A snappy, crunchy, easy made-from-scratch recipe for brownie bark. Tastes just like a crisp, chocolaty, brittle brownie! Recipe includes a how-to video at the bottom of the post!
So, brownie bark…
Let me say that again… Brownie… Bark…
Well, those are two words that I never thought I’d want to pair together.
Because when you think brownies, you think words like soft, chewy, fudgy, and melt-in-your-mouth, right? Not something crispy, thin, and brittle like bark.
This is definitely… different.
But have you had the store-bought brownie bark before? I bought a bag on a whim a few weeks ago (never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach) and it was addictive. It’s crisp, thin, brittle and like eating a crunchy, snappy brownie. It’s almost more like a candy (like a chocolate peanut brittle) or a crunchy cookie or a sweet potato chip rather than a brownie.
I finished off the bag in about 30 seconds. It was a teeny, tiny bag that had a pretty high price tag for only 30-seconds of face-stuffing. Four measly ounces of crispified brownies doesn’t make it very far in my house.
So I set about making my own recipe.
I pulled out some of my favorite brownie recipes as starting points, ultimately settling on this cookie recipe, and removed all of the things that make it soft. Out went the egg yolks, the brown sugar, the corn starch. I even added water to thin the batter. It hurt my heart a little bit.
But here we are, and I’m glad to say that I have no regrets about eliminating all of the wonderful parts of those brownies.
The batter is simple to make, spread it evenly and thinly (very thin— think potato chip thickness) on the pan and watch it carefully through the oven door while it bakes. You don’t want your edges to burn (though if they do, just snap them off).
Spread it, bake it, cut it (cut it in the pan while it’s hot and then let it cool) and drizzle some dark chocolate for good measure.
I’m kicking myself for not weighing out how much brownie bark this actually made, but I’m going to say it was the equivalent of at least two or three bags of store-bought.
Enjoy!
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Brownie Bark
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (56g)
- 1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips divided (215g)
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar (125g)
- 3 Tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 2 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour (95g)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon water
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate melting wafers optional (125g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In large, microwave safe bowl, combine butter and 1 cup (170g) of chocolate chips. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir well. Return to microwave and heat for 15 seconds at a time (stirring after every 15 seconds) until chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined.
- Stir in cocoa powder and then sugar (mixture may be thick, that's OK).
- Add egg whites and vanilla extract, stir well.
- In separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually stir flour mixture into chocolate mixture until completely combined.
- Stir in milk and water until evenly combined.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared cookie sheets, pouring half onto one sheet and half onto the other.
- Use a spatula to spread the batter very thinly (think the thickness of a potato chip) and evenly (try to keep the edges even, otherwise they will be more likely to burn). Sprinkle each half with 2 Tablespoons (22g) of the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake (it's best to bake the sheets one at a time) for 15-17 minutes. Keep a close eye on the brownie brittle so that the edges don't burn. If your oven does not bake evenly, I recommend turning the pan halfway through baking.
- Remove from oven and immediately use a large knife or pizza cutter to cut shapes into the brownie brittle.
- Allow the brittle to sit, undisturbed, until cool.
- Break brittle along the cut lines that you made with knife/pizza cutter.
- Set pieces on wax paper or cooling rack and melt your dark chocolate chips or melting wafers at 15-second increments (stirring between each) until completely melted.
- Use a spoon or knife to drizzle chocolate over brownie brittle pieces (you may also transfer the melted chocolate to a small ziploc bag and snip a small hole in one of the corners and drizzle the chocolate that way).
- Allow the chocolate to set and harden before serving and enjoying.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This recipe for Brownie Bark was originally published 08/22/2016. Re-shared with more information and new video on 05/03/2019.
Janet Miller
Just discovered your site – your recipes look really good! On these brownie brittles – would these be OK for ice cream sandwich cookies, or are they too hard? I’m looking for a thin, soft cookie for home made ice cream sandwiches. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Janet! This is crisp and brittle so probably not the best option. I have been working on an ice cream sandwich recipe, but haven’t perfected it quite yet.
Carol Exner
Love these! But I do have a question……. I used my scale to measure the ingredients; I was confused about the mass of semisweet Chocolate chips 215g. I used 128g in the dough which left 87g for for sprinkling on top?
Sam
Hi Carol! I’m so sorry for the delayed response and the confusion! I’m glad you enjoyed it overall. I have corrected the recipe. The first amount was inaccurate and I have corrected that. Thank you for catching it. 🙂