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Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: These homemade Cosmic Brownies have a much better chocolate flavor than the store-bought ones! No weird artificial flavors here.
Texture: Ultra-rich, fudgy, and chewy. So good.
Ease: Very easy!! Enjoy a batch of these in just over an hour.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: An easy DIY version of your favorite nostalgic childhood treat.
These Homemade Cosmic Brownies will evoke all those childhood memories of snacking on those little plastic-wrapped store-bought brownies – but these babies are SO much better!
Real, decadent, and satisfying chocolate, without all the crazy artificial ingredients.
When I was a kid in elementary school, I’d ALWAYS request a Little Debbie brownie as my special treat in my lunch box.
Best brownies ever!
These are the FUDGIEST brownies I’ve ever made! And so easy to make!
Before Cosmic Brownies, there were only the Little Debbie brownies with the nuts. I would always pick off all the nuts.
I knew I had to make my own version from scratch.
These little brownies are ultra-rich and fudgy, almost like candy. I got as close to the texture of the store-bought kind as I possibly could. I hope you love them as much as I do!
What are Cosmic Brownies?
Cosmic Brownies, created by snack company Little Debbie, basically summarize a childhood in the 1990s in each bite. They are chewy with a rich, fudgy frosting that’s dotted with rainbow crunch sprinkles. They come individually wrapped and are super sweet and quite artificial tasting.
In creating my copycat version, I opted for a fudgy chocolate ganache topping that delivers a much better burst of chocolate flavor.
Check out the side-by-side below:
Ingredient Notes for Success
Cornstarch + Corn Syrup = Secret Ingredients
- There is a small amount of both cornstarch and corn syrup in this recipe to help make the brownies super chewy and fudgy.
- Feel free to omit the corn syrup or use golden syrup if you prefer, but note that your brownies just won’t quite have that same Cosmic texture. Don’t skip the cornstarch – learn why cornstarch is important in brownie recipes here.
Extra Egg Yolk = Fudgy & Chewy!
- You’ll notice in most of my brownie recipes I add an extra egg yolk. This adds fat and protein which translates to rich, fudgy, and chewy brownies.
How to Avoid Dry, Crumbly Cosmic Brownies
The key is to measure your dry ingredients properly. It’s super easy to accidentally add too much flour and cocoa powder – unless you use a digital kitchen scale to ensure 100% accuracy.
If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon and level method for both the flour and cocoa powder to ensure accuracy, and avoid dry, hard, cakey, or crumbly brownies. You can learn more about how to measure ingredients properly here.
How to Cut Brownies Perfectly
Use a large sharp knife and run it under hot water, wiping it off completely between slices.
Storage & Make ahead
Frosted, sliced brownies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature or for 1 week in the fridge. They are best served chilled, for maximum fudginess.
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Ingredients
For the brownies:
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (88 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 2/3 cup (85 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups (255 grams) semisweet chocolate chips (use high quality here!)
Rainbow Candy-Coated Chocolate Chips , or mini M&M’s, sprinkles, or other candy, for topping
Instructions
Make the brownies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-by-8-inch metal baking pan with parchment or foil and spray with cooking spray.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter for about 90 seconds on high power. Stir in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder. If still very hot, let cool slightly before adding in the vanilla, eggs, egg yolk, and corn syrup. Stir until very well combined. Add in the flour, cornstarch, and salt and stir until just combined. Batter will be thick. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan.
Make the frosting:
- Place the cream in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. Add in the chocolate chips. Let stand for 3 minutes before stirring until smooth. Pour over the cooled brownies and smooth evenly. Sprinkle with the Rainbow Candy-Coated Chocolate Chips. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or until the frosting is set, before cutting.
- Brownies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature and for 1 week in the fridge. Brownies are best served chilled.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
I used to use Wilton Rainbow Crunch for topping Cosmic Brownies (as seen in the pictures here), but those are increasingly difficult to find. Sometimes they’re on Amazon, or even at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. This Baker’s Choice version is available on Amazon, but feel free to use rainbow sprinkles, mini M&Ms, or whatever you like to top these brownies.
Yes, just not your brownies may not be as chewy. You can use golden syrup or invert syrup, instead.
Yes, simply double all ingredients and bake in a 9×13-inch metal baking pan, adding 2-3 minutes extra baking time.
More Brownie Recipes:
- Best Chewy Brownies – my most popular recipe!
- Nutella Brownies
- Raspberry Brownie Recipe
- Toffee Brownies
- Malted Brownies
This recipe was originally published in 2014 and has been updated with recipe improvements and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
This was an easy recipe to make, and turned out SO YUMMY! Way better than store bought or boxed mix brownies.
This was my first time with this. I had never heard of cosmic brownies nor have I tasted it anywhere. I made it and all of my family loved it. This is definitely one of our favorite recipes to keep. Full five stars!
These brownies are super chocolatey and fudgy and oh so good! My 10 year old helped with these and it’s an easy enough recipe a kid can make it. These turned out delicious. Will definitely make them again!
So delicious, Tessa. Brings back memories of eating these as a kid. Love!
So delicious. Brought back memories of eating these as a kid. Love love love
The brownies came out pretty good. I am not a fan of the frosting on this brownie though. I could tell from the ingredienta that it was going to be bitter. I should’ve made adjustments because the frosting does not taste like a cosmis brownie.
Other than that, its a good recipes thats quick.
Very easy to make and tastes divine. Something you’d get from chocolate heaven
I love cosmic brownies, even before I knew their name ahaha
Alas I now realize these brownies must stay in the fridge for their whole life as my climate is way too hot for countertop stay 🙁
But otherwise, they taste heavenly! So thick and chewy and the topping is a perfect balance for the base brownie
This hit the spot for my brownie craving. I liked the ease of assembling the ingredients too – no need for double boiling to melt chocolate! Very straightforward. It was a tad too sweet for me as I’m more of a dark-chocolate gal, but my friend loved it when she tried it. Also I forgot to let the brownie cool before pouring the frosting over, and somehow the brownies ended up really sticking to the knife and I couldn’t make clean cuts as Tessa managed to do here.
So delicious!!
These were very good! They were very sweet and rich though! Will make again!
Moist and scrumptious