There was pretty much nothing better in grade school than opening up your lunchbox and seeing a Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie. I used to have these every single day. So naturally, I had to make a copycat Cosmic Brownie recipe!
I always used to peel back the thick layer of fudgy frosting off the top and eat that first. That was clearly the best part. So I knew that if I was going to make homemade Cosmic Brownies, that I was going to need to get the recipe so close to the real thing that I could eat the frosting first.
This brownie is exactly that – a thick, fudgy brownie topped with a thick, rich solid layer of chocolate ganache and signature candy-coated sprinkles. Frankly, they are AMAZING.
Ready to make your own batch of this Cosmic Brownie recipe? Keep reading for a step-by-step guide and all the details you need to make this just like the original. Below is the recipe plus a .pdf that you can print out to keep handy in the kitchen while you bake.
First of all, if you’ve never had a Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie, you need to go to the store right now and get some of the originals. Eating a Cosmic Brownie is a life experience everyone should have, but also, I want you to have a good comparison before making these copycat Cosmic Brownies.
Ok, so what are Cosmic Brownies? They are a dense, fudgy brownie that is topped with an even fudgier chocolate frosting and colorful chocolate chip candy pieces. They come wrapped individually in plastic and taste like the magic of childhood.
Still, as much as I love the original, I am obsessed with this homemade Cosmic Brownie recipe and I can’t wait for you to try it!
Cosmic Brownies are perhaps best known for their colorful, candy-coated sprinkles. Because I wanted to make my brownies as close to the real thing as possible, I knew I needed to find the kind used by Little Debbie. These are candy-coated chocolate pieces and they are so good.
I bought my sprinkles on Amazon but you can use sprinkles, nuts, chocolate chips, whatever you have on hand that you would love to eat. Get creative!
If you want your copycat Cosmic Brownies to come out perfectly, use these tips.
There are many delicious brownie recipes that use oil, but I prefer butter in my brownies. Brownies made with butter typically have a chewier texture than those made with oil, which is key for these homemade Cosmic Brownies. Butter also adds a richness to the flavor that oil can’t do.
You technically don’t have to use cornstarch and corn syrup in this recipe if you don’t want to, or you don’t have them on hand. But keep in mind that these ingredients are a key part of what makes the brownies super chewy and fudgy. Your brownies will taste just as good without these ingredients, but the texture definitely won’t be quite the same as the originals.
I love adding an extra egg yolk to my brownie recipes. The yolk adds fat and protein, which helps make your brownies more rich, fudgy and chewy (in other words, delicious!).
You can really use any kind of baking pan to make these, but glass and ceramic baking pans can take longer to make, which can impact the texture. I like to use a metal pan. But no matter what kind of pan you purchase, make sure to line it with parchment paper to make removing the brownies painless.
You definitely can! I love the idea of making these Cosmic Brownies your own. Add in chocolate chips, nuts, crushed up Oreos – the sky’s the limit!
I’m normally not one to worry about the way brownies are cut. Mostly I just want to get them out of the pan and into my stomach as quickly as possible. But the cut really matters when making homemade Cosmic Brownies. I wanted mine to look as close to the clean lines of the original as possible, so I had to pull out all my best brownie cutting tips:
I recommend storing your copycat Cosmic Brownies in the fridge. The chocolate ganache can melt if it’s left at room temperature. The brownies keep well in the fridge and should stay fresh for several days if kept in a tightly-covered container.
Yes, just make sure to store the brownies properly so they stay fresh. I like to make the brownies a day in advance and frost them the day you’ll be serving.
Rich, chewy and delicious chocolate brownies with a fudgy icing on top. But the best part is the rainbow chocolate sprinkles on top.
10 Tablespoons Hiland Dairy butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon corn syrup
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Frosting
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup Hiland Dairy heavy cream
Rainbow Chips, Sprinkles, M&Ms, Nuts, any candy
Our best tips for quick and tasty recipes, ideas and more, right to your inbox.
| PRIVACY | TERMS | ACCESSIBILITY
