I tasted these delicious brownies last week when a colleague brought them in to work. They were so good that I made them a few days later for a New Year’s Eve party, and they seemed to be a hit. I’m embarrassed to say it includes a packaged mix, but these were pretty darn awesome.

Makes 2 dozen

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 box devil’s food cake mix (15–18 oz.)
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup roughly chopped pecans or walnuts
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels, divided
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 13×9-inch baking pan with foil and wrap it over the edges. Melt butter in microwave or on stovetop.

Combine in large bowl the butter, cake mix, egg, and vanilla. Blend with electric mixer 1–2 minutes or until crumbly. If you have it, use a flat beater, like this one:

Transfer 1 cup of mixture to medium bowl, stir in nuts and 1 cup morsels, set aside.

Press remaining crumb mixture firmly into baking dish. Bake 15 minutes.

Place in small saucepan the remaining 1 cup morsels and condensed milk. Cook and stir on low heat 2–3 minutes or until smooth; pour over crust.

Top with nut mixture; bake 20–25 minutes or until topping is firm to the touch. Let stand 30–40 minutes or until completely cooled. Remove foil from baking dish and cut into bars. Serve.

(This recipe is originally from Publix, with some minor changes.)