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Copycat Cosmic Brownies

Make a kids’ favorite lunch box treat at home with these Cosmic Brownies that taste JUST like the real deal, but even better…mini rainbow chocolate chip candies and all!
 
You’ve GOT to try this homemade version!  So rich, dense and fudgy, yet not overly heavy.  These things are like Mary Poppins, except they are perfect in every way!
Growing up, I was Little Debbie snack obsessed.  My siblings and I would fight over who got the last treat in the box.  I’m happy to admit that I passed that trait on to my kids…must be genetic or something.
 
 
Funny story. I make LOTS of homemade goodies (no shock there), which I think are pretty yummy.  But my three-year-old daughter calls the boxed Cosmic Brownies “Real Brownies”.  Children have a way of putting adults in their place, don’t they? She’d have none of that homemade “junk”.  That is, until I made these delightful beauties.
I could have taken her stringent preference as a slap in the face, but instead I decided to channel it into an extreme determination to make something that rivaled those colored-sprinkle explosion brownies so much that she wouldn’t be able to resist my version over the others.  ðŸ™‚
 
Now I have to tell you that this little girl of mine is brutally honest.  Just to give you an example, one day I came out in a brand new shirt, feeling pretty good, and she said, “Mommy, it looks like there’s a baby in your tummy!”
 
Um, can I just crawl into a hole and cry?!
 
 
 Her nonchalant comment was a blow to the self esteem and made me seriously reconsider my exercise strategies and taste in clothing.  But, since I was so not pregnant and had no desire to look that way, I never wore the shirt again, even though the hubby complimented me on it.  Ha!
 
This sweet tot is not afraid to say it like it is.

 

She’s also not easy to please when it comes to her desserts.  She has a taste for the fine things in life.  She only likes certain brands of chocolate chips and can actually see and tell the difference if I ever try to “trick” her.  I may have pulled this once or twice. 🙂
So I was feeling the pressure as I mixed these decadent brownies up.

 

Since we moved about 20 minutes outside of the city, I can’t necessarily just take a trip into town whenever we run out of Cosmic Brownies, i.e. it’s not always convenient to run out and buy the “convenient” packaged stuff.  I also stand by my conviction and devotion to homemade goodies. But, mostly I just wanted to prove to my three-year-old that I could make something equally as good or better.  I may be a little competitive.  ðŸ™‚
 
These are easy to put together.  You won’t even need to pull out the mixer!  And they received six thumbs way up from my three kiddos who don’t try to earn brownie points (pardon my pun) when it comes to my asking them for their opinion about new recipes.  I breathed a sigh of relief at that unanimous stamp of approval, for sure.
 
I love to eat these scrumptious things right out of the fridge, nice and cold, so the chocolate ganache is completely set and the brownies are at their peak density (just like the boxed variety).
 
My kids are hopeful that I’ll make a batch each week so I can send one with them to school every day.  Though I’m certainly not saving these treasures for special occasions, I still want them to have a novelty during lunch hour at the cafeteria.
 

Yields Makes one 9"x13" pan

Copycat Cosmic Brownies
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Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, sliced
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 Tbsp. milk (2% or greater)
  • 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • scant 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. corn starch
  • Ganache:
  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 Tbsp. milk (2% or greater)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, line a 9"x13" cake pan with foil, allowing it to come over the edges, then coat foil with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. For the brownies, in a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate chips together in 30 second increments, stirring between.  Stir mixture until smooth.
  3. Quickly whisk in (by hand) brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, eggs, and milk, just until incorporated (don't over-mix or brownies will be tough and lose their nice texture).
  4. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking cocoa, baking powder, salt and corn starch. Add to chocolate mixture and stir just until incorporated (again, don't over-mix!).  
  5. Pour and spread mixture into prepared pan and bake for approximately 16 minutes, or just until a toothpick comes out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs on it. You don't want the toothpick to come out super gooey or completely clean, but moist crumbs are what you're shooting for.  Don't over bake or they'll lose their fudgy texture.
  6. Let brownies cool in pan on a cooling rack for 20 minutes, then place in the fridge while you make the ganache.
  7. For the ganache, melt butter with the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between.  
  8. Whisk in milk until smooth.  
  9. Pour and spread over brownies, then sprinkle with Rainbow Crunch Mini Chocolate Chips.  
  10. Put back in the fridge until ganache is set and brownies are cooled through.  
  11. Lift foil from pan, slice into squares and enjoy!
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https://www.idigpinterest.com/copycat-cosmic-brownies_15/
 
**I had trouble finding the Rainbow Crunch Sprinkles at my local grocery chains, so I purchased them from Amazon HERE (affiliate link).  Mini M&M’s and chocolate covered sunflower seeds are good alternatives.
 
 

You’ll earn the coolest mom on the block award for these brownies!  Trust me, I’m sporting my badge right now.  :)These are the best homemade brownies I’ve had, and since we’ve been on the topic of rainbows, I think it’s fitting to close with a quote from my favorite childhood show host, LeVar Burton, “But, you don’t have to take my word for it.”

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