Cornflake Brownies: Fudgy brownies made with a brownie mix, that’s topped with a delicious cornflake topping that’s made of Corn Flakes, caramels, and evaporated milk. They’re a deliciously soft and chewy brownie recipe that’s perfect for a sweet craving.
We love putting twists on brownie recipes, and if you do too, then we think you’re going to love these red velvet brownies!
If you love brownie recipes as much as we do, then you’re going to love the twist that we put on a lot of these! We’ve made strawberry brownies, banana pudding brownies, lemon brownies, and even butterscotch brownies!
But I have to say, these caramel cornflake brownies rank right up there at the top of the best chocolate brownies for sure, and even on of our top favorite dessert recipes.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Chewy, Crunchy, and Soft: The texture of the crunchy cornflakes, combined with the chewy caramel and the soft brownie base, is a texture that’s hard to beat.
- Simple Recipe: Since this recipe uses a brownie mix, it makes this an easy recipe that uses just a few simple ingredients to make a decadent dessert. If you don’t want to use a brownie mix, you may prefer this homemade brownie recipe.
- Bake and Chill: Once you bake the brownies from the boxed mix directions, you’ll only need to chill the rest. So you can make this recipe ahead of time and allow it to sit in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve!
Ingredients Needed
I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients with some relevant notes. Aside from this, the ingredients needed are pretty basic.
- Brownie Mix – I chose to use the Betty Crocker Supreme Original brownie mix but you can use your favorite mix. Do note that you’ll need to gather the ingredients that your box mix calls for as well, such as eggs, oil, water, etc.
- Caramels – Using caramel candies is best for this recipe, instead of the caramel baking bits that you may see in the grocery store.
- Cornflakes – You’ll want to use regular cornflakes instead of frosted cornflakes (although you can use them but it may be a lot sweeter and the recipe is sweet as it is).
Substitutions
Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:
- Cereal – if you don’t have cornflakes on hand for this recipe, you should be able to use other cereal such as Cheerios.
- Brownies – you can absolutely make brownies from scratch instead of using a box mix if you prefer. Or, you can try a dark chocolate brownie mix instead of a milk chocolate mix for a different type of sweet combo.
How to Make Cornflake Brownies
Make sure you allow enough time for the caramel cornflake topping to chill and thicken before serving.
These cornflake brownies are broken into 3 components:
- making the brownies
- making the caramel topping
- chill brownies and caramel topping
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
Make the Brownies
STEP 1. Preheat and Prep. Begin by preheating the oven to the temperature your brownie mix or recipe recommends, (mine was 350°) and line an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish or square pan with parchment paper.
I lined my baking dish with parchment paper (cut the corners) and sprayed the baking dish with cooking spray before adding the paper.
STEP 2. Make brownie batter. Make your brownie mix batter according to the package directions (Images 1 & 2).
My brownie mix required one egg, 3 tablespoons of water, and ⅓ cup oil.
Mine baking pan was a 9×9 so I did 28 minutes.
STEP 3. Bake brownies. Pour the brownie mix in to prepared pan (Image 3).
STEP 4. Bake. Next, bake the brownies according to the brownie mix’s directions, remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool on a wire rack (Image 4).
Tip: This is why I specifically love using parchment paper to line the baking dish with. To speed up the cooling process of the freshly baked brownies, I can easily lift up the parchment paper, lifting the brownies out, allowing them to sit on the cooling rack to cool faster than resting in the baking dish. This saves time and prevents putting super hot brownies in the refrigerator.
Make the Caramel Cornflake Topping
While the brownies are cooling on a wire rack make the cornflake topping.
STEP 5. Add caramels and milk to bowl. Add evaporated milk and caramels to a microwave-safe bowl that will be big enough to add in the 4 cups of cornflakes in a bit (Image 5).
STEP 6. Melt. In 30-second intervals, melt the caramels and milk together in the microwave and stir after each 30-second interval. (This took a total of about 5 times for me.)
STEP 7. Add cereal. Add cornflakes to the caramel and stir to combine (Images 7 & 8).
Then place the brownies back in the baking dish (if you removed them).
STEP 8. Top brownies. Pour the cornflake topping on top of the brownies, and spread evenly to create a cornflake layer (Images 9 & 10).
STEP 9. Chill. Place in refrigerator and allow to cool for 2-3 hours, or until topping has hardened (Image above).
STEP 10. Slice. Slice and serve the caramel cornflake crunch brownies. I sliced mine in to 9 squares (Image above).
Recipe Pro Tips
- Leftover evaporated milk. Since this recipe doesn’t use a full can, we use any leftovers as coffee creamer.
- Smaller pieces. The brownies are very sweet and rich. You can cut them into smaller sizes to stretch out the servings and it will be plenty for a serving.
Recipe FAQs
To keep the caramel crunch topping thick, store the brownies covered, in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for best results, instead of room temperature, for 3-4 days.
Absolutely. Actually, since the brownies need time to chill so the topping with harden, making them ahead of time is ideal. However, I would recommend still making them the night before or the morning of.
Of course! This recipe is very forgiving so making the brownies from scratch, even if it makes more than what this recipe calls for, should be ok. It may just change the ratio of the thickness of the topping compared to the brownie layer. These Instant Pot Brownies are made from scratch, which would also be fun to try.
More Cereal Recipes You’ll Love
Love using cereal in recipes? We do too. Here are some of our other favorites:
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
Recipe
Cornflake Brownies
Ingredients
- 16 ounce boxed brownie mix or your favorite brownie recipe
- ingredients needed according to your brownie mix directions Mine used an egg, oil and water.
Cornflake Topping
- ⅓ cup evaporated milk
- 2 cups caramels
- 4 cups Corn flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to the temperature that's instructed on your brownie mix or favorite brownie recipe. I preheated my oven to 350° F.
- Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper. See blog post for tips.
- Make brownie mix according to package direcctions, and bake.
- Remove brownies from the oven once they're baked, and allow them to cool while making caramel cornflake topping.
Caramel Cornflake Topping
- Add caramels and milk to bowl. Add evaporated milk and caramels to a microwave-safe bowl that will be big enough to add in the 4 cups of cornflakes in a bit.
- Melt. In 30-second intervals, melt the caramels and milk together in the microwave and stir after each 30-second interval. (This took a total of about 5 times for me.)
- Add cereal. Add cornflakes to the caramel and stir to combine
- Top brownies. Pour the cornflake topping on top of the brownies, and spread evenly.
Chill
- Chill. Place in refrigerator and allow to cool for 2-3 hours, or until topping has hardened.
- Slice in to 9 squares (Or smaller if you prefer more, smaller, servings.)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Melissa says
So yummy – I really loved the corn flakes on top they are so yummy.
Katie says
I love the crispy layer that the cornflakes add to these! So yummy.
Gina Abernathy says
Made these last night for dessert and they were a hit! Loved the corn flake topping. I had 2 and wanted 2 more… I have no will power!!
Alison Saalbach Corey says
Your food is simply amazing. Your flavors are always spot-on and your dishes are beautifully presented.
Erin H says
Wow!! Love the texture of these brownies, I never would have thought to add corn flakes!
Whitney says
The idea of adding cornflakes is brilliant! It adds the perfect texture.
Patty at Spoonabilities says
These brownies are so fudgy, chewy, crunchy, soft and sweet! Need I say more?