Healthier homemade Cosmic Brownies! Fudgy flourless brownie, chocolate ganache, and iconic rainbow sprinkles. Childhood fun meets grown up decadence!
If you want to scroll right on past the chatter and get straight to the sprinkle-topped chocolate-frosted brownie part of this post, I will not blame you one bit. Words really cannot properly express how much I love this recipe.
Last week Sonya and I were texting recipe ideas back and forth, she said cosmic brownies, I said YES (with many many exclamation points), all other ideas suddenly paled in comparison, and we broke out the rainbow sprinkles.
Looks aside, this recipe is all kinds of fudgy flourless decadence. The brownie base is dense and so rich, made with just 7 ingredients. The chocolate ganache is where decadence truly reaches an all time high, dairy-free made with dark chocolate chips and coconut milk that sets to the perfect cosmic brownie copycat consistency. And the rainbow sprinkles are obviously just for fun, but I will be a little sad if you skip them.
They were gone by the end of the night with high praise from everyone we shared with, so unless you hate chocolate you will love these.
Happy homemade, tiny bit healthier, Vegan Cosmic Brownie baking to you!
Also I am kinda really REALLY obsessed with this video. Maybe my favorite I’ve ever shared. Shoutout to Daniel Peacocke for these cinematographic skills…
Vegan Cosmic Brownies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 brownies 1x
- Category: brownies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Description
Healthier homemade Cosmic Brownies! Fudgy flourless brownie, chocolate ganache, and iconic rainbow sprinkles. Childhood fun meets grown up decadence!
Ingredients
Brownies
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp warm water)
- 3/4 cup (185g) runny nut/seed butter
- 1/4 cup (50g) coconut oil*
- 1/2 cup (75g) coconut sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (70g) cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Ganache
- 1 cup (160g) chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- Colorful sprinkles for topping**
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Whisk together the nut/seed butter, coconut sugar, prepared flax eggs, and vanilla.
- Stir in the cacao powder, baking soda, and salt to form a thick batter. If batter seems too dry add 1/4 cup coconut oil or nondairy milk.
- Spread into a greased loaf pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350ºF.
- Cool completely (or chill to speed it up) before frosting.
- For the ganache, melt the chocolate chips with the coconut milk. Stir until smooth.
- Pour/spread on top of cooled brownies. Top with sprinkles. Chill until the ganache is set.
- Slice and eat!
Notes
*You can use non-dairy milk instead for an oil free option, but the brownies will be drier.
**Or for an all natural sprinkle option, make your own!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 brownie
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 27g
- Sodium: 165g
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 39g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 4g
Keywords: chocolate, vegan, flourless, healthy, dessert, baking, kids, gluten free, dairy free, egg free
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I used to trade these with my best friend in middle school. I don’t actually like chocolate much, but she loves it. I’ll have to make these for her to try!
★★★★★
Aw that’d be so sweet!! Yes definitely a middle school nostalgia treat for me too🤗
Yum!!! I absolutely love your brownies! I don’t normally sub in your recipes (they’re perfect!), but I’m making these for a friend’s birthday and one guest can’t have flax. So I’m doing 2 batches. If I use eggs in one batch, do I use 2? Thanks! 😁
Yep, two regular eggs will work great too! I hope you guys love them😋
Weird to confess this, but I have never eaten a Cosmic brownie in my life. Heck, I have never even HEARD of a cosmic brownie until 2018! What can I say? My parents didn’t like those types of desserts–what a shame because now I am such a brownie fiend, haha! These cosmic brownies look fantastic though! Love the sprinkles on top and how fudgy and rich each brownie looks!
Ha you weren’t missing out on anything too gourmet and life changing, trust me😂 Even without the sprinkles this is just a REALLY GOOD brownie recipe with a lot of chocolate which is truly what I care about most lol!
Why are there no measurments in grams? You always have that and it makes it so much easier for some of us to bake from your recipes!! 🙂
Oh my bad! I forgot, I will add them 🙂
I was taken aback by the lack of any sort of flour in this recipe. It is correct as written? Also,can I sub the coconut sugar for anything else? Thanks!
It is correct, yes! They are flourless, the cocoa powder is enough of a dry ingredient and it keeps them really moist that way. Um any granulated sweeter will work!
I used sucanat!
Do you think tahini would work or is it too bitter? I have chia seed meal, I imagine that can be used in place of flax?! These look so good!!
Hmm that would be a lot of tahini, it depends on how much you like tahini. Personally I think it would be god, but you will taste it for sure. And yes, chia meal will work too!
The brownies are delicious but they are dry and I added extra liquid. Also my ganache was grainy. I followed the recipes exactly I would make them again but the ganache turned out tasty but not very appealing looking 🙁
★★★
Bummer it didn’t work for you, what brand of chocolate chips did you use? The ganache should melt down to be SUPER creamy and smooth!
First of all, I LOVE the video for this recipe! Your friend has quite the gift….so I’d say you guys make a great team 😍 confession: I’ve never had a cosmic brownie! I’ve had my fair share of Little Debbie treats when I was younger, but never the cosmic brownies 😂😂 That’s ok though because now I’ve got this recipe to try! But first I need to find sprinkles! These look incredible and so rich…so right up this chocoholic’s alley ❤️ I love that they’re flourless and oh, man. That ganache 😍 I know I’ll be a big fan of these!
He’s amazing, I feel so lucky to get to work with those guys and create such fun delicious videos🤗 And WHATTTTTTT??? Mandy are you sure you were a middle schooler because idk cosmic brownies seem like a pretty integral part of the experience😳😂 Honestly I preferred zebra cakes anyways lol. Oooh I am sure you will be able to find some good naturally dyed sprinkles up there, but even without sprinkles…SO GOOD😋 Wishing you the most happy weekend! xoxo
I made these brownies the night you posted the recipe and DAMN!! Both my husband and I loved them and we will definitely make them again! They are so thick & fudgy and were even better the next day after the ganache thickened more in the fridge overnight. I used Sweetapolita sprinkles which are vegan – next time I’ll use these which are like the true Cosmic brownie rainbow chips: https://sweetapolita.myshopify.com/collections/vegan-sprinkles/products/rainbow-bit-chips
Thank you so much for creating and sharing such a great recipe! I also really appreciated that these didn’t call for any maple syrup 🙂
★★★★★
Yes! Yay!! I am so happy to hear you guys loved them🤗🤗 And THANK YOU for sharing these sprinkles, I have never heard of this brand so that is so good to know!
Was lurid in by the gif posted on Reddit. I’ve struggled to find vegan desserts that work for me and couldn’t resist after seeing that. I had to add the extra coconut oil as the mixture was very dry without it, and had them in the oven for a little over 30 minutes, but otherwise no deviations from the recipe. But damnn are they good. Love the texture and the taste, definitely a new favourite in our household. I don’t know if we’ll have any left to see what they’re like on the second day!
★★★★★
I am so happy you liked them, Lauren! And found them, thank you for the lovely feedback and enjoy the rest🤗
Can you freeze these?
If so can you freeze after ganache?
Yes you can freeze them! But I would recommend freezing them unfrosted and frosting right before you eat, the ganache will not freeze well. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you 🙂
allergic to coconut in all forms..any subs for coconut sugar?
Brown sugar would work! Or any granulated sweetener really 🙂
Yea! I have all the ingredients. Can’t wait to try. Blondies next? Thanks in advance!
Wahoooooo! I am almost sure you will love these🤗 Let me know!
Accidentally made mine in a brownie pan ;( but they still look good. Just a bit thinner
Oh yes, mine was a loaf pan! But I am glad they still worked and tasted delicious I hope😋😋
This recipe is AMAZING!! I used sun butter and avocado oil instead of coconut and chia seeds instead of flax and it worked splendidly. I find gluten free egg free brownies usually flop, so THANK YOU Natalie!!
★★★★★
I am so happy you liked it!! And thanks for sharing your subs too, always helpful 🙂
Never heard of cosmic brownies before, but those two words held such promise so how could I resist! Are these the best brownies from your recipe back catalog I JUST DON’T KNOW BUT MAYBE PROBABLY YES! The ganache, the depth, the sheer chocolatey-ness! 🙌🙌 I used your Homemade Vegan Sprinkles recipe for these and they were brilliant! But what makes these brownies cosmic? Are they the brownie of choice of the discerning astronaut (understandable)? Is it the sprinkles (in which case I’ve been unwittingly eating Cosmic Donuts for years!)? Actually, who cares! They are an astronomical gastronomical treat, that’s for sure!! Definitely making these again soon (well, I do now have a massive bag of sprinkles… Incentive/excuse, potato potato 🤷♀️!).
★★★★★
Oh man, it’s hard to pick a favorite brownie…but if i HAD to these just might be it for me too🙌 The ganache truly makes them, right?? SO super decadent, and I love that you paired with the homemade sprinkles too🤗🤗 I honestly have no idea where the name comes from ha! That’s just what the packaged childhood version we based them off of is called. My guess is it has to do with the sprinkles but…🤷🏻♀️ Hmm somehow I have a feeling you will have no trouble finding a use for those extra sprinkles😉 So happy you loved them, Aleks💗
I used almond butter and added ~1 tsp mint extract. I was also too impatient to sample these so I skipped the chocolate ganache frosting. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is hands down THE BEST brownie recipe I’ve ever tried. I’ve been searching for the ‘perfect’ brownie recipe for years, and I’ve FINALLY found it! They have such a delicious flavor and nice thick fudgy texture. I will definitely be making them again very soon (maybe tomorrow?) with the frosting. THANK YOU!!! 😋🍫
★★★★★
Wahoooooooo🤗🤗 You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear, such high praise and without ganache too! And I love the mint addition, that sounds delish I gotta try it😋 Thank YOU for this wonderful feedback Eva! And I hope you enjoy many more batches to come❤️
I had never heard of Cosmic Brownies, but now that I am aware of them and your take on them, they will be in my repertoire often. So delicious and satisfying. The only trouble I had was that a couple of the slices crumbled (I had let it cool for a couple of hours before slicing, but didn’t chill it in the fridge)—but that’s not a total loss since I used them on top of chocolate pudding to make dirt pudding.
I debated about making these since it involved buying and eating sprinkles. Of course I loved sprinkles as a kid—back when sugar/fat/artificial ingredients weren’t on my radar. I’ve not had them for years. But then I realized that as healthy as I eat in general, a few sprinkles weren’t going to kill me (and if they did, death by sprinkles may be a painless and fun way to go!). So you not only developed a fantastic recipe, but you helped me loosen up a little and enjoy life (and eating) just a little more. As always, many thanks!
★★★★★
This is honestly my favorite brownie feedback, and while I love that you loved the brownies I love love LOVE the food freedom part even more. I relate to those thoughts so much, and isn’t life better when you can throw some sprinkles on your relatively healthy brownies and enjoy and not overthink it☺️ As for the crumbling, maybe try that extra coconut oil next time! Gah this truly was lovely to read, thank you for sharing Ellen❤️
I did this recipe using eggs and using Australian measuring cups. Totally delicious. Have just finished a mouthful of warm choc brownie and it makes me happy. First recipe I’ve tried so definitely going to try some more ❤
★★★★★
YAY! I am so happy you loved them, one of my faves too💜 Thanks for the feedback Rhiannon and happy weekend!
Hi Natalie! Quick question. Would lite coconut milk work for the ganache?
Should be okay, although maybe add an extra 1/4 cup chocolate chips to help it set up firm without the extra fat of the coconut milk!
Looks amazing can’t wait to try, what kind of chocolate chips would you recommend for the best ganache?
★★★★★
Hu Gems are my favorite for baking and ganache making! But any kind of semi-sweet chips will work, I use the Enjoy Life ones quite often too 🙂
These were so good—and so easy to make! Mine took exactly 20 minutes to bake in the oven. The only thing I did differently was I used oat milk for the ganache instead of coconut milk, and it still turned out great! Definitely recommend letting the ganache set before eating. Thanks for making delicious recipes with healthy ingredients!
★★★★★
I am so happy you loved them Miranda! Great to know that the oat milk works too, I love oat milk so sounds delicious😋 appreciate your feedback and enjoy the rest!
Now my good to recipe, I absolutely love these brownies. Thank you for the recipe share. So good!
★★★★★
That is the best kind of review🤗 I am so so happy you love them Rachael!
Hey Nat,
As I said previously, I used the Ganache of these Cosmic Brownies for Esay Fudge Brownies and it was great!
But how long for Ganache to set?
In the fridge better and quicker like for the Brownie Mousse?
(because I left maybe too long at room temperature it was thick to spread on top…)
So I have some questions for making these brownies well now..
#LOAF PAN
What size of Loaf Pan do you use please?
Is it.the same Loaf Pan dimensions for the following recipes where you need Loaf Pan too?
RAW nut Free Brownies
No Bake Brownies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Chocolate Peanut Butter Magic Bars
Can I use also the same Glass Dish (9×6) as Easy Fudge Brownies?
Or 8×8 square Pan?
#FLAX EGGS
In this recipe you ask for Warm water (but not for Easy Fudge Brownies for example…) is there a reason?
Warm water is about 80° just before boiling water point?
This time you use 2Tbsp Flax meal + 6 Tbsp water…
But for Walnut Chunk Brownies you jse 2tbsp Flax Meal + 4tbs water (more thick eggs) so is there a reason?
I find with a 1:2 ratio, Flax egg has more texture…
#COCONUT OIL
You say we can substitute with Non Dairy Milk but Coconut Milk canned (well mixed or thick part?) can be good for less fat than oil but keep a creamy texture?
Thanks my dear Nat!
Henri 😀
★★★★★