Homemade Cosmic Brownies

These homemade cosmic brownies are a copycat version of one of our favorite childhood treats as part of our Better Than Store-Bought series! Dense, fudgy brownies are topped with a silky smooth ganache and sprinkled with those trademark multicolored sprinkles.

What Makes a Brownie Cosmic?

It might surprise you to find out that the design of the original cosmic brownie was inspired by the "cosmic bowling" craze of the late 90's. While that craze has faded, people still love cosmic brownies, so we thought we'd try our hand at making a faithful copycat recipe.

This recipe actually took us quite a few tries to get right. For the first few tests, we had some issues with over-baking since these are quite a bit thinner in the pan than a standard brownie.

The final recipe is super dense and fudgy, and we achieve that by using a dough that's rich in butter and melted chocolate.

If you're on a Better Than Store-Bought baking kick, try our Homemade Milano Cookies or these fan-favorite Homemade Nutter Butters next!

Jump to:

• What Makes a Brownie Cosmic?
• Key Ingredients Needed for these Cosmic Brownies
• How to Make Cosmic Brownies
• Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
• More Homemade Versions of Store-Bought Treats
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Key Ingredients Needed for these Cosmic Brownies

• Chocolate: We use semi-sweet chocolate bar chocolate that we chop up to help balance the sweetness of the brownies. You may need to adjust sugar quantities slightly if substituting dark chocolate (more sugar) or milk chocolate (less sugar).
• Cosmic Brownie Sprinkles: We used these ones. These sprinkles would be great in a cookie (like our Kitchen Sink Cookies) or to top an ice cream sundae (paired with our Cherry Magic Shell). You can absolutely just use regular sprinkles if you don't want to purchase an extra ingredient! I've only ever seen these online (never in stores), so it does require a bit of extra investment.

How to Make Cosmic Brownies

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and line an 8x8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy removal.
2. To a saucepan over low heat, add the butter and heat until melted. Then add in the 6 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate, stirring frequently, until melted, then turn off the heat.

3. Whisk the sugar into the warm butter/chocolate mixture for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is glossy and well combined. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by the egg yolk and vanilla extract, mixing until the batter is smooth and slightly thickened.

4. To a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the cocoa powder, flour, and salt and whisk until evenly incorporated. Fold this dry mixture into the wet chocolate butter mixture in 3 batches until no dry streaks remain.
5. Pour out and spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

6. Bake for 24 to 28 minutes, or until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with some moist crumbs attached.
7. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan. 
8. To make the ganache, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat until steaming, but not boiling. Pour the heavy cream over the chopped chocolate in a heat safe bowl. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes, then whisk until the chocolate is fully melted. If it's not fully melted, microwave for about 5-7 seconds until fully melted. 

9. Pour the ganache on top of the cooled brownies and spread into an even layer. Top with sprinkles, then let the ganache set before slicing. 

Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!

• The key to success with these brownies is to not over-bake them. The center may still feel fairly soft when you pull them right out of the oven, but as long as they reach food safe temperature of 165˚ F, they are done and will firm up when cooled. If you insert a toothpick to check for doneness, there should be some moist crumbs attached.
• Flatten the top of the brownies after baking. When the brownies come out of the oven and are still warm and pliable, press the surface lightly with the bottom of a metal measuring cup. This will help smooth out any lumps on the surface and help to create a flat top for the ganache.
• To speed up setting the ganache, you can pop the brownies in the fridge for about 30 minutes. If you're making these during summer and your kitchen is hot/humid, it may take a little while for the ganache to set up at room temp!
• How to slice: The classic cosmic brownies are a rectangle with a line scored down the center. To achieve that, we sliced the brownies in half, then scored lines down each separate half. We then cut each half into 4 rectangles. This makes for a pretty big brownie, so if preferred, just slice into 16 squares.

More Homemade Versions of Store-Bought Treats

We can't wait for you to make these Cosmic Brownies in your own home! If you do, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!

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📖 Recipe