Small batch brownies – fudgy crinkle top
My favorite small batch brownie recipe! These crinkle top brownies remind me of the box brownies I made as a kid, but they’re even better with a delicious fudgy texture and a shiny top.
This site contains affiliate links, which means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links. However, please know that I only provide links to products that I actually use and wholeheartedly recommend!
I’ve been wanting to recreate the box brownies of my childhood but in a small batch format and without the box. To my mind the perfect brownie needs to be a crinkle top brownie! It also needs to be intensely chocolatey and should definitely have chocolate chips!
This recipe ticks all those boxes, and personally I think it’s the perfect small batch brownie recipe. So give it a try and let me know what you think!
Why make this Recipe?
One Bowl: This little one bowl recipe comes together so easily and because you only need one bowl clean up is a breeze!
Crinkle top: I strongly believe in a crispy, crinkly, crackly top on my brownies and this recipe 100% delivers.
Small Batch: I’m a big believer in a good small batch recipe. It makes it possible to enjoy a delicious little dessert even if there’s only two of you at home! This recipe makes about 6-8 brownies depending on how you slice them and they’ll easily keep for 4-5 days so it’s a pretty ideal quantity if you ask me.
What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?
Cocoa powder: I highly encourage you to find some reasonably good cocoa powder. I tend to have a couple on hand, something cheap and cheerful and then something a little fancier. For these brownies I did a 50-50 mix of fancy cocoa powder and cheap cocoa powder but feel free to get as fancy as you like.
Eggs, oil, flour, salt, sugar, icing sugar, chocolate chips, salt and vanilla.
No baking powder: You’ll notice there’s no baking powder listed. That’s actually not a typo, this recipe makes fudgy brownies that are rich and indulgent, so I’ve left out the baking powder in order to lean into that fudgy texture.
Loaf Pan : I really love the pans from Chicago Metallic, so if you don’t have a loaf pan you like, I’d definitely recommend this one.
How to make this small batch brownie recipe
Step 1: Make the batter
Whisk together the wet ingredients and then stir in the rest of the ingredients. And that’s basically all there is to it…
Step 2: Bake
These bake for about 25 minutes. You want a soft center to maintain that gooey texture, so take care not to over bake them. Let them cool before slicing!
Expert Tips
Refrigerate for firmer brownies
If your brownies are a little too soft for your liking just stick in the fridge for an hour or so to firm up.
Don’t over mix
As with so many dessert recipes you want to be careful not to overman your brownies. Just stir until combined and then stop.
Recipe FAQs
Cakey brownies have a lower ratio of fat to flour and rely on baking powder to get a more cake like rise and texture. Fudgy brownies don’t have any baking powder and have a higher ratio of fat to flour.
The trick to making sure you get that shiny crust on your brownies is to have the sugar dissolve in the batter. The more your sugar dissolves, the shinier and more crackly the crust.
In order to dissolve the sugar in the batter, there are a couple tricks you can use. For this recipe, I’ve used some icing sugar instead of just granulated sugar because icing sugar dissolves much more easily. You can also whisk the sugar and eggs together, or even let the batter stand overnight to give the sugar more time to dissolve. Here’s a great article on brownie crusts !
You can substitute olive oil or another neutral oil like canola or sunflower oil.
Other recipes you might like
- MINI CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR TWO
- TAHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES – SMALL BATCH RECIPE
- CINNAMON AND HAZELNUT MINI BUNDT CAKES
Did you like this recipe?
If so, consider sharing on Pinterest or Instagram and tagging @MayasKitchenDaydreams – I always love to see your photos if you baked my recipe!
You can also sign up for my email list to stay informed!
Small batch brownies – fudgy crinkle top
Equipment
- loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 55 g oil canola or olive
- 1/4 tsp vanila
- 1 tbsp water
- 80 g sugar
- 45 g flour
- 35 g cocoa powder
- 30 g powdered sugar
- 40 g chocolate chips optional
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F and line an 8 x 4inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the egg, oil, vanilla and water in a bowl and whisk well.
- Sift over the flour, cocoa powder, both sugars and the salt. Add in the chocolate chips and stir until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and spread it out. It’ll seem like the brownies are a little thin, but that’s fine!
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs on it. You want it to still be soft in the center!
- Remove to a cooling rack and let cool for about an hour before slicing!
These brownies were amazing! So chocolatey and delicious!
What wonderful brownies these were!
I loved this small-batch brownie recipe, that way I didn’t overindulge!
I love that I can make just a small batch of brownies with this recipe, because let’s be real…I have no self-control when it comes to brownies.
These brownies are so fudgy! I love that it makes a small amount, or I’d eat too many.
Yummy brownies! The size of the batch is perfect for a chocolate craving too.
These brownies were delicious and full of fudge flavor!
Oh my gosh! This is so delicious and it makes my mouthwatering!
These are delicious! Except for some reason I didn’t get the famous crinkle top? My end result was more of a slice/chewy consistency. I whisked the egg a fair bit and with the oil it created a smooth emulsion but once I added the dry ingredients it sort of became more of a play dough like texture… any ideas as to why?
Sorry to be replying to this so late! There are two factors that could be at play here. The shiny surface is caused by the sugar and the egg rising to the surface and baking (a bit like an egg wash on a pie gives you a shiny surface the egg and sugar in the brownies do a similar thing). So if the mixture isn’t quite combined enough the sugar may not have fully dissolved or the egg may not be fully incorporated into the mix which would stop some of that shine! The other aspect is that crackled effect. This comes from air in the brownies rising up as the mixture heats, when the air bubbles break they slightly lift the surface of your brownie and create little cracks. To get this you’ll need to make sure your oven is fully heated and again give the batter a good mix to make sure it has a bit of air worked into the batter!
I hope this helps, and sorry again for not responding ages ago!