Brownie mix boxed brownies can be made even better with any one of these simple ideas. From add ins, to toppings, these brownie ideas are all delicious and perfect for an easy dessert!
Brownies, I love them in all forms. But, I mostly LOVE brownies from a box. In fact, I’ve never tried making brownies from scratch because I’ve never had better brownies than the brownies I’ve made, or the one’s I’ve had that came from a box.
But sometimes I want to add a little somethin’ somethin’ to my box brownies. So after trying a few things out here are some of my favorites and some other ideas I found online that sound equally delicious…
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1. Add chunks of your favorite chocolate candy bar to the mix. Chop up 1 large candy bar into 1 centimeter sized pieces and add them to your brownie mix. My favorites are peanut butter cups for a chocolate peanut butter fix, and milky-way for something caramely. Some other yummy choices, would be peppermint patties, twix, m&ms, almond joy, any of your favorite chocolate candy bars would be delicious!
2. Add vanilla extract to the brownie mix. Add 1 tsp to 1 TBS vanilla when you are mixing all the ingredients together. This will bring out the chocolate flavor, and add a delicious vanilla taste to the brownies!
3. Add chocolate chips to the brownie mix before baking. Try mixing the “chocolate” chips in with the brownie batter. You could add 1 cup of dark, semi sweet, milk, white chocolate, cinnamon, mint or even peanut butter chips. You could also try a mix, like peanut butter and chocolate chips, or mint and white chocolate, etc.
4. Top your brownies with white, chocolate or peanut butter chips after they bake. As soon as the brownies come out of the oven sprinkle chips on liberally, allow them to melt a little and then spread them over the top to create a frosting with them.
5. Add marshmallows to the brownie mix. Stir in 1/2 of a bag of small marshmallows into the prepared brownie batter. You could also wait to add the marshmallow till the brownies are almost done baking. Sprinkle the same amount on top and return the brownies to the oven to finish cooking and allow marshmallows to melt. To make “rocky road” brownies try mixing in the marshmallows and some chopped nuts; almonds, walnuts or pecans.
6. Add chopped nuts to your brownie mix. Chop up some nuts with a knife or a food processor and add them to your mix before baking. Try adding peanut, walnuts, pecans, cashews or almonds. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped nuts depending on your preference.
7. Top the brownies with frosting. After your brownies are done baking, and have cooled a little, add your favorite frosting to the top. Homemade or from a can, either way is a winner. My favorites are plain chocolate or coconut pecan.
8. Add crushed peppermints. Crush peppermint candy canes in a bag with a rolling pin or with a food processor. Add about 1 cup of the crushed candy pieces to the brownie mixture. Try adding 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract for an even stronger mint flavor.
9. Add cookie pieces. Break or chop your favorite cookie into small pieces and add 1 cup of them into the mixture before baking. Oreos, Nutter Butters or Chocolate Chip Cookies are delicious. Try adding whole cookies to your brownies as well. Pour half of the batter, put a layer of cookies and then top with the rest of the batter.
10. Make cheesecake brownies. You’ll need 1 1/2 blocks cream cheese, 1 egg, 1 TBS flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla for the cheesecake swirl. Go to the cheesecake swirled brownies here for the full recipe.
11. Add caramel syrup to the brownies. After pouring the brownie batter into the pan, pour caramel syrup over the batter. Swirl caramel throughout the batter with a knife. To make “turtle” brownies also add some pecans into the batter.
12. Add 1 can of fruit to the brownie mix. Take your brownie mix, 1 egg and 1 can of fruit with juice (raspberry, cherry, etc) and mix carefully to keep the fruit pieces intact. This eliminates using oil in your brownies and makes them a little lower in fat. You could also try this with a boxed cake mix.
13. Make individual brownie bites. Do this by pouring the batter into a sprayed muffin pan instead of an 8×8 or 9×13 inch pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, checking them closely with a toothpick so they don’t overcook. (Try adding a piece of small candy or a cookie to the middle of the mix in each pan, rolos, kisses, oreos, etc.) Try bite sized brownies in a mini muffin pan.
14. Make brownie cookies. Mix brownie mix with 1 egg (instead of 2), 1/3 cup oil, 2 TBS water, and 1/4 cup of flour. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes until the cookies look set. You could still try adding your favorite mixins to these cookies, chocolate chips, candy bar pieces, etc.
15. Try combining more than one of the suggestions to improve your mix brownies even more. Mix in candy chunks and add frosting. Try adding nuts and chocolate chips. Add cream cheese and fresh fruit.
Ps. Click on pictures for their sources.
What do you do to improve boxed brownies?
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If you like these 15 ideas for jazzing up boxed brownies, then you’ll love these too!
15 More Ways To Jazz Up Boxed Brownies
Wilfred Windsor says
Hello. When you’re making the cream cheese brownies, do you add the ingredients listed with the box recipe or do you skip the box directions all-together?
Also, how does the brownies taste with cookies added? I have family likes Oreo cookies so maybe that would be a nice idea.
Thank you for taking time to put this together to help people, very creative and nice ideas. Love love.
Aimee Berrett says
Hi Wilfred! You’ll prepare the brownie mix according to the directions, then make the cream cheese swirl and mix it in to the brownie batter in the pan before its baked! I love the brownies with Oreos added, just a simple little extra chocolatey bite! Let me know if you try them 🙂
Maureen bonner says
Hi and thank you for your ideas. We went with crushed twix bar in between two 9×9 round pans of regular box brownie. I melted dark chocolate to give the twix something to stick to and then iced the cake and put more of the crushed twix on top. Brownie cake! Its my sons birthday and his favorite is brownies.
Aimee Berrett says
Mmm that sounds like the perfect “birthday” cake!! Yum!
Donna Barstow Cartoons says
I just wanted to thank you for the cream cheese mix-in suggestion. I tried a recipe years ago with cupcakes and cream cheese, which was GREAT, but never thought of adding it to brownies. Fantastic idea.
Aimee Berrett says
No problem Donna! Its one of my favorites!
Pam Neumann says
How much cream cheese? 8 oz or a little 3 oz package?
Aimee Berrett says
I’ve never seen the 3oz packages, that would be great for some things. I use 8oz!
Alexis says
I’m a fan of gooey, chocolatey brownies so I always add these to the mix: about 1/2 tbs vanilla, 1-2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 tsp espresso powder.
Depending on what I have in the house I might add more things. Sometimes a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon or a splash of milk helps too.
I’ve also heard that if you like airy, cake-like brownies, adding an extra egg or 1-2 tbs of mayonnaise helps make that texture.
My parents love nutty brownies so sometimes I’ll add about a 1/2 cup or more of chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter. To increase the nutty flavor even more I’d add about 1-2 tbs of creamy peanut butter or almond butter.
emily says
I am getting ready to make these with little chopped up Reese’s cups! Thanks for the idea 😀
Aimee Berrett says
Reeses are one of my favorite things to add!
Anna VanDeWeert says
I put shredded zucchini in the batter as well as replacing the oil with unsweetened applesauce. I also make mine from scratch using Hershey dark cocoa powder instead of regular cocoa powder. I would love to try these other add ins when I make low-fat brownies for one of my classes.
Aimee Berrett says
Great idea to make them a little healthier!
Dee Nally says
Has anyone added coconut? Would I have to adjust the amount of water?
Shauna says
I have not added plain coconut, but I have added mini Mounds coconut candy bars. I put half the brownie batter in the pan, chop the candy bars and arrange them in the pan so you get some in every bite. (I may have baked for two more minutes than I usually do.) Dee-licious!
Aimee Berrett says
Adding different candy bars is my favorite thing to do for brownies. Mounds sound delicious!
Wendy says
Box brownie mix is my all time comfort food. I love all these creative recipe ideas- gilding the lily, but hey, why not. I can’t wait to try out some of these tips-crushed Oreos, mini marshmallows and Symphony candy bars, oh my!
Christine Weems says
Brownie mix with dollops of Nutella swirled in before baking makes a delicious brownie. Another option is to swirl in dollops of raspberry jam before baking. Enjoy!
Aimee Berrett says
That sounds amazing Christine. I think I’m going to try some with nutella AND raspberries!
Emily says
That’s what I was thinking of doing! Did you try it? If so, how did it turn out? Any change of directions?
Aimee Berrett says
Emily, I have tried it with raspberry and nutella and it was delicious! It’ll be a full recipe in my cook book, but I made a quick raspberry preserve with fresh raspberries and heated the nutella a little to make it easier to swirl. Delicious!
Carrie says
Aimee – I love the crispy edges on brownies too – what is your favorite box mix?
Tim Owens says
I discovered that liberally sprinkling Heath Toffee Chips on top of the brownie batter in the pan and then baking makes for one really tasty batch o’ brownies! The toffee chips don’t just melt away in to the batter, they retain their individual tasty “toffee-ness!”
Aimee Berrett says
Thank you Tim! I can’t wait to try my next batch that way. YUM!
timinator2kxi says
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7I6o9TB2qJRa2tXT1NmMm1Eclk/view?usp=sharing
Tara says
My family laughs at me because I claim to make the best brownies out of the box 😉
Thanks for giving me some ideas to “bling my brownies”!
Aimee Berrett says
Haha your welcome Tara! They are my favorite too so its fun to add new things to spice em up!
Anne says
I ❤️ maple syrup how much and how would I add it? Thanks
Aimee Berrett says
Anne, I’m not sure how it would work to add maple syrup to the brownie batter so I would make a maple butter cream to put on top of the brownies, http://thissillygirlslife.com/2014/09/maple-buttercream-frosting/
Liana W. says
We add cinnamon to our brownies over here, and/or do a mocha-type frosting by mixing plain vanilla frosting with those instant coffee powders. We also add cinnamon to our chocolate chip cookies, so we clearly have a love affair with cinnamon and chocolate. 😉
Aimee Berrett says
Oooh I love the idea of adding cinnamon. Definitely have to try that. In my cookies too!
Donnie Gleed says
I absolutely love these little tips and tricks to make brownies amazing I used some marshmallow with my brownie batter then I put some butter scotch chunks in OMG absolutely the best brownies I have ever eaten. I used a dehydrated brownie mix from http://www.dehydratedfoodstorage.com I couldn’t believe how delectably soft and chewy they turned out.
Desiree says
I use 2 boxes of brownie mix and a 9×13 pan. Bake at the longest time listed on the box – usually about 54 minutes. To the mix I add 1 finely chopped good dark chocolate bar, a teaspoon or 2 of vanilla, chopped pecans. I replace the water with coffee and bake. I also always line my glass pan with foil. You can pull the entire pan of brownies and cut perfectly. I promise, these are the moisten brownies ever.
Jewels says
Hard to explain so here’s the recipe for Macadamia nut/P Paul Mound/sweet coconut brownies. Heat oven to 325..
Line a 9 by 9 square baking pan with foil leaving enought on each side to make handles. Spray or lightly grease.
RECIPE
No.1- Melt 4oz unsweetened choc. Set aside to cool then
melt 1 cup unsalted butter. Set aside to cool
No 2- In small bowl mix 1&1/4 cup cake flour with 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, 1/4 tsp baking powder, & 1/4 tsp salt
Set this aside.
No.3- Quarter 12 fun size P.P.Mounds. Mix in bag with 2 tsp cake flour. Set aside.
Now whisk 4 lg eggs in lg bowl. Add 2 cups sugar and No.1.
with 2 tsp vanilla.
Add No. 2 dry ingred’s until just combined. Add No.3, 1/3 cup sweet coconut, and 1/2 cup coursely chopped macadamia nuts and stir all tog well.
Pour into lined pan. Bake 35 to 40 min. Center will be soft & top
will have slightly mottled surface. Cool on rack then refri until firm.
This is a very rich brownie.
Jewels says
My family’s favorite is Macadamia nut/Peter Paul Mound brownies. I make them from scratch. They take a little time but well worth it.Also freeze well.
Aimee Berrett says
What are Peter Paul Mound brownies?
Char Kelly says
Almond Joy and Mounds are names of candy bars made by Hershey. They were originally called Peter Paul Almond Joy and Peter Paul Mounds. Basically the same bar, “sometimes you fell like a nut; sometimes you don’t.” Mounds is chocolate covered coconut; Almond Joy has an almond on top of the bars.
D Higgins says
S’mores brownies are the best! After baking the brownies, add choc chips, mini marshmallows, and broken up Graham crackers. Broil till the marshmallows are toasted. So yummy!
Chris says
I like to make brownies in a mini-muffin pan, then drop them inside a chocolate cake mix in a giant muffin pan, and bake as normal for cupcakes, and top with either chocolate frosting or a homemade peanut butter cookie dough frosting. I did it one time with cookie cups baked on the back side of the mini muffin pan, so it was a brownie in a cookie in a cupcake with cookie-dough frosting. I called it “Dessertception,” but my friends just referred to it as “Diabeetus.”
Ali says
We love box brownies at our house! One of my favorite things to add to brownies: butterscotch chips!! So yummy! Of course I take turns with my husband’s favorite, mint chips 🙂 I’m excited to try some of your ideas! They sound fabulous!
Donna says
I had to offer my suggestion.It is a Proven way to get out of school bake sales forever! Just send in a batch of BURNT brownies and you will NEVER be asked to bake anything again. !!l
Christina Carrick says
our favorite is emptying a big box of junior mints on top right after they come out of the oven. cover with tin foil and wait 5-10 mins then spread the melty thin mints. let them harden as the brownies cool- serve and enjoy mint brownies!
Aimee Berrett says
Mmm that sounds delicious Christina! I need to try this!
Nikki says
I just want to say that the carmel syrup doesnt work…it somehow ends up under the brownies…I’ve tried this a couple different ways with no success
Aimee Berrett says
I have tried this as well and I haven’t had any problems with it. I haven’t tried it in a while, so I’ll try it again soon and let you know what I do to make it work.
gidget Jordan says
I buy the microwavable bottle of caramel and heart it up first. It seems to work better already hot
josdelights says
http://josdelights.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/sluttiest-brownies/
I love brownies too, but I can’t eat another boring brownie since I created this.
Jennifer Johanning says
Jo’s Delights, saddened you removed your recipe from the link you provided 😯 I know it’s been a while since you posted this, but maybe you might think about removing your link, as your recipe is no longer available, as I was so looking fwd to your recipe!
Aimee Berrett says
I’ve seen this recipe, or others if you just google sluttier brownies. Looks very similar http://www.food.com/recipe/even-sluttier-slutty-brownies-491951
terry says
Love all the fun ideas! I tried topping the brownies with Nestle Toll House premier white morsels as soon as they came out of the oven. Those darn things never really melted much at all, certainly not anywhere enough to spread. Then I put a few in a mug & heated in microwave a few seconds at a time to see if I could get them to melt. I have made almond bark this way b4 but with the semi sweet morsels. The white morsels never melted. I just scraped them off the top, chopped them up to use mixed in to my next batch & covered with canned frosting. Any ideas on why they did not melt.
Aimee Berrett says
White chocolate is a lot harder to melt than regular chocolate because it has a lower melting point causing it to cease up. But I have had a hard time with just different brands of regular chocolate compared to other brands. I’ve found the cheaper stuff usually melts better for me in the microwave than other brands. Next time I would recommend trying to melt it in a double boiler, but I haven’t dealt with the hersheys white morsels, so they might not work well ever.
Jennifer Johanning says
Have you tried covering with foil after topping with the white/dark chocolate? When I did this, and set back in the oven about 10 minutes, aaahhh! Don’t forget to turn off the oven when you put the now foiled pan cancel in!! When I did this, it melted enough to be spreadable.