Thanksgiving Baking Failure...

My part for Thanksgiving dinner this year was to bring a dessert.  Not the turkey, not a side, but dessert.  Sounds easy, right??  Wrong.  At least for me...

Yesterday morning I was talking to my mom and we were discussing ideas for something I could bring that would be fairly easy and delicious.  Last weekend she had made this recipe for a party at her house and they truly were yummy.  I'm heading to my in-laws today and this dessert seemed perfect.  Someone else was already bringing a pie and I thought to myself, "who doesn't love anything with chocolate??"

I made note of all the ingredients and Ryan and I headed to the store after running a few errands yesterday afternoon.  As expected, the grocery store was packed but we managed to get in and out in a descent time. I had most of these ingredients at home but needed to pick up a few of the items.  We first stood in the baking aisle forever trying to find heath bits o'brickle.  We never ended up finding this exact bag but I think we found something comparable.  The next thing we  needed was eggs and milk.  We wandered over and grabbed a few eggs but couldn't find the milk.  I debated googling Eagle Brand milk but decided against it since 8 million people were standing around so I just grabbed a Kroger brand bottle of 2% milk.  I told myself Eagle Brand must be a specific brand found in Arkansas and that the Kroger brand would be just fine as a substitute.  Big mistake....

1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/3 c. butter
1 (14 oz.) Eagle Brand milk
1 c. chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1/2 c. Heath Bits O' Brickle
After following all the instructions I carefully placed the pan in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes.  I thought it looked a little funny but convinced myself it was fine.  35 minutes later I pulled the pan out of the oven and knew something wasn't right.  I quickly took a picture and sent it to my mom asking her if hers looked like this last weekend.

She was nice and responded that hers was a little browner and that maybe I needed to put it back in the oven.  We wrote back and forth a few times then she just called me. We went over the recipe and decided I had done everything right.  Then she asked me if I had used sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk because that might have made a difference.  I told her I used 2% milk.  And she laughed.  Then I laughed.  Then I decided that I should have just picked up a cheesecake to bring for dessert.

The first batch.  And yes, it was terrible....

I was then determined that I was going to make something for dessert and wasn't going to give up.  I asked Ryan if he would so kindly go back to the grocery store to pick up Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk and another box of cake mix.  If only you could have seen the look he gave me....

I grabbed my keys and braved the crowds once more.

I came home, popped open a Corona, and pulled out my already washed baking bowls and utensils.... 

I also decided to take pics along the way in case anyone else wants to make this recipe. 

Please note that if you use regular 2% milk it does NOT look like this.  If only I had taken a pic the first go round.  This is what it should look like if you use Eagle Brand milk....

Ready to go in the oven!  Once again, if you use regular milk it is much runnier than this.  I also used chocolate chips this time instead of pecans. 

And here's Benny!  He was always near the action in case I accidentally dropped something....

Right out of the oven... 

And the finished product!  I was actually able to cut these up.  They weren't runny and doughy like the first batch!  And yes, they are delicious.  I may have sampled one or two this morning :)

I also want to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  Ryan and I are so blessed and we are looking forward to spending the day with his family and then my family tomorrow.