Newton Citizen

Caramel brownies make a sweet dessert.

German chocolate cake. Caramel candies. Milk chocolate chips.

Are you drooling yet? All of those ingredients and a few more are what make up this week's featured recipe -- caramel brownies.

Get your glass of milk ready -- that is my best advice about this devilishly rich treat.

Bonny Watson, a Conyers resident for 25 years, submitted this ooey-gooey brownie recipe. She stumbled upon it while at a Christian retreat called A Walk to Emmaus.

"I took one bite and I was hooked," Bonny said.

Now, Bonny takes these brownies to all kinds of functions and they are a hit wherever she goes. I have tasted them and I know why they are a hit.

She is the wife of Fred, the mother of two daughters, Rebecca and Bethany, a member of Crossroads United Methodist Church and has been employed with Citizens Trust Bank for 10 years.

Before being employed with the bank, she was also a nurse and she worked for the Rockdale County Public School System.

As sweet as this dessert is, the story of how I came upon Bonny Watson is the best part of all.

My mother-in-law Janie Wells banks at Citizens. She has known Bonnie for a while now and she and Bonnie got to talking about the Recipe Box.

Then Bonny and I exchanged a couple of e-mails and we set up a time to talk. While I was interviewing her, I was thinking to myself, "I know this lady; her name sounds so familiar."

As she discussed her different careers, Bonny mentioned she had worked in the school system, and I knew exactly who she was -- she was my third-grade teacher's assistant at Barksdale Elementary School. Her voice brought back some sweet memories.

As I made the brownies, images of my experiences in third grade became very vivid to me. Bonny and Mrs. Rickert, my third-grade teacher, helped set some great academic standards for me, and provided me with some great memories.

So while you stir up these to-die-for brownies, make some of your own great memories. I'll always remember Bonny and her smile when I make these brownies.