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The BEST Crinkle Top Brownies.
Half Baked Harvest At Home
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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
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
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
The BEST, enough said.
Hi,
Great recipe, thanks! If mine turned out to be very-very crumbly, what could I have done wrong….?
Thanks,
Mariann
Hi there! Was there anything you changed about the recipe? Can you give me some details about how you have baked these? Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
These are great! It was just way too sweet for me. I’ll definitely reduce the amount of sugar next time.
Thank you Emma! I hope you love these better with less sugar! xTieghan
made these brownies today and they are AMAZING!!!
Thank you so much Amanda! xTieghan
Hi, can I omit or substitute coffe granules?
HI! I recommend just omitting the instant coffee. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Any substitution for instant coffee? Can regular coffee be used or can it be skipped?
HI! I recommend just omitting the instant coffee. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Just made this for a baby shower. I was very apprehensive to make them, as I have not have look with Teagan sweet recipes, and I don’t like brownies, and my only experience with them was “Betty”. But my children and husband love brownies as long as they are not too “fudgy”. Anyway I look at the recipe for days, did lots of research with books, was very concerned at the amount of butter and eggs, thinking it was going to make them too fudgy. Finally decided to make them, follow recipe exactly, and OMG!!!! They are amazing perfect cake-fudge brownies!! Not cake not fudge just a piece send from heaven… that’s what she said. First thing to go at baby shower I had to snatch the last piece for my 9 year old boy!! thank God when he came to the house he first word were where’s my brownie? I guess my days with Betty are done…. Oh yeah I melted the chocolate and butter in stove, low heat, as I was concerned about burning the chocolate in microwave, as I have done that before
Hi! I am so glad you decided to make these and they turned out amazing for you! Thank you so much Waleska! xTieghan
Not sure what I did wrong, but these were super cakey..not at all like a brownie..
HI! can you give me some info on how you’ve made these? Any info would be helpful. So sorry for the trouble.
Are these suppose to be very fudge? I keep baking and baking them (they have now been in and out of the oven for over an hour and they are still so liquidy that I can’t even pick one piece up without it all falling apart. I have followed this recipe to a T. I’m also at 1200 FT above sea level, if that makes any difference.
HI! The elevation does make a difference. But did you change anything about the recipe? Any info on how you have made these would be helping in problem solving. Hope they turned out ok!
Just made this recipe in time for Valentines Day. So yummy but FAST and EASY.
Perfect! I am so glad it turned out amazing for you, Ashley! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Very yummy recipe! Thank u for sharing! Perfect eaten hot and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Would reducing the melted chocolate make the recipe a bit less fudgy?
HI! Yes, I would reduce the chocolate chips to 1 1/2 cups to make them less fudgy. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
This has been an ultimate hit in the household
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Ally!
This looks so good! You’re talkin about ‘cup’ measurement. I’m from Holland, we use grams. In your movie you use large and small bowls… Can you give me some clue how much grams a cup / half a cup of the different ingredients are? Thank you so much.
Just dicovered your blog, and I love it.
Hi Liesbeth! I am not to sure about the conversions, I just use google. I will link a website below with a bunch of cups to grams measurements! I hope this helps you!
http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/
hi dear, would like to try your recipe. can you help me with the measurements(cups) in grams pls. thank you
Hi Ginie! Personally, I use an online calculator to convert, so I am not positive on the exact measurements. Please try this and let me know if you have any questions!
Oh my gosh these are the best brownies! I have been searching for a brownie recipe that is better than a box for like a year and these win 100 times over! Thanks girl!
Thank you Sarah! I am so glad you loved these brownies!
Help!!! I ate all of the crinkle off of the top of these and dug out the chewy, fudgy corners too! So sad that I cant share them with anyone else now…?❤️?
Haha that is so amazing! I am so glad you love these!