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Homemade brownies are just perfect little squares of heaven, are they not? But there is so much that goes into getting them right. And which ones do I make? How do I get that shiny/ crinkle top on my brownies? Well don’t fret. You have come to the right place to get answers.
Let’s Break It Down
What Is A Brownie?
A brownie is one of the most decadent little desserts that America has to offer. It is a baked confection that combines flour, cocoa powder, sugar, butter, salt, chocolate, and vanilla extract.
This mixture is then baked in a pan and then the baked brownies are cut into individual squares or rectangles.
Typical Ingredients In A Brownie And What They Do
As I said before, most brownie recipes consist of flour, sugar, eggs, chocolate, butter, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. But what does each do?
Mixing Bowls
Flour
Flour is one of the ingredients responsible for the texture of the brownie. Whether it is cakey or fudgy. And some recipes call for bread flour too. Get that chewy brownie texture. To learn why bread flour makes things chewy, check out my baking substitutions post.
Sugar
Sugar in a brownie recipe does a few things. Of course adds sweetness but beyond that many bakers have found that fully devolving the sugar in to the butter will help to create that shiny top. Also brown sugar contributes to a chewy texture.
Cocoa Powder
Cocoa powder deepens the chocolate flavor. Also, it provides a chocolaty flavor to the brownies without adding fat.
Eggs
In a brownie recipe, the eggs are the binder that binds all the ingredients together, adds moisture Also they are greatly responsible for that shiny brownie top, but more on that later!
Butter
Butter is one of the ingredients responsible for flavor as well as extra moisture and soft texture.
Real Chocolate
Real chocolate provides some extra moisture and some say that adding chocolate to your recipe will help create that shiny brownie top.
Different Types of Brownies
Brownies come in 3 main types. There is the dense and fudgy brownie, chewy brownies, and the fluffy and cakey brownie. But why are brownies cakey? What makes a brownie fudgy? And how can you make brownies chewy? That’s what this section is all about.
The big factor that makes the difference between the 3 consistencies is the ratio of fat (butter and chocolate) to flour or dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt)
Fudge Brownies
Fudge Brownies are a very dense and decadent brownies. Most recipes are a 2:1 ratio of fat to flour. Butter and real melted chocolate being the fat.
Fudge Brownie Recipes
This first recipe is just a very simple fudge brownie recipe with a signature thin and shiny brownie top.
Click here to get the recipe
These are halloween themed fudge brownies with an orange frosting and halloween candy on top.
Click here for the recipe
These Christmas themed brownies are topped with green frosting and cut into triangles before being decorated with rainbow chocolate chips so that the brownies look like little Christmas trees.
Click here to get the recipe.
Chewy Brownies
Chewy Brownies are less loose and fudgy than fudge brownies and have a 1:1 ratio of fat to flour. Also brown sugar is used instead of granulated sugar to contribute to the chewy texture.
Chewy Brownie Recipes
One of the best copycat recipes on this blog is my cosmic brownie recipe. If you have never had a cosmic brownie, it’s a brownie with a glossy chocolate ganache with rainbow chocolate chips on top.
Click here for the recipe
Cakey Brownies
The third type of brownie is a cakey brownie. Cakey brownies are light and fluffy and most recipes have 1:2
Tips On How To Make The Perfect Brownie With The Perfect Shiny Brownie Top
When it comes to how to make the perfect brownie, there are some things to know. Here are a few of those tips. A lot of these will even help to make that shiny brownie top.
How To Get A Shiny Brownie Top
The biggest characteristic of a perfect brownie is that thin papery, shiny crust on top. Getting that beautiful but delicate characteristic actually takes some work. Here’s what to do.:
Do Not Overmix
This step is pretty crucial You do not have to worry much about over mixing until the eggs go in. Once the eggs are added to the mixture, mix until just combined.
Melt The Butter And The Sugar Together
The next step that many bakers swear by to get a shiny and papery top is to melt the butter and the sugar together. This can be done is a double boiler or even just the microwave. You can test this by sticking you finger into the mixture and if you still feel grit than the sugar is not melted yet.
Add Actual Chocolate To The Recipe
When making the brownie batter, it is very important that real chocolate be added. This could be dark chocolate, semisweet chocolate or milk chocolate. But it must be real melted chocolate like chocolate chips.
How Do I Get My Brownies Out Of The Pan
I usually bake all my brownie in pans lined with parchment paper that overhangs on the sides so that I can simply pull the flaps straight up and take the brownies right out.
Make Sure That The Batter Is Cool Before Adding The Eggs
Make sure that the mixture is cool before adding the eggs because eggs going into a hot batter could scramble the eggs and then you will just have a big mess and have to start all over.
Do Not Overbake
As with most baked goods, over baking will make your brownie recipe dry. And if it is intended to be a fudgy brownie recipe, it may not be fudgy if you overbake. It may be more cakey.
Brownie Add Ins and Toppings
- Walnuts
- hazelnut
- Almonds
- Marshmallows
- Marshmallow Fluff
- M&M’s
- Chocolate Chips
Phew…. that was a lot. If you have made it this far, thanks you so much for reading and I hope this answers all of your questions about brownies.
Making brownies and especially getting a shiny brownie top can be a little tricky but is really is quite simple once you figure out the tips and tricks. It just takes some trial and error.
If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. And if you have any techniques or tips that I didn’t share, I would love to hear them in the comments below.
If you liked this post and you want to learn how to tackle cheesecake next, click here. And here for bread. If you would like to learn more about making cake, click here. And lastly, for candy, click here.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, pinterest , twitter and snapchat to see what I’m up to next. Remember, don’t be afraid to bake a mess. And I’ll see you all next time. Happy Baking!