If you grew up in the 90's (or 90's adjacent for those older or younger than me) you may remember a little lunchbox treat called Cosmic Brownies. I, personally, adored these little packaged sugar bombs and snacked on them all the time. Well, adulthood came and my lunchbox treats were forgotten. That is, until we moved last year and happened to be 5 miles from the Little Debbie factory...yes, that’s right. Now, any time we drive to town, we pass at least 20 Little Debbie semi-trucks covered with allllll the delicious treats from my childhood. After hearing the admiring oohs and ahhhs of my children one too many times, I decided we would just make our own cosmic brownies and make them even better. Well, we succeeded. These actually taste like the fudgisest chocolate brownie with soft ganache frosting and take 30 minutes to whip up...score one for mom ;)
Ingredients:
Makes 1 8x8 pan
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour
Ganache topping:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (our favorite!)
½ cup heavy cream
Sprinkle toppings:
we used Unreal gems and crunchy sprinkles this time around, but I’m tempted to buy these candy coated chocolate chips!
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, mix your melted butter, brown sugar and honey and whisk well. Next, add your two eggs, vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Whisk again until a smooth glossy mixture forms. Dump your flour over top and stir just until combined. Scrape the batter into the baking pan and pop in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Give it a check by pressing your finger gently on the center. If it feels firm-ish, it’s done! We don’t want to overcook these! If it feels jiggly give it another 5 minutes. Take them out and let them cool. Meanwhile, let’s make the ganache. I like to make a little double boiler by sticking a heat proof bowl over a little pot with some water in the bottom. Let the water I the pot come to a simmer. The bowl should be totally dry with the steam hitting the bottom of the bowl. Add the cream and let it get warm. Add the chocolate chips and let them slowly melt. Stir every so often as it combines and melts. Pour the mixture over top of the cooked brownies and sprinkle the toppings over. Pop them in the fridge until completely set. I like to store these in the fridge to keep that chewy texture! Enjoy!
