Homemade Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies

by Averie Sunshine on June 3, 2013

Growing up, I loved Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies and Cosmic Brownies so much.

Show me a box of either, and I could show you a pile of cellophane wrappers minutes later.

Although it’s been years since I’ve had a storebought Cosmic Brownie, I had a craving for them and decided to try my hand at a homemade version.

This isn’t the first Little Debbie snack I’ve recreated. A few months ago I made Homemade Little Debbie Star Crunch and recently posted a collection of 25 Copycat Recipes. Apparently I like trying to re-invent the wheel.

In terms of authenticity, I give them an 8 out of 10, with easy tweaks noted below to bring that score higher.

In terms of being a fabulous brownie overall, I give them a 10 out of 10. This brownie base is likely to become my new go-to. I loved everything about these brownies.

I created this brownie base by adapting my two favorite brownie bases, Fudgy Nutella Brownies and The Ultimate Fudgy Caramel Brownies. I’d like to make all 3 at once and do side-by-side comparisons, and I’ll get to that right after I budget in money for a new pants wardrobe.

Both of my previous brownie bases use melted butter and a whisk, so they come together in minutes in own bowl, without needing a mixer. From there, I took my favorite things from each recipe – such as a 9×9 pan and using both brown and granulated sugars from Fudgy Nutella; and two eggs, cocoa powder, and espresso powder from The Ultimate.

The brownies are dark, dense, rich, the edges are just a bit chewy, with a moist and ultra-fudgy interior. There’s zero traces of cakiness and the fudge factor reigns supreme.

I love the recipe and don’t want to change a thing but in order to make them more authentic, use natural unsweetened cocoa powder rather than Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder,  and increase the flour by about 1/4 cup. Cosmic Brownies aren’t as dark and are slightly more cakey, but I prefer darker and fudgier to lighter and cakier.

Baking them in a 9×9 pan was my preference, but if you want brownies closer to the real deal, use a 9×13 pan. I don’t like brownies that are on the thin side.

The ganache layer is a bit thicker and when it comes to chocolate, thicker and more is better in my book, but use less if you wish.

I used more M&M minis than you’d find on Cosmic Brownies because skimpy isn’t an option. Note that when using M&Ms, they fade. The same thing happened when I made this Frozen Chocolate Pudding and Wafer Cake. The color starts leeching out as they sit on top of chocolate or post-refrigeration when coming back up to room temp. Not a huge deal, but something to mention.

The benefit is that as they sit on the ganache, they soften a bit and become chewy rather than crunchy. The texture of chewy M&Ms is just fabulous and is like nothing I’ve ever had, which more than makes up for their slightly muted color.

As the ganache sets up, it remains soft and firms up just enough to not make a total mess when slicing the brownies. I hate it when the top layer of chocolate cracks, and this isn’t that kind of chocolate.

Upon biting into a dense yet chewy brownie, soft ganache squishes and almost squirts between your teeth. And there’s chewy, ganache-softened M&M’s.

It’s the best texture party ever. Ever.

I may be biased, but these are way better than Cosmic Brownies.

And quite possibly, they’re the best brownies I’ve ever had.

Print Save

I've always loved Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies and this homemade version is even better than the real thing. The brownies are dark, dense, and rich. The edges are just a bit chewy, with a moist and ultra-fudgy interior. There's zero traces of cakiness and the fudge factor reigns supreme. They're fast and easy to make, and come together in minutes in one bowl, without a mixer. The ganache is the perfect rich and luxurious compliment to the intensely chocolaty brownies. They're quite possibly they're the best brownies I've ever had.

Yield: one 9-by-9-inch pan, 12 generous squares

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

For the Brownies
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons coffee or water (coffee leftover from the morning brew is fine)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder or dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 teaspoon instant espresso granules (make sure it's instant so it dissolves), optional but recommended
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the Ganache
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup half-and-half or cream (I used half-and-half)
1 cup M&M minis (they're sold in small tubes and I used 1 1/2 tubes; regular size M&Ms may be substituted)

For the Brownies - Preaheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.In a large, microwave safe bowl, melt the butter, about 90 seconds on high power.Add the eggs, sugars, coffee, vanilla, and whisk to combine.Add the cocoa powder, instant espresso, and whisk until incorporated, free from lumps, and smooth. It could take a few minutes if your cocoa powder is lumpy.Add the flour and stir until it's just incorporated; don't overmix.Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 29 minutes, or until top has just set, isn't jiggly in the center, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few fudgy moist crumbs, but no batter. I baked mine for 26 minutes. Allow brownies to cool completely in pan. While brownies cool, make the ganache.For the Ganache - Add chocolate chips to a medium, microwave-safe bowl and heat on high power for 1 minute to soften chips. They won't be melted, this is okay. Don't stir; set bowl aside.Heat cream in a glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl until it begins to bubble and show signs of just beginning to boiling, about 1 minute on high power.Pour cream over chocolate chips and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.With a whisk, beat mixture until silky, smooth, and combined. If your mixture isn't smoothing out, heat in 15-second bursts in the microwaves until it can be stirred smooth.Pour ganache over mostly cooled brownies (after about 30 minutes is fine; they don't have to be completely cooled). Smooth ganache lightly with a spatula or offset knife.Evenly sprinkle with M&Ms. Cover pan with a sheet of foil to prevent fridge smells, and place pan in refrigerator until ganache sets up before slicing and serving, at least 2 hours. Do not slice into them until the ganache has set; feel free to make these in advance and store them in the fridge; they get better with time. Brownies will keep airtight for 1 week at room temperature, for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, and for up to 6 months in the freezer. I highly recommend storing them in the refrigerator because having a slight chill to brownies this rich and fudgy is almost imperative.

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

Homemade Little Debbie Star Crunch (no-bake)

25+ Copycat Recipes

Butterfinger Bars (No-Bake, with Vegan & GF options)

Ritz Cracker Stuffed Peanut Butter Cups (No-Bake, Vegan)

Fudgy Nutella Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

The Ultimate Fudgy Caramel Brownies

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache – The best, fastest, and easiest chocolate cake

Soft and Chewy Brownie Cookies

Frozen Chocolate Pudding and Wafer Cake (No-Bake, 3 ingredients)

Cosmic Brownie Fan? Other favorite storebought treats you grew up eating?

I know there will be some people who say they’ve never tried a real Cosmic Brownie. Well, now you can just make these instead.

Thanks for the entries in the Peanut Butter Comfort Cookbook and KitchenAid Hand Blender Giveaway and in the Favorite Mini & Petite Treats and Cookbook Giveaway

View the original article here

Stout Chocolate Brownies Plus 20 More Great Stout Recipes

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

As you’ll find out when you ask me over for dinner sometime—which I’m hoping you certainly would consider because on a good night I can be a pretty darn entertaining dinner guest and just might clear the dishes from the table if I’m feeling generous—and you ask me to bring a little something sweet to our potluck dinner—say for instance an Irish celebration that is happening this coming weekend—my dessert of choice usually veers from the frilly and delicate sweet treat variety to something a bit more sturdy and craveable. Macarons? Not. so. much. It will be a long, long time before I try my hand at making a macaron. I’m afraid I don’t have the patience or the skill to pull them off.

Basically, macarons scare me.

No, I’m definitely more of a hearty dessert type of gal, baking up something a bit more forgiving and a tad more freeform. Chocolate Stout Brownies in all of their fudgey glory are right up my dessert alley.

So are you staring at your computer right now thinking to yourself, “What the, whhhhaaat? Why would someone waste a perfectly good beer to ruin brownies, or any other recipe by dumping it into a recipe?”

Oh honey. Hold your horses and let the heads of your brews settle down. I have a selection of 20 great recipe reasons to add beer to your favorite recipes. But first we need to get to the bottom of these brownies.

Whenever I make chocolate brownies I find myself adding that little something extra to deepen the flavor and enhance the taste of the brownies. Most of my brownie making escapades involves the addition of instant espresso powder and kosher salt to add to the chocolateness. This time it’s the stout that does the trick. You won’t taste the beer taste at all, it’s merely a richness that enhances my love of chocolateness.

I prefer my brownies dark and somewhat of the fudge-like arena of taste. I don’t really care for them with frosting or too cakey, like, you know, the ones you see in the grocery store with a thick layer of lard frosting and decorated to fit the theme of the month in little plastic containers? If I wanted frosting and cake I’d eat cake. Am I right or am I right?

I also like my brownies with a focus on the chocolate instead of the sugar. I crave an afternoon treat—or maybe even breakfast bite—with a more dedicated taste of deep chocolate, one that perfectly balances a great latte, so I like to use bittersweet chocolate in my brownie recipes but will certainly entertain a semisweet as well.

For this recipe I kept the sugar at just one cup, but if you make these and feel they don’t give you the sugar fix you were looking for, feel free to give them another try with another half cup of sugar added to the mix.

A few brownie making tips:

1. While I didn’t use the flavored Chocolate Stout in this recipe, if you feel so inclined to add yet another delicious layer to your brownie, by all means, DO IT! A chocolate glaze (no, not frosting) on the crunchy top wouldn’t be half bad either. Give it a whirl, let me know what you think.

2. I took a tip in baking these from my Wisconsin cheese tour last year where I learned from a local chef a terrific secret to baking moist and delicious brownies. “Go low and slow,” he said. 250 degrees. That’s all you need. And that’s all I do now. And they come out perfectly crackled on the top and moist on the inside.

3. Patience. Brownies require patience. Not for cooking or preparing. No, patience to keep you from eating straight out of the pan or cutting and devouring too soon. Brownies are best eaten the second day after they’ve had some time to settle in and get ready for the ride, so plan ahead and bake them, let them cool and then put away your salivatory glands until the next day or you’ll end up with an ooey, gooey mess. These babies need standing time.

4. If you’re afeared of the beer, you can omit from the recipe.

Ingredients

10 ounces 60% bittersweet chocolate chips Instructions

Preheat oven at 250 degrees F. Prepare a 9" X 9" baking pan with aluminum foil allowing foil to hang over the edges and spray with cooking spray. Bring stout to a boil and reduce to simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Set aside to cool. In a double boiler or a small bowl atop a small saucepan filled with 1 inch of water, melt chocolate chips and butter over high heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Pour melted chocolate into a medium bowl and cool slightly. Add sugar, vanilla and salt and mix well with a whisk or wooden spoon. Add eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined before adding the next egg. Fold flour into mixture and pour into baking pan. Bake for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 2 hours or overnight to firm up for best cutting. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.http://www.foodiecrush.com/2013/03/stout-chocolate-brownies-plus-20-more-great-stout-recipes/

Now that we’ve gotten a taste of the creamy nectar of the beer gods, here’s a few more sturdy stout pours nestled in delicious food blogger recipes. Enjoy, my Irish for a day friends.

Chocolate Stout Sorbet from Hannah at Nothing but Delicious

Drunken Buffalo Sandwiches with Fried Sage from Bobbi of Fresh and Foodie

Guinness Floats from Ali of Gimme Some Oven

Chocolate Stout Waffle Sundae with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce from Jackie of The Beeroness

Zeppoles (Italian Donuts) with a Stout, Chocolate Chili Sauce from Zach and Justine of Cooking & Beer

Beer-Candied Bacon from Laura of Tide and Thyme

Scallops On Smoked Sweet Corn Puree with Stout Balsamic Glaze from Jackie at Domestic Fits

Chocolate Stout Pudding Pie from Giselle on the Kitchn

Chocolate Stout Cookies with Salted  Caramel Frosting and Pretzels from Theresa of Craving Chronicles

Beef and Stout Pie from Lana of Never Enough Thyme

Milk Stout French Toast from Steph of The Girl and Her Beer

Stout-Braised Short Ribs from Angie at Sea Salt with Food

Stout French Dip from Jackie of The Beeroness

Fried Spicy Sweet Pickles and Shiner Bock, with a Chipotle Mayo Dipping Sauce from Kelly of the Meaning of Pie

Cheeseburger Beer Soup from Karen at Soup Addict

Gingerbread Cake from Krissy at Krissy’s Creations

Chocolate Stout Crepes and Irish Cream Whip from Megan of Wanna Be A Country Cleaver

Mushroom and Stout Pot Pies with Sweet Potato Crusts from Laura of The First Mess

Vegan “Beef” Stew with Dark Truth Stout from Katherine of Gouda Monster

Stout Cupcakes with Chocolate Covered Pretzels from Jamie of My Baking Addiction 

Crispy Beer Battered Fish Sandwich from Kevin at Closet Cooking

If these recipes find you just tipping the top of the cooking with beer iceberg, definitely head over to see what Ali at Gimme Some Oven is cooking up during Guinness Week and Jackie has a plethora of beer induced recipes at The Beeroness.

Related Recipes
Mom’s Homemade Fudge
Caramel Apple Brownies
Devil’s Food Bundt Cake with Espresso Ganache

Thanks for reading and please keep in touch by subscribing to FoodieCrush and follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest. Posts may include affiliate shopping links of which I receive a small percentage of sales to allow me to create new and special content like this for my readers, so thank you for your support. All opinions are my own.

Pin It Tagged as: beer, brownies, chocolate, dessert, recipes, sweets

View the original article here

Red Velvet Brownies

I’m so obsessing over these Red Velvet Brownies. They are crazy decadent and gorgeous and sure to make your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/secret admirer super happy this coming Valentine’s Day! 

You should totally make these.

First, let’s start with lining a baking pan with foil. You could also use parchment. I just like to line it with something that is going to be easy to lift the brownies out of the pan when it’s time to serve. And also, hello … no cleanup! Love that.

Start by putting some really fab quality cocoa powder in a small bowl.

Add red food coloring and some vanilla. 

Give it a little stir until it turns into a little bit of a paste and then set it aside.

In a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter.

And then add in the eggs, one at a time.

Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition so the eggs are fully incorporated. 

Next, add the red colored paste into the stand mixer.

Beat the mixture until there is a uniform red color throughout.

Add in your flour and salt and then mix very lightly until combined.

Add in some chocolate chips for a little extra decadence! 

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and make sure it’s evenly spread out. Place it into the oven and let it do its thing. 

While the brownies are baking, let’s make the white chocolate frosting. You’re going to need some white chocolate chips.

You’ll also need some powdered sugar and, of course, butter! 

Place the room temperature butter in the mixer and whip until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy. 

Meanwhile, when the brownies are done, pull them out of the oven and let them cool to room temperature.

While the brownies are cooling, melt the white chocolate according to the package directions. And then add it into the frosting mixture. Whip until fully combined.

Add a splash or two of milk to thin out the frosting a bit.

It should look like this.

Using an offset spatula, frost the top of the cooled brownies. 

And then serve!

A huge thank you to TK member and fellow TK Blog contributor Jessica for these delicious sinful brownies! Have you visited her blog How Sweet It Is yet? Because you should. Trust me.

Dense, chewy brownies with just a hint of cocoa.

For the brownies:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Butter and flour an 8 x 8 cake pan.

In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to create a paste.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add remaining teaspoon of vanilla. With the mixer on medium speed, add in cocoa powder mixture. Beat until batter is completely red. (If at this time your batter is NOT red, you can add a little more food coloring if desired. Color will depend on brand.) Add flour and salt, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread into the 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:
Cream butter in an electric mixer until fluffy, then add vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer on low speed. Add in melted white chocolate and beat until incorporated. To reach desired consistency, add in milk 1 teaspoon at a time with mixer on low speed. If frosting becomes too liquidy, simply add additional sugar.

FOR THE BROWNIES:3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder2 Tablespoons Red Food Coloring2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract, Divided Use½ cups Butter, At Room Temperature1-½ cup Sugar2 whole Eggs1-¼ cup All-purpose Flour¼ teaspoons Salt? cups Chocolate Chips (optional)_____FOR THE FROSTING:1 stick Butter, At Room Temperature1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract2-½ cups Powdered Sugar4 ounces, weight White Chocolate, Melted2 Tablespoons Milk (may Need More Or Less)

_______________________________________

Gaby Dalkin is the young lady behind What’s Gaby Cooking, a food blog that’s bursting at the seams with incredible recipes and food photography. She’s a personal chef and professional recipe developer, and if you follow her on Twitter, you’ll soon discover her two-fold obsession: guacamole and cheese. She has small feet, a large heart, and a smile that can light up the whole building. We’re pretty stoked to have her here.

View the original article here