Recipe: Boxed Brownie Revolution

The pleasure of a pre-mixed staple combined with your creativity and chocolate know-how

Boxed brownies are a constant kitchen memory for me—they were found at my house, my friends’, and even later in university shared units. We really have developed into a society of convenience, and fresh brownies for your bake sale, movie night or sleepover (which is called a ‘fiesta de pijama’ in Spanish by the way) sounds like a great idea. It’s a fascinating psychological study honestly, getting masses of consumer to pay top dollar for shelf-stable boxed sugar, bleached flour, cocoa powder, and maybe chocolate chips—while they still have to shell out for the fresh wet ingredients.

Unlike some of their related bakery friends like scones or corn muffins, brownies seem to have an air of ingredient mystery to them (I think that’s chocolate’s fault, that sly minx!) that means that users aren’t/weren’t shamed for utilizing them as a base—and pretty much if you could secure that you got that crackly crust, you were golden, and the hit of the gathering. I remember when “high end” brownies joined the red boxes to their side, and tempted all of us with navy blue, gold, and black packaging luxury; they promised more chocolate and deeper fudge tastes.

You know what you were also promised with boxes—consistency—and doesn’t that just feel damn right delicious some days? Ironically, I am going to offer you ideas that will produce inconsistent final results, but if you’re consistent in eating them, that variable could see an uptick too!

Boxed brownies seem to continue to fill the shelves, and new brands tout the latest/next/trendy superfood ingredient as the secret to a more ____ recipe. Honestly, I’d love to see craft chocolate brands breaking in. The other day I happened upon a gluten-free pour-and-bake option at the supermarket and wanted to give it a try (the buckwheat was quite overpowering in the end). Time is certainly a factor in the equation, yet, as I’m cooking currently out of kitchens that aren’t mine, I’m not in position to buy in bulk and store for the upcoming months—also inflation! Occasionally, we don’t want an entire bag of sugar, or a box of cornstarch that gets used 1-2x and then becomes a relic in your pantry—maybe seeing the light of day for a pudding or applied to your unkempt hair (yes, cocoa powder and cornstarch for dark haired individuals is a quick way to instantly fluff flat mop-head hair).

So let’s say you are having one of those days, where you would rather lean on the measured efforts of others (and that’s perfectly ok!!), or you’ve found a cool upstart-y brand at the farmer’s market with unique flour blends—what can you do to jazz up a box?

Follow your boxed brownies baking instructions, with these caveats in mind: if you’ll be adding more dry inclusions-do so by stirring into the powdered mix, if you’ll be adding more fats (creams, butters, oils, and/or melted chocolate) add them with the water or oil addition portion, if you’re adding liquids, purees and mashes, do that when you’d add the beaten eggs, and finally, if you’re adding inclusions, fold in at the end before filling the baking pan, or sprinkle as top as you’d like. It’s a great time for a pantry clean-up too; whats back there that could turn it up a notch?

Just made meringues? Then add your yolks to the brownie batter. Need to use the remaining goat cheese in the fridge? Clump various puddles and fill a dimple in the center with raspberry jam. Below are some ideas to get your creativity flowing—notice again that all will change the structure of your batter, but the experimentation is fun!—and there are some that match many moods: from health-driven to hedonism, or beloved nostalgia. Happy wknd chocolate baking!

Dry inclusion ideas:
1 TBSP Gingerbread spices
1 tsp Smoked salt
1.5 TBSP Pistachio dukkah blend
Suggested serving of collagen and/or protein powder blends

Liquid/fat inclusion ideas:
Shot of espresso
1 TBSP coffee liqueur or Cream Sherry
60g hummus (I know! Less sweet results)
50g pumpkin or squash puree
40g avocado
40g roasted and pureed beets (after baking, dust strawberry powder for a fun look)
30g cream cheese w/ 30g yogurt
75g banana puree or applesauce
45g PB, or nut butter
60g silken tofu

Final inclusion ideas:
Minty chocolate cookie wafers
Chopped toasted nuts (pecans, macadamia, Brazil)
Your favorite chocolate and/or candy bars
Nibs! Caramelized would be fun too
Marshmallow bites, cut and rolled in graham cracker dust
Top with a (raw) shortbread crumble

Post-bake:
Coffee cream cheese frosting
Salted caramel layer
Cardamom whipped cream for serving

Image: Cacao Korff art nouveau advertisement: more from collector Patrick Marks