Try using milk or cream in place of water when mixing the batter.

This will still check the liquid off the ingredient list while creating a richer, fudgier, moister brownie.

A plain brownie batter is calling for mix-ins, and the possibilities are endless. Consider adding chocolate chips or dark-chocolate chunks.

Crushed Oreo cookies, M&M's, Reese's Pieces, chopped walnuts or hazelnuts are excellent options as well.

Fold them in once the batter is prepped, and then transfer to the baking pan to bake as directed.

Switch up the flavor of boxed brownies with just a few drops of an extract. Even just a teaspoon of vanilla extract can go a long way in enhancing the flavor of this treat.

You can also play around — adding peppermint extract will offer a chocolate-mint combo that's wonderful for the holiday season.

Coconut extract is another great pairing to try, maybe even paired with shredded coconut folded into the batter.

Most brownie mixes call for a few tablespoons of water on the back of the box. To enhance your brownies, swap that water out for strong brewed coffee. This can add a more complex depth of flavor.

For an even more pronounced coffee flavor, add a teaspoon of instant espresso powder to the dry ingredients as well.

Once the brownies are baked, the sky's the limit.

You could serve them as-is, or dress them up further. Consider adding frosting to the top, whether you want double-chocolate brownies with mint frosting or peanut-butter icing.

Chocolate ganache or salted-caramel sauce are excellent toppers, too.

To upgrade your brownies and curb their sweetness, try adding some of your other favorite snack foods to them.

Opt for salty mix-ins, like crushed pretzels or salted peanuts. You can also crumble up ridged potato chips or kettle chips and sprinkle them over the batter before baking.

Combine two beloved desserts in one with this trick.

Make the brownie batter according to the instructions on the box. Then, combine one block of softened cream cheese, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, one egg, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. For best results, use a hand mixer or stand mixer.

Dollop the cream-cheese mixture over the brownie butter and use the back of a spoon or a butter knife to swirl the top. Bake the brownies as directed, and you'll end up with dreamy cheesecake brownies.

This sounds wildly simple, but it can make a huge difference. Just a touch of flaky sea salt will not make brownies look pretty and enhance their flavor tenfold.

Before the brownies go into the oven, sprinkle flaked sea salt on top. Then, bake as directed.

Adding one more egg than what your boxed mix calls for will make the batter slightly thicker, making it sturdy enough to withstand the heat of a waffle iron. 

Whether you decide to dress up your chocolaty waffles with whipped cream, fruit, or more chocolate, bookmark this easy recipe from the Food Network as a reference.

S'mores are delicious on their own, but they're even better when you add brownies in between layers of graham crackers and marshmallows.

According to a simple recipe on Delish, you don't even need a campfire to make this decadent snack. You just need a box of brownie mix (and the ingredients it calls for), chocolate bars, marshmallows, and graham crackers. 

Think outside the box with your brownie mix by turning it into the crust for a build-your-own dessert pizza. As for toppings, you can make your favorite cream-cheese or whipped-cream frosting and pile it high with fruit, candy, sprinkles, or nuts.

All you need for this crust recipe from Taste of Home is the prepared brownie-mix batter, some almonds, and almond extract.

Not in the mood to cut a dozen slices of cake at your next party? Serve this brownie brittle from Tablespoon instead.

All you need is the mix, an egg, some melted butter, and a large baking pan to spread the batter extra thin.

If you want to make it an adults-only treat, you can also add some cake-flavored vodka.

It's hard to decide between cookies and brownies, but with this recipe from food blogger Lindsay Ostrom, you won't have to.

Dollop some homemade or store-bought cookie dough on top of your prepared brownie batter mix before baking. 

This hack combines an entire box of brownie mix with marshmallows and rice cereal, plus, cooked brownies are folded in to give the dessert some extra decadence. 

The recipe from the food blog Cookies and Cups with Shelly Jaronsky is a little more involved than others on the list, but all you'll need in addition to the brownie mix is mini marshmallows, rice cereal, and butter.

You can either make your own brownie pieces with the rest of the mix or buy some store-bought brownies to fold through the treat.

Don't be afraid to experiment with flavor combinations with your boxed brownie mix.

The Andes brownies from the lifestyle blog Making Lemonade combine the chocolatey dessert with the refreshing taste of mint. 

To make them, all you'll need is a prepared box of brownie mix batter and a package of Andes chocolate mints. 

Delight both sweet and savory cravings by making use of that half-eaten bag of chips or pretzels in your cabinet. 

This recipe from Tablespoon can help you get started, but really the possibilities are endless if you're looking to clear out your pantry.

Dark stout beer has so much savory depth, which makes it the perfect addition to chocolaty brownies.

Elevate your mix's flavor profile by adding your favorite stout brew to the boxed brownies. 

According to a recipe on Tip Hero, in addition to the beer, you'll need some extra dark chocolate to round out the flavors. 

This easy boxed-mix hack from the food blog Chelsea's Messy Apron marries brownies, cookies, and ice cream to create a tasty cake.

Bake the brownies as instructed, layer them with ice cream and Oreos (or your favorite store-bought cookies), and top everything with whipped topping for an easy, delicious, ice-cream cake. 

This story was originally published in September 2018 and most recently updated on December 12, 2024. 

Read More:

• 14 hacks to make your boxed cake taste better
• I made brownies using 3 different celebrity-chef recipes, and the best one was also the most fun to bake
• 12 easy baking hacks that professionals swear by
• 10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade

You can upgrade your cookie dough by adding spices to it, said Tracy Wilk, lead chef at the Institute of Culinary Education. .

To do so, combine ground cinnamon, ginger, and sugar, and then roll your balls of cookie dough in the mix before baking. This can result in a warm, spicy cookie.

If you're feeling bold, you can even spice up your cookies with a sprinkling of cayenne pepper, said Jackie Newgent, chef and author of "The Clean and Simple Diabetes Cookbook."

To add depth to your cookies, add a few drops of a pure flavor extract to your dough, Newgent said.

This is a simple way to personalize the cookies to your liking or give them a unique twist each time you bake them. Some extracts to try include peppermint, lemon, vanilla, coffee, almond, or coconut.

Another way to add flavor or texture to your cookies is by rolling the balls of dough in your garnish of choice, Jennifer Hill Booker, chef, cookbook author, and culinary educator, told Business Insider. 

To start, you can try using chopped nuts, sanding sugar, miniature chocolate chips, cocoa powder, or sprinkles. 

For added texture, crunch, and color, stir nuts into your cookie dough.

Newgent said pecans, walnuts, and macadamia nuts can work — but, if you want a real homemade feel, you may want to use nuts that aren't commonly found in store-bought cookies, like pistachios. 

Mix-ins are another great way to add a unique flavor to a cookie and make it seem like you spent a lot of time making them.

"Plop in a surprise ingredient that you love, like crushed pretzels, potato chips, roasted chickpeas, or popped popcorn," Newgent told BI. 

Try topping cookies with a pinch of flaky sea salt before you put them in the oven, Newgent said.  

"Salt helps to balance sweetness, providing a more well-rounded taste and bonus deliciousness," she told BI.

Use a bit of melted chocolate to give your cookies a high-end look and homemade flavor, Wilk said. 

"Once the cookies are baked and cooled, dip them into chocolate or drizzle them with it," she said. "This will give a finished and fancy look without a lot of extra work."

Newgent told BI that if you really want to impress, you can use freshly grated citrus zest as a cookie topper.

She said orange pairs well with many chocolate cookies and lemon can elevate vanilla ones. 

"It'll make the cookies seem extra special and kind of fancy," she said. 

This story was originally published on May 15, 2020, and most recently updated on December 5, 2024.

These three-ingredient sugar cookies by BellyFull take 15 minutes to whip up and use things that you probably already have in your kitchen: unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and all-purpose flour.

However, if you want to make your sugar cookies even more special, you can also use a few extra ingredients like vanilla, a quick and easy icing like this one from Betty Crocker, and festive red, green, or blue sprinkles.

This recipe by SweetPhi uses baking soda, sugar, light corn syrup, dry roasted peanuts, and flaky sea salt to create a rich holiday treat. You won't even need a candy thermometer to make this dessert — just a saucepan, measuring spoons, and parchment paper.

To make sweet-and-spicy chocolate bark, you'll need hazelnuts, two bars of dark chocolate, dried cranberries, sea salt, and cayenne pepper.

One of the best parts about making chocolate bark is that not only can you customize the toppings, but you also don't even need to bake it. Melt the chocolate, add your toppings, and stick it in the fridge until it is hardened and ready to break apart.

If you enjoy peppermint mochas, you'll love this four-ingredient dessert. To make white-chocolate peppermint bark, you'll need candy canes or hard peppermint candies, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and peppermint extract.

It's perfect for making with kids and keeps up to three weeks in the refrigerator, meaning you can enjoy it all holiday season long. 

The Stay at Home Chef's recipe for five-ingredient peanut-butter cookies is gluten-free and includes creamy peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, one egg, and vanilla extract. 

Whether you're a peanut-butter fanatic or simply an inexperienced baker, this easy recipe by Kitchen Fun calls for four ingredients that you might already have in your pantry: creamy peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Make the peanut-butter dough, dip the balls into the melted chocolate, and refrigerate them until the chocolate has hardened. If you want to go the extra mile, you can also top the balls with festive-colored sprinkles or nuts for added flavor and texture.

Gimme Some Oven's recipe for five-ingredient whiskey dark chocolate truffles uses dark chocolate, heavy cream, butter, sea salt, and your choice of whiskey.

Be warned: These sweet treats aren't intended for kids. Since the truffles aren't baked, none of the alcohol gets a chance to "burn off."

To make Gimme Some Oven's lemon bars, you'll need all-purpose flour, butter, powdered sugar, eggs, and lemons. Or, if you're looking to make life even easier, you can buy store-bought lemon curd.

Dip your strawberries into melted semisweet chocolate, set the strawberries down onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and wait until the chocolate has set.

To make your chocolate-covered strawberries even more show-stopping, you can also melt some white chocolate and drizzle it over the top of the strawberries before setting them aside to harden.

Taste of Home's recipe for five-ingredient chocolate fudge relies on pantry staples: butter, semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract.

It only takes 10 minutes to prepare, meaning you can have a sweet treat ready to serve faster than you can say "mistletoe."

I chose three similar crust products from the freezer section. Each came in an oven-safe disposable pan, and I used the same premade pie filling for all three.

The crusts had pretty similar prep instructions, so I thawed each for 20 minutes and baked my pies at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes.

None of the instructions called for blind baking (baking the crust before adding filling), so I didn't do so.

I bought the Pillsbury pie crust on sale for $3.50, although it usually costs $4.49 at my local grocery store.

The other two brands instructed me to remove one pie crust and let it thaw on wax paper before adding it over the base crust for fruit-filling pies — Pillsbury did not.

Instead, I had to cut the crimped edges off of one crust, immediately place it over the filled base crust, then let it thaw.

Even before thawing, this crust felt very pliable and easy to shape.

I didn't do anything fancy with my crust, but the dough was so soft I felt like I could've easily cut it and used strips to create a basket-weave design.

My pie looked almost perfect when I removed it from the oven with just a few super-small cracks.

The Pillsbury crust was noticeably thin, but it held its shape fairly well when I cut a slice and put it on my plate. It held together better than the other two crusts I tried.

This crust was slightly buttery, very flaky, and not dry at all.

The store-brand Giant Eagle pie crust was the least expensive at just $2.49.

I liked the edges of this crust, which looked neater than the ones on Pillsbury's. Unfortunately, I had to cover them because my pie needed a top.

It took a lot of work to get the second piece of dough to sit on top of my pie.

This crust felt so dry that, even after thawing, I couldn't get the top portion to lie flat and neatly over the base.

It kept ripping apart and I eventually used a rolling pin to get the pieces to stick back together.

My pie had a few cracks on top and this crust didn't quite hold together as well as the one from Pillsbury.

Of the three crusts I tried, I found this one to be the driest and least flavorful. Unfortunately, the berry filling also leaked through the bottom crust, leaving my pie fairly soggy underneath.

The Marie Callender's crust was the most expensive at $5.69, so I had high expectations.

The edges looked very neat, so I was once again sad I had to cover them with a top crust.

As with the Giant Eagle dough, the Marie Callender's crust was also difficult to work with.

The crust fell apart as I tried to secure it to my base. With my fingers, a fork, and patience, I was able to cobble it together before getting the pie into the oven.

Once this pie came out of the oven, the top had quite a few cracks.

When I grabbed a slice, the crust completely fell apart onto my plate. It hadn't held up nearly as well as the other two pies.

But what the pie lacked in presentation, it made up for in flavor. The nice, thick crust was buttery and flaky.

I'd buy Marie Callender's crust again, especially for a one-crust pie. Although it was the most expensive and the dough was tough to work with, I thought it had the best texture and flavor.

For future double-crust pies, I'd choose Pillsbury. The dough was so easy to maneuver, and the resulting crust had good flavor.

However, for all three brands, I'd ignore some of the package directions and blind bake the crusts to create a more stable base.

If I were serving these to a group, I'd also add egg wash and sugar to the top crust before baking so it could easily become sparkly and golden.