Refrigerator Confetti Brownies

Confetti brownies are the no-bake, no-flour, no-effort dessert that masquerades as a proper baked good. Graham cracker crumbs, colored mini marshmallows, chopped walnuts, and powdered sugar get bound together with a melted chocolate chip and evaporated milk mixture, pressed into a pan, frosted with the reserved chocolate, and chilled until set.

The colored marshmallows are the signature touch (this is where the “confetti” name comes from). They stay soft and pillowy throughout the chill, giving the bars a fun, polka-dot interior that kids love and adults remember from their childhood.

This is the dessert for sweltering days, late-summer potlucks, or any time the oven is occupied with something else. Cuts cleanly into 16 squares once chilled.

Pro Tips

• Use evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed. Evaporated milk thickens the chocolate without adding extra sugar; sweetened condensed makes the bars cloyingly sweet.
• Melt the chocolate chips and milk over low heat (the recipe specifies it). Higher heat seizes chocolate and breaks the smooth texture.
• Reserve exactly ½ cup of the chocolate mixture for frosting before adding the rest to the crumbs. Once the crumbs go in, you can’t separate it back out.
• Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the pan with the back of a spoon or a spatula. Loosely packed bars crumble when sliced.
• Chill at least an hour, ideally 2. Underchilled bars stay soft in the center and slice messy.

Variations

• Add 1 teaspoon of mint extract (the recipe note suggests it) for chocolate-mint refrigerator brownies.
• Use white chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet for a sweeter, lighter-colored version.
• Stir in ½ cup of dried cranberries or chopped maraschino cherries with the marshmallows for a holiday-leaning twist.