Sometimes eating a brownie sprinkled with colourful candy-coated chocolate is so much more fun than a regular brownie and that's what this Cosmic Brownie Recipe is all about!
Hear me out - I am a brownie purist! It's pure fudge all the way for me and I'm not usually a fan of nuts or any other bits and bobs that one might put into brownie batter.
BUT - these copycat Cosmic Brownies brought me waaaaaaay way back and I loved it!
So what makes Cosmic Brownies different?
Well the store-bought version that we remember has a sort of plasticy chewy texture - now that doesn't sound great but then why do we like it? Well what we don't like is the hydrogenated oils and bland chocolate taste, but I'm going to bring you a homemade version made with butter, better chocolate flavour and a little secret ingredient, but it still delivers on the taste and texture that our memories hold so fondly!
TIPS FOR MAING COSMIC BROWNIE RECIPE:
1) Use unsweetened chocolate - we will balance out the intensity with more sugar but adding all of the sugar as granulated sugar rather than the finely milled sugar that comes with melted sweet chocolate means that these brownies will have more "chew" as opposed to the classic sticky and fudgy brownie.
2) Brown sugar adds a caramel-like sweetness that is typical of commercial Cosmic Brownies.
3) The brownie batter is lightened up slightly with the addition of ¼ cup of sour cream. This is just enough to tame the chocolate bitterness, but more importantly it helps create the chewy texture.
4) Don't be shy about the vanilla - give them a generous teaspoon! Classic Cosmic Brownies have a lot of vanilla flavour and it sweetens up the chocolate taste.
5) Make ahead - the longer these brownies chill in the fridge, the better and chewier they will get.
6) Hot water icing - this recipe will give you both the gloss and set that makes them so perfect! It will firm up in the fridge, but then be soft at room temperature.
7) Don't forget the colourful candy 🙂
I hope you get the chance to make these soon and let me know what you think!
Homemade Cosmic Brownies
Ingredients
Brownie batter:
- 3 oz 85g unsweetened chocolate
- 6 tablespoon 84g unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ⅔ cup 145g packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup 100g granulated sugar
- ¼ cup 60ml full fat sour cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup 95g all-purpose flour
Icing:
- ¼ cup 60ml hot water
- 2 tablespoon 28g butter
- 1 tablespoon 15ml corn syrup
- pinch of salt
- 2 oz 56g dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 oz 56g milk chocolate, chopped
- candy-coated chocolate pieces for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang at each side.
- Melt together butter and chocolate either in a saucepan over very low heat or in the microwave and stir until smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine eggs, both sugars, salt, vanilla and beat with electric hand mixer until pale and thick. Stir in sour cream. Add warm melted chocolate mixture. Add flour and fold it through until just combined – do not over-mix.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 25 minutes until puffed and just set in the center. A skewer inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs attached. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely in the pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (this is key to the soft fudgy texture).
- For the icing, bring hot water, butter, corn syrup and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then whisk until smooth and glossy. Pour over cooled brownie slab and refrigerate until set. Then top with candy-coated chocolate pieces and slice into squares.
Meghan
definitely better than the store-bought ones! Love this recipe.
christina.marsigliese
Thanks Meghan! Better than store-bought for sure!
Anna
These are so soft and fudgy! My kids loved them too 🥰.