These quick and easy brownie crisps are so crispy and addicting! You’ll only need a bowl and a whisk.
For the best crisp cookies, make sure to spread the batter as thin as you can.
Table of Contents
I created this recipe back in 2015 after traveling to Mongolia. During one of my layovers, I got a taste of brownie crisps at the United Club lounge. And oh man, was I hooked!
They were crispy, rich and absolutely addicting!!
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.
After numerous trials and errors, many batches of sem-ok brownie crisps, I finally had a winner!!!
My biggest problem was brownie crisps were coming our cake-y and soft. And I wanted thin crisps with a good snap!
Brownie Crisps Ingredients:
So, in order to achieve that level of crispiness, I needed as little fat as possible. 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 butter.
Why cornstarch, you may wonder?
Typically, 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 an optional ingredient, and you may omit it, if need to. The reason I like it is because espresso powder in a small amount usually boosts the chocolate flavor without adding coffee flavor.
But I have to admit, I loved the slight hint of coffee in my brownie crisps, when I bumped up the amount.
Then, there’re the usual ingredients, like flour, sugar, baking soda, etc.
How to make brownie crisps:
It couldn’t be easier to make these brownie crisps. And you need just a bowl and a whisk!
- Whisk dry ingredients.
- Whisk wet ingredients, except for butter.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. And then stir in melted butter.
- Thinly spread the batter on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for about 25 minutes.
Tip
If you’d like to cut the brownie crisps into nice even shapes, or cut out shapes with cookie cutter, do it right away when you bring it out of the oven.
Brownie crisps are soft when they’re warm and they crisp up as it cools.
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).
How to store brownie crisps:
Store brownie crisps in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
I’m so very happy with this recipe, and I know you will love this treat as well!
Also, this’s just a basic version, a clean canvas, if you will. You can totally jazz it up with different add-ons, like toffee bits, chocolate chips, andes mints, nuts and such.
Video Tutorial:
Brownie Crisps
Ingredients
- ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (25g) cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½-1 teaspoon instant espresso powder Note 1
- ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- 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, whisk egg whites with sugar and vanilla extract until foamy.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. And then stir in melted butter.
- Pour the batter on the prepared baking sheet. Using an offset spatula spread the batter evenly into a thin layer. (Thinner you spread, crispier they'll be!)
- Bake for about 25 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- If you'd like to cut the brownie crisps into nice even shapes, or cut out shapes with cookie cutter, do it right away when you bring it out of the oven. Brownie crisps are soft when they're warm and they crisp up as it cools.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on October 22, 2015.
How much veg oil to put? Its not in ingredient list. Mine turned out cakey not sure why.
Sorry for confusion. It’s listed as butter in the ingredient list, but you can use the same amount veg oil as well. Both works great. I’ll correct it. How thin did you spread your batter? If it wasn’t spread super thin, then you may need to bake it longer to get them crispy.
What happens if i omit the cornstarch? Please n ty
Hi, Kathy. Without cornstarch, the cookies won’t crisp up.
Shinee, these are great! And, your description was perfect as well… coffee comes out perfect in these. 1/2 c sugar was plenty imo. I did throw in a small handful of choc chips. Now, I didn’t spread them thin enough. But still SO GOOD. and there will definitely be a next time. I can’t imagine them sticking to parchment… worked great for me. Thanks for this recipe. perfect as is!!!
Eyevii, so happy that you loved these crisps. Thank you for your feedback.
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.
Can I substitute flour with almond meal to make it gluten free?
Hi, Valailuk. Unfortunately, almond meal won’t yield the same result.
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.