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 (56 g) unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cups (215 g) semisweet chocolate chips divided
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons (125 g) sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 2 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (95 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon water
- ¾ cup (125 g) dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate melting wafers optional
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.4 Tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cups (215 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- Stir in cocoa powder and then sugar (mixture may be thick, that's OK).½ cup + 2 Tablespoons (125 g) sugar, 3 Tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
- Add egg whites and vanilla extract, stir well.2 large egg whites, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.¾ cup (95 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Gradually stir flour mixture into chocolate mixture until completely combined.
- Stir in milk and water until evenly combined.2 Tablespoons milk, 1 Tablespoon water
- 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.¾ cup (125 g) dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate melting wafers
- 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.
Dorothy Olsen
Made these today for a crowd, they turned out great! Thanks for the recipe. I did a bit of looking before I stumbled on this recipe. I’m glad I skipped straight to the comments, because some of the other recipes had terrible/failure reviews. A lot of the comments here were just ‘excited to try it’ type comments… which isn’t super inspiring. But the reviews of people who made it were good, so I went for it. I used 100% whole wheat flour and some Stevia substitute for sugar and they still turned out great! When I put a lid on them the leftovers they started to soften, so I guess I would recommend not putting a lid on them. Also to make it easier I just sprinkle chocolate chips on top right when it came out of the oven, (after I cut it) and waited for them to melt then smeared the chocolate around that way.
Sam
I’m so glad they turned out so well for you, Dorothy! Thank you for coming back and commenting 🙂
Allison
This was very good and I was surprised how much it tasted like sheila g’s brownie brittle only better! I’m very glad I tried this!
Sam
So glad you enjoyed it, Allison!
GLORIA
THIS STUFF WAS AMAZING! BY FAR THE BEST RECIPE I’VE TRIED AND U R RIGHT, YOU GET WAY MORE THAN YOU WOULD IF YOU BOUGHT IT FROM THE STORE!
Katrina
These were awesome! Hardest part was spreading on the wiggly parchment! Yum!
Alex
Thanks for sharing ! looks beautiful and delicious !!
I wonder why the milk in your recipe ??
Megan @ MegUnprocessed
Looks great and beautiful photography as well.
Sam
Thank you, Megan! 🙂
Johnna
Waiting until I have an occasion to share this, otherwise I would eat the whole batch of this myself. Looks so good!
Sam
Thanks, Johnna! It’s wayyy to easy to eat the whole batch on your own!
Lauren Gaskill
THIS. How wonderfully delicious and beautiful! Pinned and making soon!
Sam
Thanks so much, Lauren! 🙂
Amanda
Oh my goodness. It’s probably not a good thing for me to know how to make brownie brittle. This could get real addictive real fast! Sounds great!
Sam
It was BAD NEWS for me, too! Way addictive! Thanks, Amanda! 🙂
Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com
Brownie brittle is the best invention of the past 10 years! I’ve never made my own but now I can’t get the thought out of my head. Love it!
Sam
Right though!? I can’t believe it took me so long to finally try it! Thanks, Elizabeth! 🙂
Karly
I’ll admit that I’ve always been a crunchy, edge-of-the-brownie type of gal, so this is right up my alley! The PERFECT cure for all of my chocolate cravings!
Sam
You will LOVE these then! Thanks, Karly!
Sues
Heaven!! I could (and would) eat SO much of this!
Sam
I’m definitely guilty of doing just that! Thanks, Sues! 🙂
Medha @ Whisk & Shout
This brownie brittle looks fabulous! I love the kind at trader’s joe’s and I would love to make my own!
Sam
Thank you, Medha! It was SO good!
pat
This is a weekend project. Joe has told me to leave the dark brown edges on and give those to him. At christmas, I must slightly burn all of his cookies. Thanks Sam. I am glad the dish soap worked on the ring and doubly glad to know brilliance shows up in different generations. Pat
Sam
Haha, he is going to love this, then. I’ll admit I’m not usually a crunch-loving person (I underbake all my cookies) but I really do love this brittle! Thank you, Pat! I hope you and Joe both love the recipe! <3
Hira
I LOVE store bought brownies brittle. I buy a large bag from Costco, and it is gone in only a couple of days! I never thought about making brownie brittle myself, so this is definitely a neat recipe. 🙂
Sam
Isn’t it so addictive!? Thank you, Hira! 🙂