Want Brownies With Nothing But Crispy Edges? Use A Muffin Tin

There's nothing like a tray of brownies fresh from the oven. They're still warm, chewy, and the chocolate chunks inside have melted in a deliciously gooey center. Whether or not you like your brownies fudgy or more like cake, one thing is for certain: The edges of the brownies, the firm, chewy part that bakes up against the side of the pan, are pretty darn good. Much like the crust on pizza, some even go so far as to say that those crispy edges are the best part. 

Of course, getting the perfect combination of crispy, yet chewy edges and a soft fudgy interior requires a bit of work on your part. If you were to cook your brownies at too high of a temperature, you'd only wind up turning the edges of your brownies into a solid brick rather than the porous and chewy edges you're expecting. If your edges are firm, but the middle of the brownies is a mushy, undercooked mess, LEAFtv suggests that you may need to adjust not just your cooking time, but also your ingredients and even when you should cut them. The perfect brownie is made up of a series of minute adjustments and changes, each done to ensure proper taste, texture, and the perfect contrast of crispiness and chewiness.

But what if there was a way to get crispy edges on every brownie you get, rather than on only a few select pieces?

There's one thing you probably use your muffin pan for — and that's to make muffins obviously. But, should you want a brownie that's pretty much all edges no matter where you bite into it, the muffin pan may be your best solution.

Unlike your usual rectangular pan that allows the batter to spread out and thus give you an entire middle section that has no edges, the singular round spaces of a muffin tin mean that each brownie, or "brownie cup," will be completely encased in a crispy, chewy exterior. Another bonus is that everyone can get their own individual "brownie cups" to enjoy, rather than trying to cut uneven squares from the bottom of a pan.

This method is also recommended when preparing "brownie cupcakes." Just as the muffin tin allows for the brownie to firm up into an individual cup, the unique shape of the brownie also allows it to be filled with anything from ice cream to whipped cream to frosting. If you need bigger brownies or smaller brownies, depending on the occasion, you can adjust the size of your muffin pans accordingly.

But is your muffin pan the only piece of kitchen equipment that could give your "all-edge" brownies?

Let's say that, for whatever reason, you don't want to dirty your muffin tins with brownie batter. But, like many of us, you still want to get a brownie that's all-edges, all the time. Could such a tool exist that allows your brownies to get perfect, chewy edges without having to pour the batter into separate muffin tins?

Lucky for you, such a tool does exist: the "all-edge brownie pan." Although the pan functions mainly like your ordinary brownie pan, its unique feature is that, rather than being completely empty on the interior, the pan is lined with "dividers." These dividers allow the brownie batter to "flow" like a river, zig-zagging throughout the pan instead of forming one single smooth rectangle. These dividers ensure that every part of the brownie's exterior will develop that delicious edge, whether it's a corner piece or a piece from directly in the middle of the serpentine brownie. The only drawback, however, is that, unlike a regular pan, this pan is specially made for making brownies and probably won't find much use outside of that.

Salon, however, believes that you don't need an all-edge brownie pan. While Salon admits that the pan has some novelty to it, such as "structurally sound brownies," all-edges do not necessarily make for a good brownie. What makes a good brownie is a good recipe, which should be the main focus of every brownie tray rather than focusing on how many edges you can get.