There’s no denying the fact that brownies are probably one of the best desserts out there. They’re chocolatey, rich, and easy to make. Thanks to the invention of box brownies, all we’re required to do is mix in the mixture and put it in the oven.
However, box brownies don’t do justice to the flavor or texture of making our mix. Thankfully, we’ve discovered many hacks that can turn the cakey brownie texture into a moist and chewy one.
In case you’re someone who doesn’t like cakey brownies either, go through the following steps on how to make box brownies moist and chewy to change your box brownie game.
Tips on How to Make Moist and Chewy Box Brownies?
Not that box brownies are deficient in any shape or form; you could, however, alter them to taste even better. Here are just a couple of things that you could do to elevate the taste of box brownies:
1. Don’t Overmix!
The first rule of baking 101 is never to overmix your ingredients. Once you’re ready to mix the wet ingredients with the brownie mix, be sure to combine it properly without overdoing it.
Overmixing your brownie batter will add too much air into the batter and produce a more cakey brownie instead of fudgy.
Use the Correct Type & Size of Pan
I cannot stress the importance of using the right kind and size of a baking pan. If you want your brownie to cook evenly and ideally, you need to ensure that the size of the tin is precisely what the recipe requires.
Getting a smaller baking tin will result in thicker, possibly undercooked brownies. On the other hand, if the pan is more significant than the needed size, it’ll spread the mix too thinly and result in dry brownies! You must be wondering what role the type of pan used plays in making delicious, moist brownies.
Well, the type of material used to make the pan directly affects the cooking time. Heavy or dark metal pans tend to decrease the cooking time needed, which might produce dry brownies. While using light metal or glass pans is likely to give you the best-baked brownies.
The final tip will be to spread the batter nice and even throughout the pan.
3. Add Melted Chocolate or Marshmallows
Adding extra ingredients such as melted chocolate or even a cup of marshmallows will elevate the taste and ensure moist and gooey brownies.
4. Bake for the Right Amount of Time at the Right Temperature
One of the disadvantages of using a boxed brownie mix is that it always needs to be cooked at the right temperature. If you accidentally set the oven even a few degrees more or less, it can significantly impact the texture.
Higher temperatures will give you overbaked, dry, and crumbly brownies. A lower temperature will deliver undercooked brownies that may be too gooey to hold their shape.
5. Use a Good Oven Thermometer
To ensure that you’re cooking the brownies at the right temperature throughout, I’ll encourage you to make use of a good oven thermometer.
You may wonder why you need an oven thermometer when there’s already a temperature dial that comes with the oven. Well, the temperature inside the oven tends to change with time. Thus a thermometer inside will keep you informed of the temperature of the oven inside.
6. Bake It Slow & Low
If you’re looking for the perfect fudgy, gooey texture, then you should think about baking it low and slow. And if you lower the temperature from 350 degrees to 325 degrees and increase the time of baking from 25-30 minutes to 40 minutes, you’ll end up with gooey brownies with a flakey topping.
Sounds heavenly. However, do remember to check on the brownies once or twice from the 30-35 minute time stamp. Another tip will be to take out the brownies while they’re still a bit gooey or wobbly and allow them to cool to perfection.
7. Bring Changes Ratio of Eggs
While most brownie recipe requires two eggs, using one instead is likely to give you chewier and denser brownies. Another hack is to omit the egg whites altogether. By just using egg yolks, you’ll get a more decadent batter that’ll give you a very chewy textured batch of brownies.
8. Substitute the Oil
By replacing the oil that the boxed brownie recipe requires with melted butter, you can rest assured get a chewier and more decadent brownie. Moreover, it’ll also enhance the taste of your brownies to another level.
9. Substitute the Water
By simply substituting the required water with espresso or brewed coffee, you can quickly improve the brownies’ taste by enhancing the cocoa’s rich flavor. Besides, coffee tends to produce denser brownies as opposed to water.
You can also add one or two tablespoons of milk along with coffee or water to enrich the batter.
10. Put Chocolate/Frosting on Top
One of the easiest hacks to make moist brownies is simply putting chocolate or chocolate sauce on top.
The first method is to sprinkle chocolate chunks or chips all over the freshly baked brownie. Please wait for a few minutes while the heat from the brownie melts the chocolate, and then spread it out evenly.
Another method will be to make a chocolate sauce and pour it over the brownie after it has cooled down.
Other than that, you can use any additional topping such as frosting, peanut butter, or marshmallow fluff on top.
11. Add Nuts/Nougat
A fool-proof way to ensure that you’re making chewy brownies is by adding fruit and nuts. You can incorporate different types of nuts, raisins, nougat, or dried fruits like cranberry to enhance the chewiness of the brownies.
Wrap up
Now that you’ve sufficient information on how to make box brownies moist and chewy, I don’t think you’ll ever look back. Don’t forget to enjoy the hot fudgy brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Good luck with your experiment!