24 Fancy Brownie Recipes To Feed Your Sweet Tooth (2024)

FAQs

How do you upgrade boxed brownies? ›

Add a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso powder. Throw in a handful of nuts—pecans, walnuts, macadamia, whatever you have on hand. Scoop in a palmful of dried or frozen fruit. Add an extra splash of the top-shelf vanilla extract, or a dab of vanilla paste, or a dash of vanilla powder, to the batter.

If you opt to add more eggs, say double the amount, something interesting happens. Even though you are adding more moisture, the air bubbles that you catch in the extra eggs add volume, which decreases the density of your final product. This makes your brownies rise and gives them a much more cake-like texture.

Give your brownies some extra flavor by adding chopped candy bars to the mix. Whether it's peanut butter cups, peppermint patties, or nutty chocolate bars, adding your leftover Halloween candy (or whatever holiday candy you have laying around) will make your brownies over-the-top good.

One change is to use milk or heavy cream instead of water. This change will make brownies more moist and gooey since milk is more fatty and flavorful than water. A second change is to use butter instead of oil. For similar reasons to using milk, butter adds a rich and more decadent quality to the batter.

The quickest way to customize a batch of brownies is as easy as raiding your pantry. Stir a handful (or two) of your favorite candy into the bowl of batter, sandwich a layer of cookies and candies in between two layers of batter or work into the topping—there really is no wrong way to load your brownies up.

Amp Up The Moisture

While plenty of box mixes already brag about being super moist, there's a secret ingredient that can take that moisture even further. Good news, too: It's likely already in your fridge. All you have to do is add half a cup of sour cream to the mixture for super decadent brownies.

Cookbook author and food stylist Jerrelle Guy might have given away the secret: In an article for The Kitchn, Guy suggests the secret to a "glossy" and lifted brownie — like the ones you see in bakeries and restaurants — is to beat the eggs and the sugar together for 10 minutes before adding additional ingredients.

In brownies, both butter and oil will offer a moist, tender texture, but only butter will give the dish the aeration needed for rising brownies well. If you use a cake brownie, butter is a better option because it helps rise the batter. For denser, fudge type brownies, oil is permissable.

The contrast between the rich and bittersweet chocolate taste with some tangy and sweet berries pair together really nicely. You can add slices or whole fresh strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries on top of your brownies. A combination of berries is also very harmonious and can add more color to your brownies.

Adding Too Much Fat to the Recipe

Whether you use butter, margarine, or vegetable oil, putting too much in your brownie batter causes it to be greasy. Don't worry, you're not alone. Many people fall into this trap when trying to substitute butter with oil. The exchange isn't a one-to-one ratio.

What happens if you use butter instead of oil in brownies? ›

Oil Brownies: These were chewier with crunchier edges and a crunchier topping. They were more matte on top with a far less crinkly shiny brownie 'skin. ' They tasted more like box mix brownies. Butter Brownies: These were much fudgier, softer, and had a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Replacing Oil with Butter

It couldn't be easier to substitute butter for oil using a 1:1 ratio. This should work with olive, canola, vegetable, and coconut oils. Simply melt and cool the butter to room temperature, then continue with your recipe. (If the recipe calls for ½ cup oil, use ½ cup melted and cooled butter.)

Most brownie recipes call for some kind of oil — usually vegetable oil or canola oil. This oil acts as the primary fat in brownie batter, giving it that delicious, fudgy texture we all know and love.

Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract adds rich flavor to brownies. Eggs – Most brownie mixes call for one whole egg. Adding one large egg plus an extra egg yolk gives brownies an ultra fudgy texture.

You can absolutely substitute butter for the vegetable oil. Use the same quantity specified in the directions (for example, if it calls for 1/3 cup of oil, use 5 1/3 tablespoons of butter). Melt it down, then let it cool a bit. You might not ever go back to oil!