7 Tips to Make Your Boxed Brownies A Little “Extra”
Article By | Lizzie West
1. Add vanilla. This is a super easy way to elevate just about any baked sweet. If you’re one to keep it simple, invest in a high quality vanilla extract – a fan favorite is Mexican Vanilla. Adding a small capful to any brownie mix (or anything chocolate – yum) will really bring out that true chocolate flavor.
2. Candy Bar Brownies. Chop up your favorite candy bar and add it to the batter before baking to fool anyone into thinking they are fancier than they actually are. I love adding peanut butter cups.
3. Cookies are awesome, too! Everyone loves Oreos, but you can add just about any cookie you love (I bet a nutter butter would be delish). You can add them whole or chopped when pouring the batter into the pan. Pour in about half the batter, layer your cookie pieces, then pour the rest of the batter over them and bake as directed.
4. Swirl it up! Make the batter as directed (or add that vanilla) and pour it into the baking dish, then pick what you’re going to swirl into your brownies. Caramel is a classic option, as is peanut butter (at a 4:1 ratio with powdered sugar). Add dollops of your swirling mixture to the brownie batter in the baking dish and swirl it with a knife before putting it in the oven. If you add pecans to the caramel swirl, you end up with a turtle brownie, yum! (bonus: adding nuts to brownies is a great idea, too)
5. Cheesecake brownies. This is another thing you can swirl into your brownies and it really adds so much to the end result. Mix 1 1/2 blocks cream cheese, 1 egg, 1 TBS flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla and swirl as described above.
6. Fruit brownies? Easy and lower in fat, you can make your brownies with 1 egg and 1 can of just about any fruit (with the juice). Bake as directed and enjoy! This one’s pretty easy but looks like you really tried. *wink wink*
7. Frost in the summer? We aren’t talking about snow here. Adding a light layer of frosting to brownies makes them look fancy and taste rich and amazing. You can even pre-cut them and use a cute piping tip to add a swirl of frosting to each individual brownie for something even more “extra”.
Get creative, experiment, and feel free to use more than one of these tips in the same batch of brownies! Have a blast getting the kids involved in trying new ways to make dessert for the whole family!