The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to brownie mix to make it taste better? ›

Brownie textures fall into three general camps… Cakey, fudgy and chewy. Cakey brownies, like the name implies, are light, moist and airy, with a slightly fluffy, cake-like interior. Fudgy brownies are moist, dense and gooey, with almost the texture of fudge, but not quite as compact.

Fudgy brownies are dense, gooey and moist. They have a fudge-like texture while chewy brownies are dense and have an elastic texture that makes them easy to chew. Brownies are always more likeable than cakes and even cookies.

Scope out your kitchen for add-ins.

Boxed brownies can be their own blank slate for just about any snacks, sweets, or baking scraps you've got in your pantry or fridge. Add a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso powder. Throw in a handful of nuts—pecans, walnuts, macadamia, whatever you have on hand.

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.

Fudgy brownies benefit from less cocoa powder and the addition of chopped chocolate, which gets melted with the butter to create a thick, molten base. Pulling them out of the oven before a toothpick comes out clean also ensures the center stays fudge-like and gooey.

While still moist, you can expect cakey brownies to have a center that's more fluffy and less soft and gooey than fudgy or chewy brownies. Additionally, the butter and sugar are usually creamed together, rather than starting with melted butter or oil.

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.

Throw in something decadent

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.

Why are homemade brownies better than store bought? ›

However, store-bought brownies may contain preservatives and other additives that can affect their taste and texture. Homemade brownies, on the other hand, can be customized to suit individual tastes and preferences. They can also be made with fresh ingredients, which can enhance their flavor and texture.

The brownies definitely taste best the day they are baked, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature or up to 4 days in the fridge. They are even more fudgy when they're chilled.

Try swirling in half of a cup of strawberry jam or caramel sauce into the batter. To do this, once you have your batter into your pan, add two to three spoonfuls of jam or sauce in separate corners. Then, swirl your spoon all around to mix that delicious flavor into each bite.

Some of my favorite modifications are: Add chopped chunks of chocolate to the batter. The chocolate chips that come with the box are too small, and they usually just melt and dissolve in the brownie. Large chunks will be melted at first, but once the brownie cools down they have a wonderful bite to them.

Betty Crocker™ Supreme original brownie mix, plus water, vegetable oil and egg called for on box. Stir-in options: Semisweet chocolate chips, white vanilla chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, toffee bits, chopped maraschino cherries, chopped cookies, chopped chocolate candy, chopped nuts and more.