Chocolate Pudding Brownies

Chocolate pudding brownies are the old-school pantry hack that uses cook-and-serve pudding mix in place of straight cocoa powder. The pudding brings cocoa, cornstarch, and sugar all in one shot, which gives these bars a softer, almost cake-like crumb that sits between a true brownie and a chocolate snack cake.

Use the cook-and-serve variety, not instant. Instant pudding has thickeners that activate cold and will turn the batter gluey before it ever hits the oven. The cook-and-serve version stays inert at room temperature and only thickens once heat hits it.

A half cup of flour is all the recipe needs because the cornstarch in the pudding takes over most of the structural work. Don’t be tempted to add more or you’ll dry the bars out.

A dusting of powdered sugar across the top hides any cracks and keeps the look clean. Skip frosting unless you’re after dessert-table fancy.

Pro Tips

• Cream the butter and sugar properly until pale and fluffy. With so little flour, that air is most of your texture.
• Pull the pan at 25 minutes if you like fudgy bars. The full 30 gives a more cake-like crumb.
• Cool completely in the pan before cutting. Warm pudding-based bars tear and crumble.
• Use a hot dry knife wiped between cuts for clean edges.

Variations

• Swap the chopped nuts for chocolate chips or a mix of both for double-chocolate bars.
• Use butterscotch or vanilla pudding mix for a completely different flavor and a paler, blondie-style bar.
• Stir a tablespoon of espresso powder into the dry mix to deepen the chocolate flavor without making the bars taste like coffee.