Fudgy, chocolatey brownies with that elusive meringue style crinkle top. Easy to make and balanced in sweetness and rich chocolate, these are a the ideal brownie!

The story

You guys. This. Read it. It’s beautiful. My best friend recently shared this article about where change starts, and I loved it. It’s written by a black woman married to a police officer. Her words capture exactly what I’ve been thinking and even mentioned in my last post.

The most important change to be made is a heart change. Racist policies and practices happen as a result of racist people. The same goes for “subtle” racism (although it’s only subtle to the perpetrators) and racial biases.

I particularly love that she shared some simple, basic steps for how to bring about change in your life.

This isn’t rocket science. Just because you’re not racist doesn’t mean you don’t need to listen, learn, and evaluate yourself. We all have biases and mindsets and even just fleeting thoughts that need to be checked. So please, take a look and take to heart what she has to say—especially at the end.

Oh yeah, so…brownies. Sorry, I get carried away with human rights sometimes. 😊 I pretty much stumbled upon the perfect brownie on accident. My favorite bakery has been sharing some of their recipes while closed for SIP, so of course I had to try some. But I had an idea for their brownies: triple the chocolate and sub some brown sugar (for a soft/fudgy chew). What that created was a cousin to their brownies (who knew such subtle tweaks yield such different results?). These are a fudgy brownie with that elusive meringue-like crinkle top. I usually don’t want a crinkle top, but this one was the perfect complement for the gooey center.

Also, look at this swirl. I don’t know why, but I think it’s a thing of beauty.

Now, I did have some issues, which is why I’m not a huge fan of the photos. I used a recipe posted in an Instagram caption. Which happened to have a critical typo: 9x9 instead of 9x13.

Guys, that’s almost double the size!

Usually, you can sub an 8x8 pan for a 9x9, but not here. Not when 9x9 really meant 9x13. I was supposed to bake these for 20-25 minutes. After 50 minutes I was out of time and had to pull them from the oven. Luckily, I’d tented them with foil before too much of the edge was over baked. But you can see below how the edges are rather crisp.

Even with this frustrating snafu, these brownies were ah-mazing. Like, I don’t make brownies from scratch because they never measure up to Ghirardelli boxed brownies.

Until now.

Move over, Ghirardelli. I accidentally discovered the perfect from-scratch brownie.

How to make this recipe

Melt butter and chocolate chips in a makeshift double boiler (glass or metal bowl fitted over a saucepan with 1-2” water and brought to a simmer).

Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder (sifting then all together helps prevent clumping).

Whisk sugars and cocoa powder.

Add melted butter/chocolate to sugar/cocoa bowl and mix on high 1 minute.

Add eggs, one at a time.

Add vanilla and mix until mostly smooth.

Add flour in two batches, mixing on low.

Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake 18-22 minutes, until top is matte and edges are set (don’t move when you jiggle the pan). Cool in pan at least 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tips for this recipe

Follow the mix times

Under mixing will result in a clumpy dough that won’t bake evenly. Over mixing creates a dry brownie. Follow the times indicated. Don’t worry if it’s a little grainy, since that’s just how brownies are.

Sift flour and cocoa

Brownie batter is notoriously clumpy, but you do want the cocoa and flour to be sifted to avoid too much clumping. There’s a happy medium, and sifting will help create it.

Lightly grease pan

Too much butter or spray will create a weird bubbly edge as it mixes with the batter. You want to avoid altering the batter’s composition on the edge by over greasing the pan.

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Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies

prep time: 20 minutes

cook time: 20-25 minutes

total time: 40-45 minutes

Servings: 12-16

Ingredients:

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 ounces (roughly ¼ cup) semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup all-purpose flour, sifted

½ teaspoon baking soda, sifted

¼ teaspoon sea salt

6 tablespoons (about ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar, packed (can sub dark brown sugar)

2 eggs

½ tablespoon (1 ½ teaspoons) pure vanilla extract

½ cup chocolate chips (optional, to stir in at the end)

Instructions:

Lightly grease an 8x8 (or 9x9) square baking pan with butter or baking spray. Preheat oven to 350. If your oven tends to bake too hot/fast, preheat to 325.

Cut butter into chunks (I neglected that in my photo then did it in the bowl later—bad idea). Place in a heatproof glass or metal bowl. Add the 2 ounces chocolate chips. Set over a medium saucepan filled with 1-2 inches water. Bring to a simmer then turn to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until butter and chocolate are fully melted.

While chocolate and butter melt, whisk flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk cocoa powder and both sugars. Don’t forget to stir the butter/chocolate mixture as you do this!

Once butter and chocolate are melted and smooth, remove from heat. Stir for a few seconds then add to cocoa/sugar bowl. Using a hand mixer (or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer), mix on high about 1 minute. It’ll still be grainy but should be fully combined.

Scrape bowl then add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low at first then increasing to high (to avoid a splatter). Mix for 30 seconds after each egg. Add vanilla and mix, starting on low then increasing to high (to avoid splatter). Mix on high for 1 minute, until fairly smooth and only slightly grainy.

Scrape bowl then add half of the flour mixture, mixing on low until combined each time. After second half is mixed in, increase speed to medium and mix about 30 seconds.

Gently stir in chocolate chips with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.

Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly with spatula. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until top is no longer shiny. If edges begin to pull away from the sides and look bubbly before middle is matte, loosely tent with foil to prevent the top from burning. The toothpick method isn’t really useful here, as it will continue to cook as it cools. However, a toothpick shouldn’t be covered in raw batter, either.

Let cool in pan at least 30 minutes.

Enjoy! Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container and will last 2-4 days.