Gluten Free Brownie Crisps

Rich chocolate gluten free brownie crisps have the impossibly crisp texture of the very edge of a well-baked pan of brownies.

These gluten free brownie crisps have all the rich chocolate flavor of brownies, but in a crispy snack. They’re crumbly, but in the very best way.

My kids beg me to buy the Sheila G’s brand of this brownie, since they have a gluten free version. Sometimes I do, but they plow through a tiny bag so quickly. For eating at home, I turn to this recipe.

The unbaked batter doesn’t look too different from the final brownies. Once it’s baked, you can break it with your hands into random pieces.

If you’d like more regular pieces, like rectangles or triangles, score the brownies with the edge of a bench scraper in those shapes, as soon as the pan comes out of the oven. Then, when they’re completely cool, break the pieces along those lines. They’ll break easily in those shapes.

Does the gluten free flour blend really matter?

This recipe calls for our most basic gluten free flour blend: the gum-free gluten free flour blend. For every cup of that flour, which measures 140 grams, you need 93 grams superfine white rice flour, 30 grams potato starch, and 17 grams tapioca starch/flour.

This simple flour blend, without any binders or gums like xanthan gum, makes for the absolute best crispy and crunchy gluten free brownie edges. If you don’t want to make that blend, you can try using one of our all purpose gluten free flour blends. The texture will suffer, but the recipe should still work.

This is one situation where King Arthur’s gluten free flour blend (the one that doesn’t have xanthan gum) should work relatively well in place of the gum-free blend. That blend is not one I generally recommend using in my recipes since it’s really too starchy, but here that should be fine.

The King Arthur Flour blend, like most other gluten free flour blends, is rice flour-based. But their rice flour is not superfinely ground, so it tends to be gritty. Try allowing the brownie crisp batter to sit for about an hour before you bake it, so the rice grains have a chance to soften.

Can I use a smaller baking pan?

This recipe is designed to be made in a half sheet pan. That’s just a rimmed baking sheet that measures 13-inches x 18-inches, and it’s a standard size baking sheet.

That size baking sheet is perfect for creating a relatively thin, even layer of brownie crisp batter. In a 325°F oven, it will bake until it’s dry to the touch, and crisp as it cools.

If you don’t have a pan that size, you can also make it in a 9-inch x 13-inch baking pan, or a quarter sheet pan. Just use half of the batter in one pan, half in another.

I’ve mistakenly pressed the whole recipe into a quarter sheet pan, and only realized my mistake when it was halfway done baking. I baked it for a bit longer, and got a much thicker but really nice extra chewy brownie.

Ingredients and substitutions

Dairy

In place of the butter in this recipe, you can try using Melt or Miyoko’s Kitchen brand vegan butter. Earth Balance buttery sticks might also work, too, since we don’t need the batter to keep its shape.

Be sure that you’re using dairy free chocolate, if you can’t have dairy. If you use the miniature chocolate chips, I like Enjoy Life brand mini chocolate chips, which are “top 8” allergen free.

Egg

The egg white in this recipe helps the brownie pieces crisp in the oven. It helps create that waffled texture that you see inside the pieces.

If you can’t have egg whites, you could try using aquafaba. It’s just the brine from a can of chickpeas. I would beat it until frothy first.