Patriotic 4th of July Brownies have red, white and blue sprinkles on top and a surprise inside! A colorful sandwich cookie is hidden inside each fudgy brownie.
Why you'll love this recipe
- 4th of July brownies recipe is an ideal way to enjoy melt-free chocolate in the heat. The chocolaty goodness is baked in.
- These patriotic brownies are made with heat resistant ingredients that are the least likely to spoil in hot weather.
- The recipe can be prepared in individual portions in a pan with square cups, or in a cupcake pan. The batter also works well in a 9” x 13” pan.
- A perfect treat for your July 4th picnic, patriotic care package, or any time you want fun red, white and blue desserts.
- These fudgy brownies were created for a 4th of July military care package, but they could be made with any colors appropriate for your occasion.
4th of July Brownies start with a heat safe recipe that make shipping chocolate, even to the desert, a possibility!
Baked in an individual serving brownie pan, these brownies have a chocolaty crunch outside and a soft and fudge-like interior. The sprinkles are festive, BUT wait until you see the surprise inside.
There is a red, white, and blue filled sandwich cookie hidden in the middle of each brownie!
Adding color to the cream center of chocolate sandwich cookies is easy and doesn't take a lot of time. You can create 18 colorful cookies in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cookies
- Twist apart the cookies and scrape the filling into three small bowls.
- Mash the white filling until smooth. Add a drop of blue or red food color gel (Americolor Sky Blue or Super Red) to the other filling bowls and mix until smooth. Transfer each filling into the corner of a separate small plastic sandwich bag.
- Alternate blue, red, and white stripes of piped frosting back onto a cookie.
- Top each filled cookie with a plain cookie to form a sandwich.
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Brownies
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the ingredients to form the brownie batter.
- Scoop 2 tablespoons of batter into each individual cup of the cooking spray coated brownie pan. Press a cookie into the center.
- Top with a tablespoon of batter and smooth to cover completely. Add sprinkles.
- Bake.
Storage
Stored at room temperature in an airtight container, Fourth of July Brownies will stay chewy for up to 2 weeks.
Tips and variations
- This recipe work with either an individual brownie cup pan or a 9" x 13" baking pan.
- Vary the color of cookie filling and sprinkles for holidays, sports team colors, or baby gender reveals.
- For the easiest way to make cookie filled brownies when time (or patience) is limited, use sandwich cookies straight from the package and/or use a boxed brownie mix.
- Use any left over chocolate cookies (without filling) for crumbled over ice cream, chopped and mixed into cookie dough, or dip them in peanut butter.
- Instead of hiding them in brownies, dip the color filled sandwich cookies in melted chocolate for chocolate covered cookies with a surprise inside! (Only ship these in cool weather.)
- Red, white, and blue Fourth of July Brownies are a great treat for any patriotic celebration. Enjoy them for Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Labor Day too!
More 4th of July recipes
Make dozens of melt in your mouth cookies in minutes with this Spritz Cookie Recipe with Shortening. Use a cookie press and this easy recipe to make cookies in holiday colors and shapes!
Nothing is more patriotic than these crunchy Flag Cookies! Make this fun treat with a flag design and white stars.
One microwave minute is all you need to make individual servings of Red, White, and Blueberry Mug Cake, for the easiest patriotic dessert.
Check out the post about the Patriotic Miliary Care Package that included these Independence Day brownies and 4th of July Cookies!
Ready to bake? Join the free membership group to get new recipes and a newsletter delivered to your inbox! You can also stay in touch on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’d love to stay in touch!
4th of July Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ all-purpose flour
- 1 cup baking cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- ⅔ cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 27 chocolate sandwich cookies Newman's Own, Oreos
- Food coloring gel Americolor Sky Blue and True Red
- Decorative sugar or sprinkles
Instructions
Cookies
- Twist apart the cookies and scrape the filling into three small bowls.
- Mash the white filling with the back of a spoon until smooth. Add a drop of red or blue food coloring gel to the other filling bowls and mixed until smooth and evenly colored.
- Transfer each filling into the corner of a separate small sandwich bag.
- Snip a small piece of the corner off each bag, then pipe alternating colors of rows of frosting back onto a cookie half.
- Top with the other half of the cookie to form a sandwich, pressing gently to adhere.
Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Coat a 12-cup pan (or 9"x 13" pan) with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and espresso powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the shortening, sugar, and eggs. Beat until light in color and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Gradually add in the flour mixture, until combined.
- Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of batter into each individual brownie cup. Gently press a sandwich cookie into the center of each cup so that the batter comes up around the edges of the cookie.
- Top each cookie with a tablespoon of batter and smooth to cover the Oreo completely. The cup will be almost, but not quite, full.
- FOR A 9” x13” PAN: Spread half of the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Gently press the sandwich cookies into the batter. Top with the remaining batter. Use a spatula or spoon to smooth the surface.
- Bake the brownie bar pan for 12-15 minutes or the 9" x 13" pan for 20-25 minutes. The toothpick test doesn’t work very well becaus the cookie center. If the top is firm, the brownies are done.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- Store brownies at room temperature in an airtight container or zip lock bag for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- This recipe work with either an individual brownie cup pan or a 9" x 13" baking pan.
- Vary the color of cookie filling and sprinkles for holidays, sports team colors, or baby gender reveals.
- For the easiest way to make cookie filled brownies when time (or patience) is limited, use sandwich cookies straight from the package and/or use a boxed brownie mix.
- Use any left over chocolate cookies (without filling) for crumbled over ice cream, chopped and mixed into cookie dough, or dip them in peanut butter.
- Instead of hiding them in brownies, dip the color filled sandwich cookies in melted chocolate for chocolate covered cookies with a surprise inside! (Only ship these in cool weather.)
- Red, white, and blue Fourth of July Brownies are a great treat for any patriotic celebration. Enjoy them for Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Labor Day too!
- If using a disposable pan, make sure to cool completely before wrapping the pan in aluminum foil then in plastic wrap.
- Cut brownies or brownies baked in individual cups can be double wrapped in plastic, or wrapped in foil then plastic, before storing in an airtight container or zip lock bag.
- For shippng times longer than 2 weeks, vacuum sealing is recommended.
Nutrition
Originally published: June 19, 2016. Last Updated: June 14, 2023. Updated for additional information, improved photos, and better reader experience.
Vera
what kind of pan do you use for the individual brownies?
The Monday Box
Hi, Vera. I have an individual brownie pan that looks like a cupcake pan (which you can also use to make these brownies), but the cups are square instead of round. You can see a photo of it on this post: https://themondaybox.com/2013/04/candy-filled-blondies/
Susan
Yes, I thought you were crazy...at first. Then I saw where you were going with that Oreo icing and I think you're brilliant! What a fun brownie treat. Congrats, you're featured this week at the This Is How We Roll Link Party.
The Monday Box
Thanks so much for the feature, Susan! I don't know about "brilliant" but I definitely like playing with icing 🙂 Surprises often cause smiles. That is what I was going for. 🙂
Miz Helen
We will just love these delicious brownies! Your post is awesome and thanks so much for sharing it with us at Full Plate Thursday. Hope you are having a great day and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
The Monday Box
Thanks, Miz Helen! Thank you for hosting Full Plate Thursday!
April J Harris
What a clever idea, Wendy! I love these surprise inside brownies! They look so delicious too. Scheduled to share on Pinterest and the Hearth and Soul Facebook page. Thank you so much for being a part of Hearth and Soul. Hope to 'see' you again this week!
The Monday Box
Thank you, April! These brownies have a patriotic pop of color to their chocolaty goodness. 🙂 Thanks for hosting Hearth and Soul. I always look forward to it! 🙂
Nicole
Your OREOs look great with the red white and blue icing. Thank you for linking up with us at the #HomeMattersParty this week!
The Monday Box
Thank you, Nicole! Thanks for hosting HomeMattersParty!
Amy
All that I can say is that I am super impressed! Sometimes cooking is more about the love of sharing your finished product with your loved ones than the time that you spend preparing the product. Thank you for sharing on Happiness is Homemade link party. Shared and Pinned.
The Monday Box
Thank you, Amy! I think you are so right about the joy of sharing finished baking products! I have fun making things but the real joy comes when you know your efforts made someone else smile. 🙂 Thanks for hosting Happiness is Homemade and thanks for pinning!
Mother of 3
LOL! Sounds like something I would do (and just the defense I'd use too!). They look adorable and I bet they taste amazing. Pinned.
The Monday Box
Thanks, Joanne! These brownies are fun to make and eat! Thanks for pinning!
Sammi Ricke
These are so gorgeous! The perfect patriotic treat. 🙂 Thanks for sharing the recipe!
The Monday Box
Thanks, Sammi! I had fun turning these into a "surprise" !
Elizabeth @ Guilty Chocoholic Mama
Oh my word, I was just thinking, "Look how deep and dark and delicious these look"--and then saw your mention of using Hershey's Special Dark. Now that is some right thinking. 😉 #yumbutton #FullPlateThursday
The Monday Box
Thanks, Elizabeth! Currently, I am only using Fair Trade chocolate, due to the child slavery issues with cocoa harvesting. I have found that Whole Foods 365 brand, gives the same deep chocolate color and flavor without any ethical concerns! 🙂
Alexandra
Mmmmm! Brownies are one of my favorites, and this recipe with the surprise inside makes it even more fun to bake (and eat)! Pinning.
The Monday Box
Thanks, Alexandra! Brownies plus oreos are definitely fun to to eat! Thanks for pinning!
Winnie
Beautiful cookies and brownies and I adore the patriotic theme!!
The Monday Box
Thanks, Winnie! Military care packages and patriotic themes definitely go together!
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
I LOVE the look of these brownies! What a fun surprise!
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert
LOVE your beautiful creations 🙂 Simple is often the best no matter how you look at it! Have a lovely weekend!
saltandserenity
If I did this, my children would say, "Mom, you need to get a life." To which I would respond, "This is my life and it's great!!"
I love that you took the time to do this. These are just beautiful. I love the addition of espresso powder to the brownie batter. These look deep dark and delicious.
The Monday Box
Thank you, Cindy! Luckily, the time required was short and the results worth it! 🙂 My kids don't totally get it (the fun part) but they are tolerant. 😉
Ashley
I love that you took the time to make your own colored oreos for these Wendy! I don't know if I'd have the patience but man, does it look so cool in the final goodie!! These brownies sound wonderful!
The Monday Box
Thanks, Ashley! Though I admit it looks a tad nutty, the process is quick and gives such fun results! 🙂