Brownie Crisps

Better than a brownie? It is if your preference is the crisp edges, especially when they abut the tender gooey parts. This recipe yields a pan of very thin crispy squares, that somehow manage to be soft and tender in the center.

Its an interesting method. A somewhat stiff batter that uses egg whites, oil, and vanilla as the only liquid, and cocoa and chocolate chips as the key essential ingredient, is spread over greased parchment. They are baked, taken out and cut, and then baked again for 5 minutes.

This recipe makes an entire sheet (if you can spread it out far enough), and in my 2-teenager house, lasted about 1 hour. I added the entire 1 tsp of instant coffee, and while I found the coffee flavor a bit loud, my coffee-hating son didn't notice, and loved it. I also used half black cocoa (from KAF) and half regular dutch-process.

I think I could have spread the batter thinner had I used a smaller chocolate chip. Half are mixed into the batter and the other half sprinkled on top. I also think some walnuts, chopped up small to not impede spreading, would be a great addition.