Oh, the things you can do with a brownie...

I.Love.Brownies. The richer and fudgy-er, the better. I believe that homemade brownies are the best if you have the time and ingredients to make them. My friend, Kim, makes homemade brownies all the time and they are delicious -- especially these and these. But most of us usually have a box mix in our pantry, if not a couple of them, to pull out when those unexpected guests show up or if you need a quick dessert to take somewhere. They are quick, easy, and delicious. But do you ever get tired of the same, plain old brownies? Well here are some variations you can try to "liven up" your brownies.

Peanut Butter Brownies: after you pour the batter into the pan, add a couple of dollops of peanut butter on top and swirl through the batter. You can also add peanut butter chips to the batter instead of the peanut butter (or in addition to, if you're a peanut butter lover!)

Double Fudge Brownies: add 1/2 bag of chocolate chips to brownie batter

Nutty Brownies: add 1/2 bag of nuts to your brownie batter

M&M Brownies: add a cup of M&Ms to your brownie batter (M&M minis are great for this!)

Cheesecake Brownies: mix together 8-oz cream cheese (room temperature), 1/3 cup sugar, 1 large egg and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, pour over brownie batter and swirl through

Frosted Brownies: bake brownies, then just frost with your favorite frosting!

Turtle Brownies: fold 1/2 cup (or more) chopped pecans into batter, bake, top with more pecans and drizzle with caramel sauce (they also now make caramel chips now that you could add to the batter)

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies: add a few dollops of Nutella on top of batter and swirl through

I have a few more up my sleeve, but I will make that another post. Don't let your brownies be boring any longer!