Copycat Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies are fudgy, chewy, deliciously dense desserts that taste even better than the original lunchbox treat! It takes only 5 minutes to prepare the brownie batter using simple ingredients, not laden with additives and preservatives found in the packaged kind.
Best Copycat Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies
This homemade Copycat Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies retro recipe is reminiscent of those individually wrapped lunchbox treats, but this version tastes less artificial because they are made without hydrogenated oils or processed ingredients you can’t pronounce. Baking brownies from scratch is so much better than anything store-bought, plus it’s a fun way to recreate a favorite childhood snack filled with all the fudgy flavors!
These Copycat Cosmic Brownies are ultra chewy and rich and covered with a chocolate frosting that’s topped with colorful candies. This easy-to-make recipe will never go out of style; with servings for 12 and no cellophane to unwrap, it’s an “out of this world” snack that’s special enough to share.
For more fun ways to recreate some other favored famous recipes, try my Copycat KFC Bowl, Copycat Disney Churros, and Copycat Crunchwrap Supreme.
Why We Love This Copycat Cosmic Brownies Recipe
- Quick and easy to prepare in 5 minutes.
- Made using simple ingredients without weird artificial preservatives or flavors.
- Fun to eat sweet treat.
- This homemade version is better than the original Little Debbie’s lunchbox brownies!
- Delicious dessert to enjoy with a big scoop of ice cream and glass of milk.
- Perfect to pack for school lunches, pass out to classmates, potlucks, and picnics.
Ingredients
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Salt
- Milk or cream
- Chocolate fudge icing
- Mini M&Ms
SEE FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BELOW
Substitutions and Additions
- Make Your Own Creamy Covering: Instead of coating your brownies with packaged chocolate icing, you can easily make your own ganache. It’s as simple as melting chocolate chips, half and half, and butter to make a smooth chocolate mixture.
- Custom Colors: Feel free to decorate your brownies with custom colors for holidays or any celebration. Use red and green candy for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, red, white, and blue for July 4th, and pastel colors for Easter. You can even use your favorite sports team colors for game day gatherings.
- Colored Candy: Instead of M&Ms, you can top your brownies with any colorful candy. Some other ideas include rainbow sprinkles, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, and rainbow crunch chips.
Recommended Tools
- 9×13 pan
- Nonstick spray
- Parchment paper.
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring tools
- Whisk
How to Make Copycat Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies
Copycat Cosmic Brownies look just like the Little Debbie lunchbox treat, but taste even better! This fun retro recipe takes mere minutes to prepare and bakes into the best bite of a rich and fudgy base with a smooth chocolate coating and topped with colorful candy.
- Melt: Melt the butter and one cup of chocolate chips on high for one minute. Remove from the microwave, stir, and continue microwaving in 30-second increments until just a few chips remain unmelted. When you do the final stir those last few chips will melt.
- Mix: Add the sugar, then the eggs, and whisk to combine. Wisk in the flour, cocoa powder, salt and milk until well combined. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake: Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 22-25 minutes.
- Cool: Cool completely before frosting the brownies.
- Frost: Frost with chocolate icing and sprinkle with mini M&Ms.
Pro Tip: If your frosting is a little stiff to spread, microwave for 10 seconds. - Serve: Slice, serve and enjoy!
Tips
- Don’t overmix your batter or you will have tough dense brownies. Mix until the flour is just combined for moist brownies with a tender crumb.
- I like to line my pan with parchment paper or foil for easy cutting and cleanup.
Storage Tips
- To Store: You can store these brownies in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: Freeze these copycat cosmic brownies for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. When you’re ready to eat them, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can absolutely freeze these brownies! The fudgy texture and soft frosting actually makes these so good out of the freezer (they’re not rock hard!).
If you want to prevent the frosting from smudging, freeze the brownies unwrapped and uncovered for 1-2 hours, and then transfer them to a freezer-safe container. This will allow the frosting to freeze so that it remains pretty when you store the brownies.
To tell if your brownies are done, insert a toothpick in the center. If the toothpick comes out with a few crumbs, your brownies are done. If you still see batter on the toothpick, bake for 2-3 more minutes at a time.
If you want the classic cosmic brownie look, you should cut them in rectangles, with an indent going through the halfway point. This was in the original design so that brownies could be split and shared.
Other Copycat Recipes
- Lofthouse Cookies
- DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Harry Potter Butterbeer Recipe
- Homemade Pop-Tarts
- Magnolia Banana Pudding Recipe
- Copycat KFC Bowl
- Little Caesars Crazy Bread
- Disney Cookie Fries
Copycat Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter (one stick)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp milk or cream
- 16 ounce container chocolate fudge icing
- ¼-½ cup mini M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a 9×13 pan by spraying with nonstick spray OR lining the pan with parchment paper.
- In a large microwaveable bowl, melt the butter and one cup of chocolate chips on high for one minute. Remove from the microwave and stir together. If there are still some chocolate chips not melted, continue microwaving in 30-second increments until just a few chips remain. When you do the final stir those last few chips will melt.
- Add the sugar first and then the eggs (you don’t want to scramble your eggs!). Whisk to combine.
- Next add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and milk and wish together until well-combined.
- Stir in the remaining one cup of chocolate chips.
- Pour mixture into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a knife or cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
- Once cooled frost with chocolate frosting. If your frosting is a little stiff to spread, microwave for 10 seconds.
- Sprinkle with mini M&Ms as many or as little as you want.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: You can store these brownies in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: Freeze these copycat cosmic brownies for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. When you’re ready to eat them, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.
- Don’t overmix your batter or you will have tough dense brownies. Mix until the flour is just combined for moist brownies with a tender crumb.
- I like to line my pan with parchment paper or foil for easy cutting and cleanup.
Do you use a sheet pan or the taller pan? I can’t tell how tall these are.