Boxed brownies are an essential pantry staple. Who doesn’t love the ease of a dump, mix, and bake dessert? This store-bought wonder is also a great building block for a semi-homemade confection. The recipes below are all clever ways to swirl, layer, and upgrade your standard boxed brownies with little to no effort. Follow these recipes to expand your brownie horizons and push your brownies from plain to extraordinary with just a couple of extra (easy) steps.
Andes Brownies
Buttercream, ganache, and a box! This three-layered treat from Delish looks just like a giant Andes mint and is a fudgy spin on a classic Texas sheet cake. To cut the sweetness of the mint buttercream, try a darker (slightly more bitter) cocoa powder for the ganache.
Potato-Chip Bacon Brownies
Maximalist bakers to the front! Crumbled potato chips and smoky bacon amp up these fudgy brownies from Trisha Yearwood for Food Network and are an indulgent combo for all you sweet-and-savory dessert lovers out there. It really goes to show that there’s no such thing as “too much” when it comes to brownies. This recipe walks you through how to make your own chocolatey batter from scratch, but you can easily add these savory, crunchy toppings to your favorite boxed mix and achieve similar results!
Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Yes, you read that right: Peanut. Butter. Cup. Brownies. We’ve taken our favorite candy and sandwiched it in the king of chocolatey desserts in this Goodtaste original. The result is a super-gooey, salty-sweet brownie with pockets of creamy peanut butter. We had the best results with the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix and King Arthur Flour’s Gluten-Free Brownie Mix.
Sweet Potato Swirl Brownies
Who would have thought that brownies and sweet potatoes would make such a perfect match? This recipe from Food52 uses a roasted, mashed sweet potato to make a simple, sweet puree and then dollops it on top of a homemade brownie batter before swirling the layers together. You can easily replicate this recipe with your favorite boxed mix. Try mixing some instant espresso or ground cinnamon into your brownies to enhance their chocolate flavor and give them a homemade spin, like the recipe author does here.
Fudgy Maple Brownies
Reminiscent of maple candy, these brownies from Olives + Thyme are finished with a layer of thick ganache infused with maple syrup. This recipe includes a how-to for homemade super-fudgy brownies, but you can get the same effect with your go-to boxed mix. Achieving a fudgy brownie is all about the ratio of fat to flour, so try adding a little extra vegetable oil or melted butter to your mix than what is instructed in the recipe. Be sure to let your brownies cool completely before lathering on the rich dark-chocolatey maple frosting.
Camouflage Chocolate Fudge Brownies
For a tangy and artful twist, check out these marbled cream cheese brownies from Bon Appétit. Swirls of cream cheese give this dessert a retro look—a technique that is easy to replicate with homemade brownie mix.
Zucchini Brownies
Looking for a way to sneak in some extra veggies without your little ones (or your spouse) noticing? These clever brownies from Betty Crocker mix grated zucchini into the batter and enhance the fudgy chocolate flavor with dark chocolate chips and frosting. The tender zucchini melts into the baked brownies so no one will be the wiser!
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