Ingredients
- Boxed brownie mix, oil, water, and egg that amounts the package instructions
- ½ cup of chocolate chips
- ¼ cup of cocoa ribs
- 1/3 cup roasted almonds
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- finishing salt, to add taste
Step 1: Firstly, Add Espresso Powder
The first thing to do while preparing boxed brownies is adding about 2 teaspoons of espresso powder. The powder will add a deep cocoa flavor to the brownies and don’t be worried that the brownies will taste like coffee. No! they will taste chocolatey. If you want a more intense mocha taste, you can substitute water in the butter with some coffee.
Step 2: Make it crunchy
Adding some textural crunch makes the brownies from blah to bomb-making them taste sweeter and adding the brownies with a little bite will make them crunchy. Here, you can use cocoa ribs, peanuts, walnuts, or almonds. Mix the crunchy bits on the batter or you can decide to sprinkle on the upper side of the brownies to make them look nice. Please make sure you are using only raw nuts. Don’t use pre-salted ones.
Step 3: After that, Add an Extract
You can use vanilla extract to keep them chocolatey and simple, but you can also experiment with other different extract flavors. Peppermint is the best. If you have never used other extracts before, then be sure to check how much each extract is used on a food recipe. Some extracts are a bit potent and not all of them mix properly like how vanilla does.
Step 4: Add More Chocolate
If you want to melt the chocolate, start by placing it inside a microwave-safe bowl then microwave on 50% power or for about 20 seconds. Make sure you stir the chips between each addition you make. After melting the chocolate properly, drizzle it on top of the brownies.
Step 5: Finalize with a little salt
There’s nothing better than adding a little salt on boxed brownies. Just sprinkle some salt on top of the brownies then begin the baking process.
Step 6: Lastly, Bake the Boxed Brownies
The simplest way to ruin your brownies is over-baking them. Brownies can change from delicious and fudgy to dry and cakey in a matter of minutes. Therefore, be sure to set your timer 10 minutes less than its written on the box. You’ll know that they are ready once you insert a knife in the center.
The brownies will continue cooking and immediately they are ready to serve, they’ll be the loveliest and fudgiest brownies EVER.
Since you now understand how to prepare boxed brownies perfectly, the world is your oyster.

David Nilsen is the former editor of Fourth & Sycamore. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. You can find more of his writing on his website at davidnilsenwriter.com and follow him on Twitter as @NilsenDavid.