Fudgy Crinkle-Top Brownies

The first words out of my mouth when I taste-tested these fudgy, vegan Crinkle-Top Brownies...

"I'm not usually a brownie person, but oh my God these are GOOD."

And yeah, it's true, I'm actually not a brownie gal. I remember at high school sleepovers everyone would be devouring box-mix brownies and I was just like... meh. They were too sweet, too rich or just not my thing.

These day, I normally prefer the bite of a buttery chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie. But oh my goodness -- these rich yet pleasantly buttery, totally fudgy vegan crinkle brownies may change my mind.

Need a chocolate fix? Try these!! Bonus, these are ridiculously easy to make...

Brownie Basics

There are a few ways to make brownies. You can use a boxed mix when you are really in a jam. You can use cocoa powder as the chocolate source or you can do the double broiler method and melt your chocolate in.

All methods work, but for me, melting chocolate for my crinkle brownies is the way to go. I love this method for two main reasons:

• melted chocolate gives the most rich and fudgy texture
• you can choose the brand/variety of chocolate!

Shiny Crinkle Tops

I am all about that glossy, shiny crinkle top on a brownie. I need it. Melted chocolate and whatever 'egg replacer' you use should achieve a crinkly, shiny top just fine. Even with a vegan brownie! If you don't see it right away, wait for them to cool. Those crinkles will show up....

Choose Good Chocolate

The chocolate chips or chocolate bars that you use in your brownies can make all the difference in flavor, texture and richness. I try to buy brands of chocolate that really sing in terms of chocolate flavor and texture. Chocolate that I enjoy eating all on it's own is key.

It's actually pretty easy to find vegan bars and chips too. A few of my faves..

• Guittard - Any of the vegan options from Guittard (bars or chips) are awesome.
• Enjoy Life - This go-to allergy-friendly chip has great flavor and texture.
• Venche - Any vegan bar from Venche will be the best of the best. SO goof to eat on it's own or use for extra-special brownies.
• Navitas Naturals - For cacao powder, I love this brand.

Crinkle Brownie Add-Ins

The walnuts in this crinkle brownie recipe are technically optional. But I love a nut accent to break up the chocolate a bit. These brownies are rich and dense - yet not too sweet which I appreciate - so any nut add-in really compliments them.

If you don't have walnuts, you could use cashews, pecans or even swirl in some peanut butter - right into the batter or on top.

How to Make Brownies Fudgy

The trick to make brownies really fudgy is definitely that egg+melted chocolate ration. And obviously for these brownies, we are using vegan egg replacers. In fact, I actually really love using 'weird' egg replacers like veggies and sweet potato because the fudgy texture really shows up. Having a good amount of fat also helps keeps brownies fudgy. And lastly, using minimal flour!

If you use too much flour in your vegan brownies, they will come out more like a chocolate cake. Not a bad thing! But a different sort of texture.

And for the fudgiest brownies... serve warm!

Even straight from the pan, like below. They might fall apart a bit more because they haven't cooled yet, but still so good...

Eggs in Brownies

Eggs give crinkle brownies that fluffy, light texture. So what is a vegan to do? Sub them! There are a few good ways to do so...

Vegan Egg Replacers for Crinkle Brownies:

• JUST Egg
• silken tofu
• sweet potato mash
• zucchini puree
• black beans
• pumpkin puree
• chickpeas
• flax eggs
• 'vegan' egg replacer powder + water

I used JUST Egg today because I had some on hand and I've been experimenting with it a lot lately in baked goods. Such as my Babka - cinnamon - using it as well. I actually don't like it as 'scrambled eggs' but I do love it in baking. I think it has great flavor and color and texture when baked.

My second fave brownie 'egg' replacer is silken tofu for it's neutral flavor and egg-like texture. A simple flax egg works too. I sub two eggs in this recipe.