Kitchen Little Essentials
To make this Perfect Crinkle Top Brownies Recipe, you will need:
I am sitting pretty in my family’s good graces right now, thanks to these brownies. These Perfect Crinkle Top Brownies are exactly what a great brownies recipe should be. They’re chewy and gooey and oh so fudgy. To me, they have the perfect chocolate flavor, as I reach for semi-sweet chocolate rather than a super bittersweet one (it’s just my preference).
Thanks to some caramel-esque dark brown sugar and salted butter (yep), these brownies have a deeper flavor than your average joes. As such, I have deemed it the absolute BEST – the perfect crinkle top brownies recipe.
How to Make the Best Crinkle Top Brownies
Did you know that the crinkly, glossy top you see on some brownie recipes is actually a very thin layer of meringue? It’s true! This forms from a reaction of the whipping of the eggs and sugar – specifically the whites of the eggs. So, to ensure that your brownies get that flaky, paper-thin, shatteringly crispy layer on top, you just need to really take some time to WHIP IT GOOD.
Yes, you want to really whisk/whip/beat the eggs and sugars together during that step of the directions. You can do this until your arm falls off without compromising the texture of the finished crumb. But just know that as soon as you add the dry ingredients in (the flour + baking powder) you need to only mix just enough to incorporate them and then call it good.
As soon as the dry ingredients mingle with the wet, glutens form (proteins) and that adds structure (i.e. toughness). The more you stir, the more structure you get. So, just fold until things are well-mixed and pour your batter into the pan.
Another thing to keep in mind as you work your way through this (easy) brownies recipe is that you’re not looking for a perfectly clean cake tester here. When you test your brownies for doneness after the allotted bake time (23 to 26 minutes or so), you don’t actually want your tester (knife or whatever) to be void of brownie. You don’t want raw batter, but you do want some crumbs to stick. This means you’re where you need to be.
They’re ready to come out.
Last tip? Just make sure to let your brownie babes cool all the way to room temp before you try slicing them. They will protest otherwise – they will crumble and stick and get all wonky on your knife and you’ll see what I mean. Just practice a little patience and wait for them to cool before you hack them up. The waiting is, in fact, almost always the hardest part, no?
Tom was right.
Why Salted Butter?
Rather than adding the salt into the dry mix, along with the flour and baking powder, I reach for salted butter instead. I think this translates the balancing effect of salt throughout the entirety of the batter much more effetctively. It just works, trust me. The salted butter just elevates the overall flavor of the brownies, raising their status from “normal” to “best ever.”
Little tricks, guys. Little tricks make big differences.
If you like the looks of this Best Crinkle Top Brownie recipe, you might want to try:
Brunettes, or the Ultimate Blondies Recipe
Flourless Chocolate Fudge Torte
Perfect Crinkle Top Brownies
Just a really perfect brownie recipe.Â
- Yield: about 12 small brownies 1x
Ingredients
8 TBSP salted butter (you can sub unsalted)
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup plus 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
4 eggs
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
1.5 cups granulated sugar
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust your oven rack to the center position. Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray and (if you like) line it with a parchment paper sling (see note).
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, add the butter and chopped chocolate. Cook, stirring occasionally, until both have fully melted (you can also do this in a bowl in the microwave). Stir in the cocoa. Set aside.Â
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and then add in the oil, sugars, and vanilla. Whisk whisk whisk – for several minutes. The helps create the crinkly top.Â
- Add the chocolate mixture and fold to combine. Add the dry mixture and gently fold just until mixed. Pour the brownie batter into your prepared pan and bake 25 to 28 minutes, until set and crinkled on top. A tester should come out with crumbs attached – not totally clean. Let the brownies cool completely before slicing into squares (they’ll be messy otherwise).
Notes
NOTE: a sling is just a large piece of parchment paper that hangs up and over the edges of the pan. It’s gives you something to hold onto – handles – to lift the brownies out of the pan easily once they’re done baking.
