How to bake better brownies, homemade or boxed

One of the best perks of brownies is how easy they are to make. Even people who aren’t bakers can often pull off treats made from a boxed mix or from scratch. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t put a little thought and care into them, though.

The Post Food team recently conducted a taste test of the top-selling boxed brownie mixes, and even the best of the bunch could be improved with a couple of smart tweaks.

Here are my top tips for baking better brownies.

Pay attention to oven temperature. This is a two-pronged approach. First, you should know how your oven runs. Regularly confirm the temperature with a stand-alone oven thermometer — odds are the oven will not be at the right temperature when the heat chime goes off. If your oven routinely runs above or below where it should be, adjust the baking temperature accordingly (or recalibrate your oven or call in a pro). Second, pay attention to the labels on boxed mixes. Some offer different temperatures based on the color of the pan — usually 25 degrees less for dark. It’s easy to scan the box and choose the wrong one, as we did for one brand in our taste test, which we had to remake.

Fold in chips, nuts and more. Whether from a boxed mix or from scratch, brownies take well to a variety of add-ins. Chocolate chips or chunks, chopped nuts (toast first for extra flavor) and candy (M&Ms and chopped Twix or Snickers are among my favorites) are easy, fun options. One reader suggests layering York peppermint patties on top of the brownies toward the end of baking, letting them melt and then spreading to form an icing.

Add a swirl. Similarly, a swirl can add instant flair to a plain homemade or boxed brownie. “Many ingredients can be swirled into brownies, but I’m partial to cream cheese, melted chocolate and nut (or seed) butters,” cookbook author Jessie Sheehan wrote for us. “The trick with swirls is to assemble something that is pourable, but not runny, so that when you drizzle or ‘plop’ (it’s a technical, brownie swirling term) the swirl mixture atop your brownie, it stays put until you are ready to drag your skewer or the tip of your paring knife through to create gorgeous, loopy swirls.” Be sure not to overdo it when incorporating the swirl — too much and you’ll lose the visible pattern. My top pick for a swirl would be dulce de leche, which tends to be thicker than a standard caramel sauce.

Use a metal pan. For a variety of reasons, metal pans are generally the better pick for baking. Most importantly, metal is a better conductor, meaning things like brownies will bake quicker and more evenly. Glass pans also tend to have rounded or sloped sides, which can take away from the delight of the coveted brownie corner or edge pieces.

Make a sling for easy removal. To ensure easy cleanup and neat pieces, consider using a sling so that you can remove the entire slab at once to cut outside of the pan. This strategy also eliminates the risk of scratching your metal pan (if you do decide to cut in the pan, use a plastic knife or firm spatula). Simply press a long piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper into the pan, leaving enough overhang on opposite sides to serve as handles for lifting the slab. Spread the batter evenly. Brownie batter tends to be thick enough to not want to naturally fill a pan on its own. My favorite tool for spreading it is an offset spatula, but the back of a spoon works as well. Take the few extra seconds to ensure the batter is in an even layer. Otherwise you may end up with spots of varying thickness, with thinner areas potentially drying out.

Know when the brownies are done. Should the tester be clean, slightly moist or have a few crumbs attached? Where to test — in the middle, 1 inch from the edge or 2 inches from the edge? I think overbaked brownies are a travesty and that you get the best idea of what’s going on by checking the center, as the edges set first. So I prefer to insert the wooden pick in the middle and look for just a slight hint of moisture — or a few moist crumbs — to still be on the tester. If it comes out totally clean, you’ve probably gone too far, especially as the center will continue to set while the brownies cool in the pan.