These cosmic brownies are rich, chewy, and topped with a smooth chocolate frosting and colorful candy-coated chocolate chips. With simple ingredients and an easy-to-follow recipe, they bring a nostalgic treat right to your kitchen in under an hour.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time18 minutesmins
Chill Time30 minutesmins
Total Time58 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cosmic Brownies Recipe
Servings: 12
Calories: 375kcal
Ingredients
Brownie layer
1cupall-purpose flour
¾cupunsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder
1tablespooncornstarch
½teaspoonsalt
¾cupunsalted butter,melted
¾cupgranulated sugar
½cuplight brown sugar,packed
2largeeggs,room temperature
1 ½teaspoonsvanilla extract
Chocolate Frosting layer
1cupsemi-sweet chocolate chips
⅓cupheavy cream
1tablespoonlight clear corn syrup
Garnish
1 ½tablespoonsrainbow candy coated mini chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray a 9x13 straight sided metal baking pan with non-stick baker’s spray and line with parchment paper, allowing excess to hang over sides for easy lifting once the brownies have cooled.
Sift together, in a medium bowl, the all-purpose flour, unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted unsalted butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar until smooth and fully combined.
Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Be sure to whisk thoroughly between each addition to ensure the eggs are fully incorporated before the next addition.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and gently stir just until all the ingredients are fully combined and no dry streaks remain. The brownie batter will be thick.
Spread the brownie batter into an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Allow the brownies to cool completely at room temperature before adding the frosting layer.
Chocolate Frosting layer
Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips to a medium bowl. Pour the heavy cream evenly over the chocolate chips
Microwave the chocolate chips and heavy cream on high for 1 minute.
Add the light corn syrup to the bowl and stir until smooth. If you still have a few remaining chocolate chips that did not melt, you can heat the mixture for an additional 20-30 seconds or just until warm enough to stir to a smooth consistency.
Pour the chocolate frosting over the cooled brownies and spread to a very smooth layer.
Sprinkle the rainbow candy coated mini chocolate chips evenly over the surface of the chocolate frosting.
Refrigerate the cosmic brownies for 30 minutes - 1 hour or until the chocolate frosting has firmed up enough to cut the brownies into clean slices.
Cutting the Cosmic Brownies
Once the cosmic brownies have chilled, and the frosting is set, gently lift the brownies out of the pan using the overhanging parchment paper. Place the brownies onto a large cutting board.
Using a sharp knife, make 5 cuts (giving you 6 - 2 inch wide rows) lengthwise down the long edge of the pan. It is best to use a ruler to measure straight and even lines.
Rotate the pan and make 1 cut down the center of the brownies (giving you 2 -
4 ½ inch wide rows) down the short side of the pan. This will yield 12 rectangle servings.
To give your serving the classic look of the original cosmic brownies, you can use the back end of a wooden skewer to gently press into the chocolate frosting to divide each individual serving in the center. This will not separate the single sliced serving, only make an indent into the frosting. You can cut the brownies into 24 smaller servings if desired.
Notes
To achieve the classic rich, dark color and flavor, choose a good quality dark dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder for the brownie layer. Some easy to find options in most grocery stores are Hershey’s Dark and Ghirardelli brands. Choose your favorite brand for this recipe.
Do not substitute dark cocoa powder mix for hot chocolate. This will have added sugars, and other ingredients, that will alter the final texture and flavor of the brownies.
Be sure to use good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli or Nestle brands, as they will melt more smoothly and are less likely to seize up when heated with the heavy cream.
A 1000 watt microwave was used to develop this recipe. Be sure to adjust your heat time accordingly, for your brand of microwave, when melting the chocolate chips.
Be sure to mix the melted unsalted butter and sugars while the butter is still very warm. This will ensure the sugar dissolves completely before proceeding with adding the rest of the ingredients.
There are many brands of rainbow candy coated mini chocolate chips available for sale online. Be sure to choose a brand with colors as similar as possible to the original Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies.