Can you susbtitute ingridients in brownie mix?!
Answers: I want to try using Spiced Rum instead of the water required for a boxed brownie mix... is that possible? will it make it taste a bit different? I also wanted to add chopped cherries... is that possible too? I'm scared to experiment but it just sort of occurred to me that it would make it better.
If you add spiced rum, do not do an equal to equal amount of required water. Use one quarter rum, three quarters water plus 2 tablespoons water. Besides being overpowering, the alcohol in rum will "burn off" or "evaporate" faster than water alone, which can leave your brownies dry and even burned/overdone near the edges of the pan, and the sugar in the spicing can throw off the ingredient balance which can also cause burned, crispy edges. Add chopped cherries just before putting into the pan -- that sounds yummy with the rum -- and reserve any fluids from chopping to add to the water/rum you add to the mix.
You may try spiced rum for water. It will taste different. Oh, experiment, the worst that can happen is you don't like it.
hmm would spiced rum taste different than water...hmmmmmm
you can definitely add cherries, nuts etc. anything you want. Use 1/2 water, 1/2 rum I dunno how good that'd be but give it a try!
I would recommend NOT replacing all of the water with Spiced Rum. The flavor will be too overwhelming. Try for 1 - 2 tablespoons. The cherries are fine if you chop them up a bit. Go for a quarter of a cup and toss them in to the brownie mix while it is dry - then add liquid. This helps to keep them from clumping together when spreading in the pan.
Experimentation is what cooking is all about ... but, start small when varying recipes. That way, next time, you can add more if you want but have not destroyed something first.
instead of trying all that why don't you get a fruit cake, it's already got tons of stuff in it. if you fix it like that and don't like it, then it will be going to waste. or buy a brownie already made and dump the rum on it and poke some holes for the cherries to go in, then you won't have much to waste.
Yes, I would try the rum instead of water. I'm not sure how much water the recipe calls for. I wouldn't use over 1/4 cup of rum in the recipe or it might be overpowering. If it takes more than 1/4 cup of liquid.. use 1/4 cup rum and the rest the water.
And I see no reason not to add the cherries, although you might find the brownies is extra gooey right around the cherry bits. This is not a bad thing.
Do you like coconut? Sprinkle some on top of the mix before you bake and you've got on heck of a nice tropical chocolate brownie going there.