For Better Boxed Brownies, Use Coffee | America's Test Kitchen (2024)

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For Better Boxed Brownies, Use Coffee | America's Test Kitchen? ›

The trick: Replace the water with coffee. You don't need much, generally ¼ to ⅓ cup. We already know that adding espresso and coffee flavor to chocolate desserts supercharges chocolate flavor, and the same principle applies here. Using coffee in your brownie mix will result in better, more chocolaty brownies.

Best Boxed Brownies: King Arthur All-American Brownie Mix and Ghirardelli Chocolate Supreme Brownies. In the end, we think two brownie mixes are worth a spot in your pantry. King Arthur All-American Brownie Mix, a mail-order mix, gave us simple, classic brownies with rich, intense chocolate flavor.

Add Salt. If you've ever found boxed brownies to be too sweet for your taste, stir a pinch of salt into the batter before baking. This'll help bring out the deeper chocolate flavors. You can even try sprinkling some flaky sea salt on top of the brownies as soon as they come out of the oven.

The first and easiest upgrade you can give to your boxed brownie mix is to add a tablespoon of instant coffee to the batter. Adding coffee to your brownies boosts their flavor because its bitter quality balances out sweetness, making it less overpowering. It allows that delicious chocolate flavor to really shine.

If you already have a favorite brownie recipe, try adding one to two tablespoons of instant espresso in with the wet ingredients. If you're making brownies from a boxed mix, you can substitute brewed coffee for the water, or simply add espresso powder in with the dry ingredients.

Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker fell in the middle of the pack — neither were bad, but Duncan Hines' brownies were a little too chewy for my taste, and Betty Crocker's were a bit too sweet. But I could see both mixes making many people happy.

Swapping out the ingredients is easy: match the amount of water to coffee, and match the amount of oil to butter. With coffee instead of water, the brownies will taste even more chocolatey as the coffee enhances the flavors of chocolate, while the butter will make the brownies much richer and fudgier than the oil will.

the butter brownies actually had a fudgier texture. they were softer, and they really just melted in your mouth. they also had that shiny crust and just better flavor, whereas the oil brownies were actually chewier. they were crunchier at the top and at the edges.

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.

How to doctor up Betty Crocker brownie mix? ›

Chocolate and coffee are good buddies, tastewise. I often add a teaspoon of espresso powder to brownies. If you swap all the cocoa for instant coffee or espresso powder, you may find the flavor too strong, so I would be judicious the first time you try it.

Type of Fat: The type of fat used in the brownie mix, such as butter or oil, can affect the consistency of the batter. Butter tends to result in a thicker batter, while oil can create a smoother and more liquid consistency.

Cosmic brownies are so dang good because they have that delicious dense, fudgy and chewy texture. So in order to recreate that same richness, I pulled out all the stops to create a brownie just like the real deal. Here's how to achieve that same texture: Use a mix of light brown sugar and granulated sugar.

The test cooks who develop recipes at America's Test Kitchen work with Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances every day, so they've learned about the unique features that produce great results.

Our Favorite Brownie Pan

Our top pick is the Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Nonstick Square Cake Pan.

If you like chewy, sticky brownies, I recommend: Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix. If you like light, less dense brownies with a picture-perfect sugar top that flakes when sliced, I recommend: Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix.