Boxed Brownies Are 10x More Flavorful When You Add This Sweet Ingredient To The Batter

If boxed brownies weren't at least a little satisfying, there wouldn't be quite so many options on the market. Yet volumes have been written about all manner of ways to improve, enhance, and otherwise upgrade boxed brownie mix. Some ways are elaborate enough to turn the convenience treats into totally different desserts, including a whole darn cake. However, simpler additions both honor what should be an easily achieved sweet while also bringing more flavor to the pan. Caramel chips do just the trick.

Caramel chips aren't the soft, sticky, gooey ingredient you might be more familiar with, but look like the classic chocolate kind, with a creaminess that imparts the toastiness of caramel and even some butterscotch notes, depending on the kind you buy. They're optimized for baking, so you don't need to worry about how they perform in the oven, and their somewhat light profile provides a nice balance to an average boxed brownie mix's deeper chocolate. They also don't disappear into batter the way a traditional caramel can, so they're pretty assertive for something that takes about two seconds to include. Start with a top selection from the best boxed brownie mixes, then stir in a cup or three of the caramel chips and bake as directed for an extra-special finish. Caramel chips also go great with some other classic brownie extras.

Let a caramel chip slowly melt on your tongue and it can reveal a kind of buttery nuttiness, so why not also join it with some buttery nuts? Hazelnuts fit the bill, and they're also famously excellent with chocolate. The same goes for pecans. You can also swing to crushed walnuts, should you want to incorporate a little bitter balance instead. There's enough sugar in the brownie mix and caramel chips to still keep them from tasting too acrid.

You can also mix and match caramel chips with semisweet chocolate or toffee chips. The former, of course, amplifies your chocolate quotient, and the latter bolsters the caramel chips' flavor while adding some texture. You can also take some inspiration from caramel pretzel brownies and top your pan-poured brownie batter with a good ol' caramel swirl before crowning it all with the titular salty snack.