Why not give a classic brownie an upgrade? Add coffee for coffee brownies!

I’ve learned that boxed brownie mixes are just a suggestion.

It’s a base just waiting for you to upgrade it. You can easily add extra ingredients (like coffee) to make it taste infinitely better, or for a change every now and then.

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While there are times when a classic brownie is called for, there are other times when adding extra chocolate or other ingredients to brownie mixes is a good idea.

Here are a few ways:

Ways to upgrade boxed brownie mixes

Mix in chocolate chips, candy, nuts
Or top brownies with chocolate chips, candy and or nuts
Put in cookie dough for a hybrid brownie/cookie
Top with frosting, like our coffee frosting
Make it fun and colorful with sprinkles
Turn the brownie into a brownie cookie
… and here we’re covering adding coffee!

The great thing about making brownies is that you need very minimal tools. You don’t even really need to use an electric mixer.

So why not try making coffee brownies today?

All you have to do is follow a brownie mix box instructions, then follow our steps, which adds coffee and makes it extra fudgy.

It’s so easy to make these fudgy coffee brownies.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Coffee Brownies Ingredients

1 box brownie mix (I used a dark chocolate mix)
2 tablespoons instant coffee (I used Nescafe Clasico)
Replace water for coffee (I used cold brew coffee concentrate)
Add 1 additional egg yolk
Pinch of sea salt (optional)

Brownie mix

Though the amount may vary slightly depending on the brand of brownie mix that you purchase, all mixes call for the addition of vegetable oil, water and eggs.

The mix that you’re buying contains sugar, flour, cocoa and a very small amount of baking powder, canola oil, cornstarch and salt.

It may vary slightly by brand. The ingredients I just listed were in the dark chocolate brownie mix from Pillsbury that I used.

Other brands like the Betty Crocker dark chocolate brownie mix additionally list corn syrup and palm oil on their ingredients list. But most major brand names are usually the same. You can also use a gluten free or keto brownie mix to adhere to your diet.

Instant coffee

I used Nescafe Clasico instant coffee. All you need to do is simply pour in tablespoons (or more or less depending on the strength of the coffee flavor that you prefer) to the mix.

I like using this for my coffee flavored desserts. You can use it too or use your favorite instant coffee that you like the taste of. If you haven’t found a favorite yet, check out our guide to the best instant coffees from around the world to discover one.

And if you prefer to have a caffeine free coffee flavored dessert, there is a decaf version of Nescafe Clasico.

Other brownie mix additions

Replacing water with coffee: Boxed brownie mixes will usually call for around a ¼ cup or ½ cup of water. Instead of using water for the coffee brownies, I replace it with a ¼ cup of brewed coffee.

You can use any type of coffee and brewed using any method. Just brew your coffee as concentrated as possible so you can add to the coffee flavor. So if you can make espresso using an espresso machine (¼ cup is about 2 shots of espresso), that’ll be ideal.

This time, I used a very strong cold brew coffee concentrate using Jo Coffee’s Stone Cold Jo whole beans. I make cold brew coffee concentrate using one part water to two parts coarsely ground coffee beans, which results in a very concentrated cold brew.

If you haven’t made cold brew coffee before, read our guide to making cold brew coffee. There are three ways to do so and you don’t even need any special equipment. As long as you have even an empty pasta jar at home, you can make cold brew coffee.

Add an additional egg yolk: This part is for you if you prefer fudgy brownies versus cakey brownies. To make brownies extra fudgy, adding extra egg yolks help.

My mix called for 2 eggs, so I added in an extra egg yolk for a total of 3 egg yolks and 2 egg whites.