No Bake Brownies

These brownies never see the inside of an oven. Chocolate chips melted with evaporated milk and cinnamon create a smooth, glossy ganache-like base that binds everything together. Half gets mixed with the dry ingredients, half gets spread on top as a fudgy glaze.

Vanilla wafer crumbs replace flour entirely. They give the brownies a cookie-like texture and subtle vanilla flavor that you won’t find in traditional baked brownies. Mixed with miniature marshmallows and powdered sugar, the filling presses into an 8-inch pan with a dense, chewy consistency.

The cinnamon is a quiet addition but a smart one. It deepens the chocolate flavor the way it does in Mexican hot chocolate, adding warmth without tasting distinctly like cinnamon.

One hour in the fridge is all the setting time you need. The chocolate mixture firms up as it cools, binding the crumbs and marshmallows into sliceable bars.

Kitchen Tips

• Crush the vanilla wafers into fine, even crumbs. A food processor works best. Uneven crumbs make the bars crumbly instead of dense.
• Stir the chocolate and milk over low heat, not medium. High heat causes the evaporated milk to scorch and the chocolate to seize.
• Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the buttered pan. Loosely packed bars fall apart when you try to cut them.
• These are best served cold. At room temperature, they soften and get sticky.

Variations

• Peanut butter swirl: Warm a few tablespoons of peanut butter and swirl it into the top chocolate layer before chilling.
• Mint chocolate: Add ¼ teaspoon of peppermint extract to the chocolate mixture for a cool, minty twist.