These crinkle top brownies are the perfect dessert—they have chewy edges, decadent fudgy middles, and full of rich, chocolate flavor. This recipe yields my ideal brownie, and everyone who has eaten them, has absolutely loved them! Plus, they use basic pantry ingredients, meaning… you can probably make these brownies right now
Loved this recipe? Try my malted milk brownies, matcha brownies, or matcha mochi brownies!
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s foolproof.. seriously! The combination of melted chocolate and whipped eggs with sugar guarantees shiny, crinkle-top brownies every single time!
- It’s perfect for quick chocolate dessert cravings. Most (if not all) of the ingredients are pantry staples, so you can easily whip up this brownie when cravings strike.
- You won’t need any special equipment. While an electric whisk makes prep faster, a little elbow grease and a hand whisk work just as well. You can enjoy bakery-quality brownies no matter what equipment you have!
Looking for more easy bar and brownie recipes? Try out my snickerdoodle bars!
Ingredients
To make chewy. fudgy brownies from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Whipping the eggs and sugar together until light in color help yield a shiny, crackly brownie top.
- I prefer using Dutch cocoa powder over natural cocoa powder because it generally has a richer, deeper flavor.
- You can use either chocolate chips or a chopped chocolate bar. This will be melted together with unsalted butter, giving the brownies a sweet, fudgy texture.
- If you’d like, you can use vanilla extract or vanilla paste (1:1) in this recipe.
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tip
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
How to Make Crackle Top Brownies
Step 1: Heat chocolate and butter in microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. This should take between 1-2 minutes. While it is hot, stir in cocoa powder. This will bloom the cocoa powder, intensifying its flavor!
Step 2: Whip eggs, sugar, and vanilla (optional) on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, or until mixture is a light shade of yellow.
Step 3: Whisk chocolate mixture and egg mixture until fully combined.
Step 4: Gently stir in flour and fine sea salt, just until no dry spots remain. Transfer into an 8-inch square pan and bake at 350°F/177°C for 25-30 minutes, or until middle looks set and toothpick inserted in middle comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs. Let cool in pan for about 1 hour before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
Homemade Brownie FAQs
Sure! Feel free to add in half a cup of nuts, sprinkles, semi-sweet chocolate, or swirl in globs of peanut butter.
Make sure you are measuring your flour correctly! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
Additionally, ensure you are not overbaking your brownies. The center should look set, but still soft. To check if the brownies are done baking, insert a toothpick in middle. It should come out mostly clean with a few crumbs
Storage
- Room temperature: Store cooled brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled, already cut brownies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, allow frozen brownies to thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
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Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
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Brownies
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Equipment
- Kitchen scale or measuring cups
- medium microwave-safe bowl
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (90 g) chocolate chips I used semi-sweet
- ½ cup (40 g) Dutch cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 g) espresso powder optional; this enhances the chocolate flavor
- 2 (100 g) eggs
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (13 g) vanilla paste or extract; optional
Dry ingredients:
- ⅔ cup (80 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon (4.5 g) fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Spray and line 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat ½ cup unsalted butter and ½ cup chocolate chips in 30-second intervals, stirring in between. This may take between 1-3 minutes total.Note: You can alternatively use a double-boiler.
- While the mixture is hot, mix in ½ cup Dutch cocoa powder and ½ teaspoon espresso powder until combined. This will bloom the cocoa powder, intensifying the chocolate flavor! Set chocolate mixture aside while you whip the eggs and sugar.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 2 eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Whip on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, or until mixture is a light shade of yellow.
- Whip in chocolate mixture until combined.
- Gently stir in ⅔ cup all-purpose flour and ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, just until no dry spots remain. Transfer brownie batter into baking pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick/cake tester comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs. Remove from oven. Let cool in pan for about an hour before cutting, and enjoy!
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- Feel free to add in 1/2 cup of mix-ins of your choice: semi-sweet chocolate, chopped nuts, peanut butter, etc.!
- Room temperature: Store cooled brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled, already cut brownies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, allow frozen brownies to thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
