How To Tell If Brownies Are Done? All Things You Should Know

Fudgy, cakey, chewy, deeply chocolate or perhaps hazelnut, mocha, peanut butter, even marshmallows, when it comes to brownies, there are absolutely no limitations, taste-wise. If you want to find an interesting recipe, like for example one that has beans in it (I wasn’t kidding when I said there are no limitations!), check these killer bean bownies out!

Freshly baked brownie

But for all of these, and many more types that exist, one question is obligatory asked – how to tell if brownies are done? So get your cookbooks or phones, because I’m going to answer that question, and give you a couple of extra tips and advice for these perfect bites of chocolate heaven.

So, How To Tell If Brownies Are Done?

All you need to do is to poke a center with a toothpick. If the tip comes out completely brown, they are still undercooked and if it is completely clean, they are already overbaked.

For the perfect brownies, it should be almost clean, with a smear of brown color and maybe even a few moist crumbs on it, if “fudgier“ is what floats your boat.

What Else Can Help You Tell?

This all sounds very easy and would be enough, in a perfect world where no one makes brownies with, for example, chocolate chips. Which is no perfect world if you ask me. Anyways, how do you know then if you poked in some melted chocolate instead?

You could poke in several places, but that would only ruin the looks of it, so that is one way if you don’t care.

Otherwise, you should know that brownie tends to contract when fully baked, so you should look at the edges of a pan. If the brownie is separated from the side of the mold, it also means – done!

Bonus tip, pay attention to signs of cracking on the top.

Cracks on the top of Brownies

When Should You Start Testing

We all know that you should always follow the recipe and the times on the box are usually pretty accurate, but I want you to keep in mind that temperatures vary from oven to oven, especially if you’ve been opening it.

So, just in case, start testing at the minimum time the box instructs, or 5 minutes before the recipe states. If not done at that point, continue checking every following minute.

Is The Type Of Dish You Use Important?

Sure you can bake brownies in different materials of a dish, but you should know several things related to that.

The best two types are aluminum and glass baking dishes and the most recipes are suitable for the two. So, if you’re using a metal pan to make your brownies and always end up overbaking them and wondering how could that possibly happen when you followed all the instructions carefully, I have some good news for you – it’s not your fault!

It simply takes less time for this material and all you have to do from now on is reduce several minutes from the original recipe. You’re welcome!

Something else that probably didn’t occur to you, the color matters too, as dark colored dishes can be the explanation of why your edges always burn.

Other common mistakes

#1. Overmixing

If you don’ want to end up with dense brownies, you shouldn’t use a whisk. Just a spatula is fine, and you should stop stirring when there is still a little flour visible.

#2. Using any recipe

Fudgy brownies

Yeah, yeah, mixing flour, sugar, eggs, butter and chocolate, what could go wrong? A lot of things, apparently. We all have our personal preferences in terms of texture, thickness, sweetness etc.

With literally hundreds of recipes you can find online, why would you deprive yourself of perfection and be satisfied with just OK brownies? You will be surprised just how thin the line is between those two.

#3. Using cold eggs, directly from the fridge

One of the most common mistakes, resulting in the same as overbaking, dense and chewy texture. Unless this is something you find desirable, make sure you take the eggs out at least half an hour before mixing them.

They should be, ideally, at the room temperature. If you are really in a rush and want to speed-up the process a bit, let them sit in lukewarm water for about 15 minutes or so.

#4. Not waiting for them to cool down completely

Trust me, I understand the struggle and I agree, it is a torture, especially with the rich smell of fresh out of the oven brownies, but I need you do be strong and it will be worth it, I promise! Not only will they develop more flavor, you will not believe just how much is easier to slice them and take out of the pan.

More Tips For You

If you want to make sure your brownies won’t stick to the pan, use wax or parchment paper. Furthermore, cleaning will be so much easier and professional chefs say that things like cookies and brownies bake more evenly because of it.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with ingredients and mix in some nuts, chocolate chips or dried fruit, maybe even beans. The point of experimenting serves one simple but great purpose, finding your own chocolate nirvana.

I know I have already mentioned this, but perfect timing equals perfect brownies, so set a timer on your phone to make sure you get them right, even if you’re distracted with something else at the moment.

Finally, make sure to watch this video to learn how to make the fudgy brownies from Laura.

Those Brownies Are Not Gonna Make Themselves

Alright, I am positive that now you have all the information needed for making the perfect brownies, all that is left is to actually start baking. To sum up, a smear of brown on a toothpick means that brownies are done, other hints are sides separated from the mold and cracked top.

And if you are new at this, remember, you are going to get better with practice, so don’t fall in despair if the first couple of batches aren’t perfect yet. You’ll see for yourself, after a dozen of times you’ll be able to know whether they’re done just by looking at them, like a pro chef. If you want more ideas for recipes, just check this recipe collection out and enjoy!

What do you think? Give me some feedback, did it work for you? I’m also interested in what kind of brownies you crave for? I would like to hear some of your recipes and secret ingredients!