Recipe(tried): Cake Mix Brownies

I'm a sucker for back-of-the-box recipes, so here's a tried and true that I;ve used more times than I can remember. It's a quick way to make brownies without a brownie mix and tastes just as good:

White Chocolate-Nut Bars
Makes 32 Bars

1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) moist butter recipe chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine or butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 Tbsps water
1 egg
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 pkg. (10 oz.) vanilla milk chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease rectangular pan, 9 x 13-inches. Mix cake mix (dry), margarine, brown sugar, water and egg in large bowl, using spoon. Stir in walnuts and vanilla milk chips. Pressfirmly in pan. Bake 32 to 36 minutes or until top forms a crust that is dry to the touch. Cool completely. Cut into 2 x 1-1/2-inch bars.

High Altitude (over 3500 feet): Not recommended.

This recipe will work with just about any cake mix, with the exception of any "weird" mixes containing multi-colored bits (have tried and not thrilled with results); however, it works with a chocolate chip cake mix, so probably has something to do with the composition of the chips in these confetti-type mixes.

I have used yellow, white, chocolate, Devil's Food (YUM!), fruit-flavored mixes and whatever I had on the shelf when I needed "something" to take. I have added basic chocolate chips, peanut butter flavored chips, mint chips and even toffee bits and smashed toffee candy; they all work.

Brownies can be frosted, used for quickie trifles with whipped topping of choice and fresh fruit (bake up nicely in square or round layer pans) or just about anyway you might want.

NOTE: this recipe does not lend itself to low-fat (other than margarine) replacement with applesauce. Have tried it a few times, but the brownies are hard as rocks (much like biscotti) and need to be dunked in a beverage to render them soft enough to chew.

Hope you like this recipe -- I've never had a leftover brownie yet!