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The BEST Crinkle Top Brownies.
Watch the How To Video:
Because there is a lot to celebrate today, and because it’s FRIDAY…and because everyone knows that Friday’s deserve chocolate.
So if there was ever a classic brownie recipe to have in your back pocket, it’s this one. Trust me on this. They remind me of the brownies I’d eat as a kid, and I’m really not sure there’s anything better. These are light, a little fudgy, extra chocolate flavor, perfectly sweet, and they have the most flakey, crinkly top ever. Oh my gosh, SO GOOD.
Before I dive into the delicious details, let me explain the reason I am sharing them.
As most of you know by now, my younger brother Red took home his first Olympic gold medal last week in Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle in PyeongChang, South Korea. If you missed my recap post, you can read part one here and part two here. I said from the start that I wasn’t going to make any fancy Olympic themed food. One, because I am not good with decorating food in fancy ways, and two, because I just didn’t have any great ideas.
That said, after returning home from Korea last week, I felt the need to create a recipe that I knew Red would love. I mean, he did win GOLD, so a celebratory dessert is certainly in order. Right?
Yes, yes, yes. For sure.
Here’s the thing, Red’s a semi picky eater, and doesn’t like anything fancy. His favorite desserts are Special K-Bars (cookbook recipe), chocolate chip cookies, and brownies.
I have a lot of brownie recipes on HBH, but I don’t have one brownie recipe Red would actually eat. Red likes his brownies simple. Chocolate, no frosting, maybe some powdered sugar, and preferably eaten slightly warm. So basically the brownies my mom would make us when we were kids. The ones that came straight out of the Betty Crocker box.
Not going to lie, I loved them too…which is why I am SO excited about these brownies. I really cannot stress enough just how good they are.
When I set out to make these crinkle top brownies, I thought for sure that I’d make them first try and they’d be perfect. I think I felt so confident because I’ve made a hundred and one brownie recipes. But guys, I tested these brownies over and over and over. It was so important to me that they would have the perfect texture, not be dense or cakey, and have the most flakey, crinkly top.
They needed to be perfect, just like the ones I remember eating as a kid with my brothers.
It took a while, used up a lot of eggs…and even more butter.
Like two full days of testing, way over a dozen eggs, probably pounds of butter. Six batches later (possibly more, I lost count), I finally got them right. My freezer is now full of brownies. It’s awesome and very dangerous.
So what’s the secret to that perfect texture and crinkly top?
Real melted chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a good amount of whisked eggs.
The chocolate is obvious, but the whisked eggs? You need those to create that crinkly top. Whisking the eggs prior to mixing them in the brownie batter creates air within the eggs that helps to create that crinkly top. It might seem like an unnecessary step, and a waste of a clean bowl, but just trust me on this, it’s what makes these brownies great.
While that and all the semi-sweet chocolate…and butter.
YUMMMMMM.
Red has yet to try these brownies, seeing as he’s still in South Korea, but I’m feeling pretty confident that he’s going to love them.
Speaking of Red, he is competing one last time tonight in Men’s Snowboard Big Air, alongside two of his USA teammates, Kyle Mack and Chris Corning. Kyle is a super close friend of the family, who’s honestly almost like another brother. Pretty excited for the both of them, but I have my fingers crossed for Kyle on this one, as Big Air is much more his event. Make sure to watch tonight at 8pm EST on NBC!
Annnddddd with that, I’m thinking these brownies are the perfect chocolate treat to eat while cheering the boys on.
Lastly, if you make these Crinkle Top Brownies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crinkle Top Brownies
Servings: 20 brownies
Calories Per Serving: 252 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper.2. In the microwave, melt together the butter and 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (stir at 30 second intervals) until melted and smooth. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and instant coffee. 3. In a small bowl whisk the eggs for 1 minute until bubbly on top. Stir the eggs into the chocolate mix. Add the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Stir until just combined. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips.3. Evenly spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until the brownies are just set. Let cool (or not) and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Notes
*For extra thick brownies, bake them in a 9×9 inch square baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes.
The BEST, enough said.
This post was originally published on February 23, 2018
How many grams for the chocolate chips? I’ve got a bar in the house currently that I can chop up…
Hi Monica! It would be 350 grams! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Is there a way to omit the instant coffee? Quarantine has me working with just ingredients on hand!
Hi Ann! Yes, it should be fine! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
No instant coffee… okay to omit?
Yes! I hope you love these Chelsea! xTieghan
Hi! How much is one cup in grams? Thnx!
Hi Romina! It is different for every ingredient! I would recommend using an online converter! xTieghan
What does the instant coffee do? Is there a possible replacement?
Hi Cynthia! It brings out more of the chocolate flavor! I really love adding it to my brownies, but omit if you don’t like it! xTieghan
We are making this for the second time while in quarantine. Thank you for providing us with THE PERFECT brownie recipe to save our sanity! This is my go-to, and I am so happy about it!
Thank you Molly! I am so glad you are loving this recipe!! xTieghan
I’m about to make your “crinkle top” brownies. I have Trader Joe’s semi sweet chocolate chunks, not chips. Can I use the same measurement, 2 cups? Thank you!
Hi Monica! Yes, that should be fine! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I think all the baking powder in the recipe made it taste more like a dense cake. Although I did try to make it in cupcake trays, so maybe something went wrong along the way. I may be wrong but I’ve observed that usually brownie recipes don’t contain baking powder.
Hi! Please let me know if there are any questions I can help you with! xTieghan
I’ve just eaten half of it on my own !!! It’s divine. I’m making use of ingredients I have in the home which was bars of dark Lindt chocolate so used those instead of semi sweet chips. Only had half the amount of butter so made up the rest with coconut oil. I need to give the rest of this slice away before I finish it all … lol
Thank you so much Josie! I am so glad you’re loving this recipe! xTieghan
Would a 9 x 13 pan work if I doubled the recipe? Also, would leaving chocolate chips put change the texture?
HI! This recipe already requires a 9×13 inch baking pan. You do need the chocolate chips. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I have finally baked these the other day and I am happy to say they were veryyy delicious! I think that the next time I will use an even darker chocolate, but that is just because I, myself, prefer a darker bitter chocolate brownie taste, Thank you very much for the recipe, and I look forward to baking many more of your recipes!
Thank you so much Cristina! xTieghan
Didn’t cook properly cooked on the outside but not at all in the middle(yes I checked what my oven was on and it was correct), didn’t even taste that nice as well!!! Waste of time. I followed the recipe properly and even managed to fold everything in nicely. Disappointed
Hi Isabella! I am really sorry to hear that this did not work for you!! Please let me know if there are any questions I could help you with! xTieghan
These are the best brownies EVER!!
Truly amazing!!
Thank you so much Mariah! So glad these turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Made these this pat weekend- they were very good.
Thank you Steve! xTieghan
My favorite brownie recipe! For years I only made boxed mix brownies cause I never found a recipe that I loved until this one. Thank you for sharing! One question though, if I freeze, will they keep their crinkly top texture upon defrosting?
HI! I have never frozen these, but I would think that the top would stay crinkly once thawed. You could always warm them in oven to get that crispness back. That would be delicious!! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and Happy New Year! xTieghan