Cream Cheese Brownie Recipe with Strawberries (2024)

FAQs

What does adding more water to brownie mix do? ›

It is important to follow the instructions carefully to ensure the brownies turn out as expected. If you add too much water, the brownies may turn out too cake-like, and if you add too little water, they may be dry and crumbly.

Brownies are known for their moist and fudgy texture, which is usually achieved by the combination of: Fat: Butter or oil provides moisture and helps create a tender texture. Sugar: Adds moisture and contributes to the overall sweetness. Eggs: Binds the ingredients and adds moisture to the batter.

One change is to use milk or heavy cream instead of water. This change will make brownies more moist and gooey since milk is more fatty and flavorful than water. A second change is to use butter instead of oil. For similar reasons to using milk, butter adds a rich and more decadent quality to the batter.

If you prefer not to use vanilla, add an equivalent amount of water: cocoa is very dry and without some extra liquid, your brownies will be dry. These additions add deep flavor. They also help cut the over-sweetness of boxed mixes. I make the same adjustments to boxed chocolate cake mixes, and add an extra egg.

The reason we melt butter in brownie recipes instead of beating room temperature butter with sugar is because that helps give a rich, chewy, fudgy texture. Beating butter incorporates air and gives a more light, airy, cakey texture, which we don't want in a brownie.

If you want a fudgy chocolate brownie, use melted butter. For cakey brownies, beating softened butter and sugar together to create air pockets will make your brownies lighter and cakier.

Add nuts – Add a handful of finely chopped pecans or walnuts if you love brownies with nuts. Add mix ins – Jazz up a basic brownie mix with chopped mini peanut butter cups, white chocolate chunks, or your favorite chopped up candy bar. Add a swirl – Swirl in spoonfuls of peanut butter or Nutella before baking.

Super Fudge Brownie Mix (Just add Water!)

Move over Betty Crocker, this Super Fudge Brownie mix only requires water before it hits the oven and bakes into scrumptious Thick Chewy Fudge Brownies!

The desired consistency of your batter depends on what results you want to achieve, so there's not one exact answer to your question. Cakey brownie batter contains more flour so it'll appear thicker, while fudgy brownie batter has more butter or margarine and is therefore more “liquidy” (more fat, less flour).

Use Milk Instead of Water

We've encountered mixes in which water is the only liquid. Replace it with a richer, more flavorful liquid, such as milk, buttermilk or coconut milk. The extra fat from the milk will turn a normal box of brownies into a moist and gooey treat.