Brownies with Shiny, Crackly Tops

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Servings: 16
Yield: 16 servings

Description

These rich chocolate brownies bake up with shiny, crackly, meringue-like tops and are the perfect fudge consistency on the inside.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon shortening, or as needed
8 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate (such as Baker's®), chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with shortening.
2 Combine chocolate and butter in a large, heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3 Whisk flour, cocoa, and salt together in a bowl.
4 Beat eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until well blended. Gradually add white and brown sugars; beat until tripled in volume and very pale yellow, at least 10 minutes. The mixture should leave ribbons when you lift the beaters. Fold in the chocolate-butter mixture and vanilla extract, then flour mixture. Pour into the prepared pan.
5 Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, 28 to 32 minutes. Cool before cutting into 16 brownies.