Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Brownie Crisp Bliss

Brownies are simply decadent. I have never met one that I didn't love - chewy, cakey, fudgy, even the crispy edges. The first brownies I made for my husband, I cut off the crispy edges (so that they would be pretty) and of course I ate them. When he asked where the edges went, I had to confess that they were the "chef samples". Even though he was a bit disappointed (turns out that he loves the edges too) it has become a tradition in our house that he gets the wings from the roasted chickens and I get the brownie edges. "Chef samples" are awesome, and with this great recipe - we get 2 whole pans of brownie crisps.
It should be said that this recipe was born of cost saving necessity. Buying the brownie brittle in bags is expensive and seems to be gone way too fast! I looked at several recipes before putting this one together, and you can definitely make them from scratch, but I liked the idea of being able to transform an inexpensive box of brownie mix into something unique and decadent. Although optional, the addition of 1/4 cup of DARK cocoa powder made them amazingly rich.
The recipe makes 2 pans of crisps, and I made one plain and one with toppings. I truly loved the one with toppings although the plain one could be used to dip into frosting, hazelnut spread, or simply peanut butter. I used what I had on hand for toppings which was chopped peanuts, peanut butter chips, and crushed pretzels. When you are considering your own toppings, be creative and consider all kinds of fun ingredients; crushed oreos, or any other kind of cookie, nuts, chips, candy, etc - there are endless possibilities!
Now, this won't take long, so let's get to it!

BROWNIE CRISPS

1 19.4oz Brownie Mix (13x9 Family Size)
1/4 Cup Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder (Optional)
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/3 Cup Water
1 Egg

Preheat oven to 325
Empty Brownie mix into large bowl
Add 1/4 cup DARK cocoa powder, stir until combined and lumps are smoothed
Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Add 1/3 cup of water
Add 1 egg, beaten
Mix well
Take half of batter and spread on parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet
Be sure to spread to to about 1/8 inch thin
You can leave it plain, or add toppings - I added a handful of chopped peanuts, peanut butter chips, and crushed pretzels to one. Press the toppings into the batter gently.
Bake for 25-30 minutes
The plain one baked in about 25 minutes and the one with toppings took 30 minutes
Repeat with remaining half of batter


Let cool for about 5 minutes and if you want somewhat uniform pieces score them with a pizza cutter wheel
Allow them to cool completely and break into desired pieces
Store in an airtight container and enjoy the crispy chocolate bliss!!!

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