Brownie Crisps
Crisp, rich and addicting, these thin brownie crisps will quickly become your favorite way to finish your morning coffee!
So earlier this summer, I had a few trips in and out of the country. Lots of layovers, airport food, and sleepless nights. Not to mention, I was in my very early days of pregnancy!! I had to munch on something frequently to avoid queasiness. Anyway, on my longest layover at the Denver airport on my way from Mongolia, I was delighted to get my feet up and relax at one of United clubs. But first, I checked out their buffet area as I usually do.
After a small bowl of hearty soup, which hit the spot, I poured myself a cup of tea and grabbed a few of those delicious-looking brownie crisps for dessert. I mean, how could I pass by a gigantic bowl filled with thin, chocolate-y treats? Oh, man, was I in for the treat!! Let’s just say, I’ve made numerous trips back to the buffet for refill.
Since I couldn’t stay (nor did I want to) at the airport lounge and enjoy those crisps indefinitely, I was determent to recreate those treats at home. But I had no idea where to start!
What I did know was that to create that awesome crispy texture, I didn’t want much fat in the batter. So no butter, no solid chocolate and no egg yolks. Instead, I opted for egg whites only, cocoa powder, instead of melted chocolate, and a little bit of vegetable oil.
My biggest problem was cake-y, soft texture. So, I reduced the flour amount to 1/2 cup and added a little bit of cornstarch. Why cornstarch, you may wonder? Well, cornstarch in baked goods, like cookies, adds more tender crumbs, but in our case, it actually helps to dry out the brownies, creating crisp, crunchy texture.
Next, espresso powder. Now it’s not essential ingredient here. A little bit of espresso powder usually boosts the chocolate flavor without coffee flavor. But I have to admit, I loved the slight hint of coffee in my brownie crisps, when I bumped up the amount.
Let’s talk about sugar. When it comes to chocolate, I love its dark, intense flavor, and I tend to use less sugar in any of my chocolate treats. Here in my recipe, I call for only 1/2 cup of sugar. My aunt Rosann, who also happened to love brownie crisps, tested this recipe and reported she liked it with more sugar. (She increased sugar to 1 cup in combination of Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. Thanks, aunt Rosann, for your feedback!) So, if you love sweeter treats, feel free to increase the sugar amount.
Parchment paper vs silicone mat. As I had made these brownie crisps many times now, on both parchment paper and silicone mat, my final verdict is to go with parchment paper. I found that when I bake this on silicone mat, I have to either bake it longer, or bake it twice (second bake is for just 5 minutes without the mat).
Whew, are you still with me? Kudos to you, if you’re still reading! ??
I’m so very happy with this recipe, and I know you will love this treat as well! By the way, this is just a beginning, a clean canvas, if you will, to get creative with add-ons. I have lots of variations in my head that I’ll be sharing with you soon!
Garrat and I enjoy these brownie crisps dunking in our morning coffee and discussing our plans for the day. The best way to start a day!
Oh, and dunking in the coffee, or tea, is a must though!! ?? ?
Hope you enjoyed today’s recipe! Thank you so much for reading!
Brownie Crisps
Crisp, rich and addicting, these thin brownie crisps will quickly become your favorite way to finish your morning coffee!
Yield: About 6 servings
Prep Time:10 min
Cook Time:25 min
Total Time:35 min
Ingredients:
- ½ cup (60gr) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (25gr) cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½-1 teaspoon instant espresso powder*
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 egg whites
- ½ cup (100gr) sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, espresso powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, beat egg whites with sugar and vanilla extract until foamy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Stir in the vegetable oil. Pour the batter on the prepared baking sheet. Using an offset spatula spread the batter evenly into a thin layer. Bake for 25 minutes. The brownie will be on the soft side, but it’ll harden as it cools.
- Transfer the baking sheet onto a wire rack to cool completely. Break the brownie crisp into small pieces and enjoy! Store in air tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
For step-by-step photos and additional notes, read the post above.
*Instant espresso powder isn’t necessary, but it enhances the chocolate flavor and adds a nice flavor. I didn’t have any coffee flavor when I added ½ teaspoon. However, I liked 1 teaspoon of espresso powder a bit more for an additional flavor note.
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I’ve just attempted making these and they are in the oven now. My only question is how thin of a layer should I have spread the batter? I’m a little worried that it isn’t thin enough. It was a quick recipe and I can’t wait to see the results!
Hi, Stephanie. You can spread as thin as you want. I like to spread it as thin as I can so that they can get crispiest. Let me know how yours turned out.
how do u cut the brownies so that it willnot break?why didnt u use any butter? just curious:)
Hi, Shan. So this’s not a traditional brownie recipe. It’s intended to be thin brownie crisps, like crispy brownie cookies. And therefore, they’re supposed to be crisp and breakable, and I don’t cut them, I just break them into smaller pieces. No butter, because I wanted it to be crisp and not soft.
Hi Shinee,
Thanks for the recipe! It tastes delicious! However, mine turned out a bit spongy and less crispy than I expected. The adjustment I’ve made is reducing sugar to 1/4 cup+1 tablespoon. Any idea for the sponginess?
Hi, Dee. Happy to hear you tried and liked the recipe. Unfortunately, I call for absolute minimum amount of sugar for this recipe, and reducing the sugar amount will cause the sponginess. It needs all the sugar for the crispness. Hope you give it another try with 1/2 cup of sugar. Thanks!
hi, can i use brown sugar? can i also put almond? what stage should i beat the egg white? just foamy? not soft? medium? stiff?plan making this on friday:)
Hi, Shan. Sorry for delayed response. I’ve never tested this recipe with brown sugar, so I have no idea if it’ll work or not. As for egg whites, foamy is sufficient. It doesn’t need to reach soft peaks, just thick foam is good enough.
should i butter the parchmenf paper? also, can i use 9×9?
No need to butter the parchment paper. And 9×9 may be a tad small, if you want real nice and crisp cookies.
hi shinee,
What is the total weight of one recipe after baking?
Thanks a lot
Hi, Christine. I’ve never weighed the final product, so I have no idea.
I used parchment paper but the brownie stuck to it and couldn’t get it off. I ended up throwing it away. 🙁 i don’t have a silicone mat. Can i pour it directly on a cookie sheet or it will stick as well?
Oh no, Renee! So sad to hear yours stuck to the parchment paper. I’ve never had that happen to me. And as I mentioned in the post above, I actually prefer parchment paper over silicone mat, because the crisps are cooked better on parchment paper. On silicone mat, they turned out a bit soft, and I had to double bake. If you have non-stick cookie sheet, I think you can try it without parchment paper, but I’ve never tried it that way. Again so sorry for your experience, let me know if you give it another try.
Mine did the same.
Can you use coconut oil instead of veg oil ?
Yes, you can, Diana. Hope you’ll like it!
making them now found some veg oil ! Looking forward to these with my coffee 🙂
Awesome!! Hope you love them as much as we do. Let me know!
It looks delicious !! Why only egg whites ??
Hi, Alex. Egg yolks adds too much fat, and I wanted to make these crisps as crispy as possible. If you haven’t already, I suggest reading the post about, as I explained the reasons for each ingredient. Hope it helps. Hope you give it a try.
This looks awesome and I love brownie brittle! What size pan did you use? Thanks!
Hi, Betsy. I used half sheet pan, which is 18×13-in (46x33cm).
This looks super tasty! I have been wanting to try brownie brittle because I absolutely love brownies! Thanks for sharing
🙂 Thanks, Marie!
I love brownie brittle! I need to make this asap!
Hope you enjoy these as much as we do! Thanks for stopping by, Kim!
What a fabulous treat! I live brownies, espresso and everything cripy. This looks absolutely fantastic! I am making this soon! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Thank you, Jhuls!
I have seen the bag at Trader Joe’s but I have never tried them. I am definitely going to make your version instead. They look scrumptious!
Thanks, Susan! Never had one from Trader Joe’s, but I bet it’s tasty!
OMG these sound amazing! This pregnant Mumma is so baking some tomorrow xx
Haha, Lydia, you and me are same. I think all pregnant ladies should bake these. I’m currently working on a big bag full of these right now! 🙂 Hope you enjoy them as well!
hmmm ! that looks yummie !
Thanks!
I buy bagfuls of these whenever I can find them – now I can make my own!!
Yes!! Hope you’ll like them as much as we do. Thanks, Pam.
This brownie brittle looks unreal!
Thanks, Medha!
I’ve wanted to come up with a recipe for brownie brittle ever since I first tried it a few years back! I’m glad you did all the work for me. ? They look perfect & I can’t wait to try them!
Thanks, Dianna! They sure are addicting.