place the chocolate and chocolate peanut butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for about 1 minute, remove, and stir until smooth. Return to microwave to melt more if necessary. Stir in the cereal, then spread mixture evenly over brownies, smoothing the top with a knife or spatula.
- Once brownies have cooled, cover with foil and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (or overnight) to allow the top layer to harden completely. Cut into squares and enjoy!
2 comments
These truly look like crack cocaine. Addictive, detrimental to my health but absolutely impossible to resist. I MUST try these ASAP!
Karly, you’re so right! However, isn’t chocolate supposed to be good for you? 😉