Fudgy Crackle-Top Brownies Recipe
This recipe is a hybrid between my friend Stella Parks’ Glossy Fudge Brownies recipe from Serious Eats (you can get her incredible book, Bravetart, here) and my friend Deb Perelman's My Favorite Brownies recipe from her blog, Smitten Kitchen.
Fudgy Crackle-Top Brownies
Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.
What I like about this recipe:
Beating the eggs and sugar together until the sugar is fully dissolved helps create a crackly top on the brownies.
A combination of chocolate and cocoa powder deliver deep chocolate flavor.
Letting the brownies rest after coming out of the oven allows them to collapse and turn nice and dense.
YIELD: Makes 30-40 two-biter brownies
ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
3 eggs
300 grams (about 1 1/2 cups) granulated white sugar
Big pinch of salt
10ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
110g (4 ounces) 100% (unsweetened) chocolate
225g (8 ounces; 2 sticks) unsalted butter
100g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
50g (1/2 cup) 100% cocoa powder
Directions:
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven to 325°F (°C)Cut a sheet of parchment paper so that it fits the width of an 8-inch square baking pan and overhangs the edges. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray then line with the parchment, pressing it into the corners of the pan so that it lines it with no gaps. Spray the parchment with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Combine the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat at medium-low speed until the mixture is pale yellow and ribbon-y, about five minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of barely-simmering water and stir with a spatula until the mixture is mostly melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until completely melted.
4. When the egg mixture is ready, add the chocolate and mix on low speed until homogenous, about 1 minute. Add flour and cocoa powder and mix until combined, about 1 minute.
5. Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Transfer to oven and bake until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
6. Let brownies cool at least 30 minutes before removing from pan and cutting into squares. Finished brownies can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.`
Comments (21)
Made these tonight and they came out super gooey even after an hour in the oven. Where could I have gone wrong?
Did you use 00 flour or a flour with a finer grain than your bog standard all purpose by chance? I did this once and had a similar issue. From memory I think it was with a recipe that was with volume rather than weight for ingredients, so there just wasn't enough flour in the mix for the amount of wet ingredients and it just didn't set properly. Alternatively - check if your oven door has a busted seal or the temp sensor is out by 20 degrees. That also contributed to a brownie recipe that took 90mins in the oven once for me lol
I made this recipe twice tonight and I don't get the same skin on top (it has a lot of small bubbles) and the texture is almost sandy. It's deliciously chocolatey but the texture is really off putting. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Love Stella’s recipe, it’s been on repeat for years over here! Excited to try these too! Im so glad to hear she’s doing well!
For the first time in 50 years I made brownies because of this video and they were fantastic, and every single person said they were the best brownies they ever had. I used Ghiradelli 100% chocolate, Kerrygold unsalted butter, Bob's Red Mill organic All Purpose flour, and homemade vanilla extract (4 tsp) from Madagascar vanilla beans steeped in Smirnov vodka for over 1 year. It cost $18 to make, cut into 18 pieces (any larger would be too rich). Outstanding recipe, Kenji and all the collaborators!
Best recipe for sure, thank you for sharing, Kenji! I made these yesterday and was a bit worried that I needed to alter it for high altitude since I live in La Paz, Bolivia (12,000 feet above sea level), however, I followed the recipe exactly as it is and they came out perfect!
Tried baking these tonight - everything went well, but the texture is *very* dense. It feels like they stuck to the roof of my mouth, it's a bit cloying! was that normal, or did something go wrong? I did leave the first mixture to stir a while longer than expected because my double boiler for the chocolate was taking a long while to heat up, but can't think of much else that would have affected things like so.
Hi Kenji! If I wanted to add walnuts or something, would that change things much?
Saw the video the other day, listened to the podcast on the way home, immediately made these tonight. My other brownie recipe had me beat the eggs in a similar way, but ended up with a thick, meringue-like top. Delicious too, but not quite right. These are excellent, with a thinner, crackly top, and my new favorite—thank you!
thank you kenji for always reading my mind about what i want you to make a video about lol!!! 🩵🩵
I made these today, a Valentine's Day treat for the family. They are intensely chocolatey, with a dense, soft texture. They needed 35 minutes in my oven. They have a little bit of that crackle top; they look pretty much like the ones in the video. The results (spectacular) to effort (minimal) ratio means they will go into the baking rotation for sure. Thanks, Kenji.
For those asking, Stella is doing great!
anyone know if there's a high altitude version? or what to do add if it's higher altitude?
Best brownies in the world. Been making only these for years now. I freeze half of the batch so I can enjoy them frozen or reheat in the microwave and top with ice cream as a later treat. Stella is the best!
Ms. Parks was recently on a Chris Kimball's podcast, and I believe she's working on a new book. (The latter is from a Dorie Greenspan newsletter, if I remember correctly.)
Man, I miss Stella so much. I have followed her since 2010, on her own blog a year before her stint with Serious Eats. I hope she's been living her best life, out of the public eye.
I miss Stella AND the old serious eats
What's going on with Stella? Haven't seen her in so long and she my favorite baker. Hope she's ok?
I’ll be interested to see how this compares to Claire Saffitz’s recipe, my current favourite
I'll have to give these a go. Stella's brownies are my favourite or all time. Also, your recipie has double the butter of her's. God's and monsters.
kenji go to bed bro