Learn the tips and tricks for making the best fudgy brownies with crackly tops. These rich & dense brownies have a shiny crispy top that's worth the effort!
*Thank you OXO for sponsoring today's post so I can share this fudgy brownies with crackly tops recipe with all of you.*
My favorite comfort food is fudgy brownies with crackly tops.
Those CRISPY, CRACKLY, SHINY TOPS are to die for!
So, what type of brownies do YOU like?
Fudgy ooey gooey brownies? OR crackly brownies?
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Sometimes, I like to make these brownies just so I can eat the tops and nothing else...hahaha.
These brownies are DENSE, RICH, FUDGY and insanely CHOCO-LICIOUS, just the way brownies were intended.
Seriously, look at this perfection...
I am NOT sure about the science behind getting crackly tops on top of the brownies.
But after a lot of trial and error, here are two very IMPORTANT things I have figured out about making perfect fudgy brownies with crackly tops:
- When I made brownies with just cocoa powder, the brownies were more cake-like and didn't have the shiny crispy top. So, you definitely NEED to use baking chocolate or chocolate chips in your brownie recipe to get that crispy top.
- You also need to CREAM the butter and sugar first until the mixture is pale and fluffy (takes about 5-6 minutes of beating). Most importantly, you need to MIX the heck out of your batter after adding the eggs (about 5 minutes). This adds a lot of air into the mixture and allows a crispy meringue layer to form on top of the brownies.
To make these fudgy brownies with crackly tops, you will need the following ingredients:
⅔ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup + 2 tablespoon unsalted butter (at room temperature)
7 ounces melted dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
½ tablespoon espresso powder
2 tablespoon warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Notes:
- Don't over-mix after adding the dry ingredients or else the texture of the brownies will change!
- Don't over-bake or else the inside of the brownies will become more cake-like rather than staying fudgy.
- The butter needs to be at room temperature. I tried making these brownies with slightly cold butter and the results were not as great.
And here are the steps:
Step 1:
In a deep mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
Step 2:
Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix again for another 5 minutes.
Step 3:
In a small bowl, mix together the espresso powder with water.
Step 4:
Add this espresso mixture into your batter and mix until just combined.
Step 5:
Add the melted chocolate and mix until just combined.
Step 6:
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and cocoa powder.
Step 7:
Add this dry mixture into the brownie batter and mix everything until just combined.
Do NOT over-mix!
Step 8:
Pour this batter into a square pan (Dimensions: 8in x 8in x 8in) that's lined with foil paper and sprayed with oil.
Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly over the entire pan.
Step 9:
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out covered in some sticky crumbs.
Let the brownie cool down. Then, cut it into square pieces.
And you are done!
By the way, these brownies are a small way in which I am trying to support a wonderful organization called Cookies for Kids'
Every year, OXO supports this organization through their #OXOGoodCookies program, where they encourage everyone to bake a difference with OXO.
For each blog post dedicated to this campaign, OXO will be donating $100 to Cookies for Kids' Cancer.
I used OXO's cake pan and brownie spatula to make my brownies today.
If you liked this recipe, you may also like some of these other brownie recipes...
Gooey brownies (Chocolate Cherry Brownies)
Recipe
How to make fudgy brownies with crackly tops
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Ingredients
- ⅔ cups All-purpose flour
- 1 cup Sugar Granulated
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoon Butter Room temperature, Unsalted
- 7 ounces Dark chocolate Melted, Or semisweet chocolate
- 1 tablespoon Cocoa powder
- ½ tablespoon Espresso powder
- 2 tablespoon Water Warm
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 Eggs Large
Instructions
- In a deep mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix again for another 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix together the espresso powder with water.
- Add this espresso mixture into your batter and mix until just combined.
- Add the melted chocolate and mix until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and cocoa powder.
- Add this dry mixture into the brownie batter and mix everything until just combined. Do NOT over-mix!
- Pour this batter into a square pan (Dimensions: 8in x 8in x 2in) that’s lined with foil paper and sprayed with oil. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly over the entire pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out covered in some sticky crumbs.
- Let the brownies cool down. Then, cut it into square pieces. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Don’t over-mix after adding the dry ingredients or else the texture of the brownies will change!
- Don’t over-bake or else the inside of the brownies will become more cake-like rather than staying fudgy.
- The butter needs to be at room temperature. I tried making these brownies with slightly cold butter and the results were not as great.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
M
I have never really been a fan of chocolate, but I can advise you that this is the absolute best brownie I have eaten. My family loves it too. I have made it twice already and added chocolate chips both times, and it worked perfectly. Thank you so much for this recipe which is now my go-to. Xx
Gaby
It is C° or F°?
Abeer Rizvi
350 degrees F or 175 degrees C
Andrie
I find north American sweets too sweet so I used only 1/3 cup of sugar with 1/2 tsp stevia. I also baked it for only 18-20 mins and it was enough. Also worked well with gluten free flour. Very nice brownies though. Thank you.
Habiba
It’s an absolutely divine brownie recipe.
Just used a little lesser amount of sugar as I don’t like it too sweet and it turned out perfect.
Perfect cracked top and nice and fudgey chocolatey...
Completely recommended....
Parthavi
Those tips are really great. Thanks for that. Really turned out a crisp on top and fudgy inside brownie. I did eneded up over baking a bit which i will further reduce the next time to make it.more.goey
Tommy
Thank you for this recipe. My son and I really enjoyed these brownies.
Doreen
Those tips really helped me to get the brownie consistency that I looked for. Thank you.
Abeer Rizvi
I am happy to hear that. Enjoy!
Angela Chan
I've tried many brownie recipes and this is the best so far.
Abeer Rizvi
Yay! It's out of this world amazing!
Dani
This is everything a brownie should be. Period. No other brownie recipes have accomplished that! I found your recipe over a year ago and LOVED them. Everyone did! And then my computer broke and I lost the link to your website. I spent a lot of time looking for it, gave up and tried other recipes. But none was as good as this. A week ago I decided to look for it again and found you and made the brownies again... Oh my gosh! I'm writing your recipe in my personal recipe notebook. AMAZING JOB. Thank you for sharing!
Abeer Rizvi
Awwww! You just made me so happy! I am so glad you find my brownie recipe again. Hope you enjoy some of my other recipes too!
Vani
Hi! I'm looking forward to trying this recipe but my question is what happens if I reduce the chocolate content which is stated as 7 ounces in your recipe? Will it affect the brownies? Thanks in advance!
Abeer Rizvi
I haven't tried that change to know how it would affect the recipe. Sorry!
Justine Sklar
Was the batter supposed to be super thick
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, it's fairly thick.
Tyler
We needed a chocolate fix and my husband suggested I make brownies, but "the ones with the crackle tops".
I whipped up your recipe today (I added 1/4 tsp of salt) - they were perfectly moist and chocolatey in the middle and crackling and chocolatey on the top.
Fabulous recipe. My new favorite brownie recipe... My husband's too
Abeer Rizvi
Yay! So glad you both got a chocolate fix!
Angie
Absolutely love the recipe, but quick question, what happens when you use a rectangular pan (9×13) instead of the square pan? (8×8) Thank you!
Abeer Rizvi
The brownies will be much thinner, if you use a bigger rectangle pan.
Alex
I was wondering if not including the espresso powder will have a large affect on how the brownies will turn out.
Abeer Rizvi
It basically enhances the chocolate flavor in the brownies but people have made it without it without any issues.
Sian
This seems like quite a small tin, do you reckon I could double the recipe for a bigger tin with the same results?
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, you can double the recipe. Some readers have done that successfully!
Hira
Hands down my favorite new brownie recipe!!! I have used your recipe twice in a span of one week and OMG! So goooood! My husband and I love devouring them with our coffee every morning! Thank you so much for the tips that you’ve given as well!
Abeer Rizvi
Woohoo! So happy to hear it's such a hit!
Maria
Did you get that shiny top?