8 Tips For The Best Results From Boxed Brownie Mix

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I love to bake, and most of the time, I bake from scratch. Cookies are pretty much always from scratch, as is cake (though sometimes, if I'm tight on time, I'll use a boxed cake mix and swap some ingredients, but the frosting is always homemade). The one exception is brownies; I've just never found a recipe worth the extra steps to make them from scratch. I'm practically a boxed brownie pro by now, and have collected some tricks to elevate them a bit.

In fairness, I'm picky about my brownies. A good chunk of store-bought, already-baked brownies taste dry and not chocolatey enough for me — multiple times I've ordered a brownie from a well-known coffee chain, only to be disappointed. I have the same issue with from-scratch brownie recipes, which is why I've relied on boxed mix for so long. I find that with the right mix and a few tweaks, you can get consistently fudgy, chocolatey, delightfully moist brownies with just a few added ingredients.

The best way to ensure the best results from a boxed brownie mix is to start with a good base. There are dozens of boxed brownie mixes out there; in addition to big-name brands like Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, and Duncan Hines, many grocers like Aldi and Trader Joe's offer their own options as well. On top of that, several brands have more than one option, ranging from a standard mix to those with extra chocolate, nuts, or flavorings.

If this variety feels overwhelming, don't worry; we've already ranked the best brownie mixes for you. But it's worth noting that everyone has different tastes. For example, my personal favorite is the Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate brownie mix, which comes with chocolate chips in the batter. A close second is the Aldi Specially Selected Double Chocolate brownie mix, which also includes chocolate chips. Both options produce the kind of brownies I like: rich and chocolatey, not too dense, and not too fluffy. You may need to experiment with different brands and flavors to find which option works best for you.

If you can't find a brownie mix in the flavor you want, good news! You can pretty easily tweak the flavor using add-ins — one of a few fantastic upgrades that can completely transform your boxed brownie mix. Try tossing in some chocolate chips, M&Ms, nuts, or dried fruit. "Won't they sink to the bottom?" you might wonder, but the answer (generally) is, nope! You may have noticed that if you add chocolate chips to cake batter, they often cluster at the bottom. But brownies are denser than cake, and the batter is great at holding up mix-ins.

You can also infuse flavors into the batter. Add a little mint or almond extract to pump up the taste a bit, or try a little hot fudge or caramel syrup. Just keep in mind that if you add liquid, you'll need to reduce the amount of water or other liquids you add per the box mix instructions. Otherwise, your brownies won't cook properly, and they'll be a sad, sad mess (trust me on this one).

Remember how we said that things like chocolate chips and nuts don't really sink into the brownie mix? This also means that you can sprinkle things on top of the batter, and they'll stay there while baking. Adding items on top of your brownies is a great way to elevate the flavor, but it is also a fun way to decorate. Personally, I like to add holiday M&Ms or sprinkles on my brownies when I want a little festive touch. I've also found that this is a great hack if you like your brownies a little crispy on the top but still soft on the inside; I have no idea why, but sprinkling things on the top of the brownie mix creates a flaky, crisp top layer without disrupting the soft brownie underneath.

You're not limited to sprinkles, either, by the way. Brownies are great with frosting, and even better with a rich ganache. You can also drizzle some caramel, chocolate, or cherry syrup, or top the cooled brownies with fresh strawberries. There are tons of options available, and most of them are pretty simple to pull off.

Using butter instead of oil is one of my favorite tips or hacks on this list, and I do it pretty much every time I bake brownies. It started one day when I realized I didn't have enough oil left for the brownie mix. I had already cracked the egg and added the water, and didn't want it all to go to waste (also, I really wanted brownies). So after a quick Google search to double-check that I wouldn't ruin the batter, I used butter instead.

The difference was immediately obvious, and in my opinion, the butter makes the brownie mix taste ten times better. See, oil is pretty much all fat. Butter is part fat, part water. When you bake brownies with oil, the oil stays liquid, resulting in brownies that are dense and chewy. But in butter, that water evaporates, creating a brownie that's not quite so dense. I'm also of the opinion that butter gives the brownies a richer flavor. This is a simple swap; just use the same amount of melted butter you would use for oil. Want to pump up the flavor even more? Try browning the butter a little first. My only recommendation is to mix the egg and water into the boxed mix first. What you don't want to do is pour hot, melted butter right on top of the egg, or you'll end up with scrambled eggs in your brownies. Not that I know that from experience or anything.

As I mentioned earlier, I generally prefer to make cake from scratch. But when I need to use a box mix, I always replace the water in the recipe with milk. The little extra fat in the milk really enhances the flavor, and I find it makes the cake more moist as well. This hack works for brownies too, and, like in cake mix, is said to give the final product a moister texture and richer flavor. I can't vouch for this one from experience, as I usually just swap the oil for butter and use water according to the recipe, but that's mainly because we just don't keep much milk in our house.

If you really want to punch up the flavor, use coffee instead of water. Most boxed mixes call for just ¼ or ⅓ cup, so replacing it with coffee shouldn't result in too much of a coffee flavor, but it will give it more depth. The coffee doesn't just complement the chocolate; it can actually enhance the taste. Another option? Raid your liquor cabinet to find a brownie add-in. Red wine is a common choice, but you can also use other alcohols that pair well with chocolate, like dark rum or cognac. Let yourself experiment a little bit until you find an option you like best.

Swapping milk for water isn't the only change I make when using boxed cake mix; I also add one more egg than the recipe calls for. And once again, this is a trick that works great with brownies too — but only if you prefer your brownies to have a more cake-like texture. Some box mixes even recommend adding an extra egg for the same result. For even creamier brownies, use yolks instead of whole eggs. Egg whites add fluff and structure, so using only yolks yields a denser, fudgier brownie.

Eggs are important in baked goods because they act as an emulsifier, essentially binding all the ingredients together. However, they're far from the only option. If you're allergic, vegan, or the price of eggs has spiked (again), you aren't out of luck. You can swap the eggs for plain yogurt, applesauce, mashed banana, or even mayonnaise. 

A few years back, we needed a repair on our gas range. I mentioned to the repair person that I didn't love having a gas appliance, as the open flame made me nervous with small kids around. He added that he didn't like them because gas ovens don't cook evenly. 

He was right. Unfortunately, many ovens don't cook evenly, and gas ovens often struggle the most with this. Typically, electric ovens offer more consistent and even heat distribution, but there are plenty of things that can throw the temperature off, including worn-out heating elements, food and grease buildup, and a broken thermostat. Ever since that conversation with the repair tech, I've started rotating my baked goods halfway through baking, even though I now have an electric oven. This way, if one side or spot in your oven is hotter than the other areas, your brownies have a better shot at baking evenly. Another option is to use a convection setting if your oven has one, but even convection isn't guaranteed to cook evenly. I still like to rotate my brownies, cookies, and other baked goods halfway through cooking, just because it not only helps ensure even baking but also gives me the opportunity to check on how they're doing.

This one sounds obvious: of course, you should make sure your brownies are done before pulling them out of the oven. Partially-cooked brownies not only have a weird, mushy texture, but if they're not fully cooked, they aren't safe to eat. Raw batter can lead to food poisoning, such as Salmonella from eggs or E. coli from flour (note that this does not stop me from sampling the batter for quality control purposes).

But figuring out if brownies are done can be kind of tricky. I know now that the Ghirardelli mix I like to use takes about 40 minutes in a glass, 8 x 8 pan in my oven. Even so, there have been plenty of times when I've gone to rotate the pan and thought, "Man, those look almost done." On the flip side, the Specially Selected mix I have in my cupboard right now warns customers that brownies may look underbaked when you pull them out. So how can you tell if they're really done? The toothpick test. Insert a toothpick into the center of the pan of brownies. It should come out with maybe a few crumbs or smears of chocolate. If it comes out covered in wet batter, it's not done yet, and if it's completely clean, you're getting into overdone territory. If you're not accustomed to how long your brownies take, it's best to start testing a few minutes before the box says they should be done to account for oven fluctuations.