Lately I’ve had a habit of impulse buying some of my favorite treats from childhood, and it’s been a hit-or-miss experience. Some of them are just never as good as I remember them, while others are just about the same. Chalk it up to nostalgia, or changing recipes over the years, or both. The oatmeal cream pies are a previous example of this that I copied.
Well, this is one of the ones that don’t live up to the memory. I used to get the Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies all the time, and I loved their fudgy, gooey, rich chocolate flavor. Well, the ones you find on store shelves today are drier and crumblier, and they aren’t nearly as rich as I remembered.
So, I decided (as usual) to make my own. This isn’t just a straight 1-for-1 replication of the current Little Debbie recipe. Instead, it’s a lot more like what I remember; a richer, fudgier brownie decorated with some sprinkles. If you want something more like a traditional brownie, I recommend this recipe instead, but if you want something that tastes like childhood, try this one out.
As an added bonus, this recipe is “healthier” than the Little Debbie option. It doesn’t have a bunch of preservatives, anyway. I don’t know that anything that starts with a bunch of sugar in bowls is really healthy.
One thing to note about this recipe is that, for the frosting/ganache, I used a double boiler method to melt the chocolate I used. The double boiler is a pot with water in it, and a metal bowl with chocolate in it. The heat from the water being warmed up will diffuse over the bowl and heat it evenly, without adding the moisture to the chocolate. That said, it’s a lot easier to just microwave the chocolate and cream to melt it, so use whichever method you prefer.
Copycat Snacks: Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies
Equipment
- Baking Dish I used 9"x13
- Mixing Bowls
- Sauce Pan or Dutch Oven
- Rubber Spatula
- Parchment Paper
- Stand Mixer Optional but helpful
Ingredients
For the Brownies
- 1½ Sticks Butter Melted
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- ⅔ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- ¼ Cup Whole Milk
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1¼ Cup Flour
- 1 Tbsp Corn Starch
- ¼ Tsp Baking Soda
- ¾ Cup Cocoa Powder
For the Ganache
- 1½ Cups Milk Chocolate Chips
- ½ Cup Heavy Cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉. Grease your baking dish and optionally line it with parchment paper to make the brownies easier to remove.
- In a mixing bowl, combine your flour, cocoa powder, corn starch, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add in your one full egg and vanilla, and mix more.
- Continue to mix on low, and add in ⅓ of the dry mix. Mix, then add in half the milk. Mix, then add in another ⅓ of the flour, then the remaining milk, then the remaining flour. Try not to over-mix this at the end, you don't want to whip air into the batter because you're trying to keep it dense and fudgy.
- Pour your batter into your baking sheet. Spread it evenly with your spatula if need be.
- Bake 20-22 minutes. It will look undercooked, but will set as it cools. Let it fully cool in the pan.
- Make your ganache. This is super easy. Heat up some water in your sauce pan or dutch oven. In a mixing bowl on top of this sauce pan, add your heavy cream and chocolate. Stir it and let the heat gradually melt the chocolate, until it's all combined.
- Spread this ganache over your cooled brownies, and decorate with any sprinkles you desire.
- Chill in the fridge and serve once cold, to keep it nicely set.
My son will LOVE these!