Brownie Cookies
This brownie cookie recipe delivers all the best parts of a brownie—a crackly crust, fudgy center, chewy edges, and intense chocolate flavor—in a single, delightful cookie.
This brownie cookie recipe delivers all the best parts of a brownie—a crackly crust, fudgy center, chewy edges, and intense chocolate flavor—in a single, delightful cookie.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (60-70% cacao)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch-processed)
- 1 cup pecans (chopped optional)
- 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
- Carbohydrate 7.19638250626378 g
- Cholesterol 44.5655092678043 mg
- Fat 5.29976264215964 g
- Fiber 0.254113430224268 g
- Protein 1.60406023177273 g
- Saturated Fat 2.99163842798207 g
- Serving Size 1 1 cookie (36g)
- Sodium 69.1535741380924 mg
- Sugar 6.94226907603952 g
- Trans Fat 0.478833963200901 g
- Calories 81 calories
Step-by-step
- Melt bittersweet chocolate chips and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until melted and well-combined.
- Remove from heat, and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugars, vanilla, baking powder, and salt on high speed 5 minutes, or until the batter is thick and creamy. This step is key, so make sure to beat the mixture for the full 5 minutes.
- Reduce the speed to low, and mix in the melted chocolate until well-combined.
- Stir in flour and cocoa powder just until combined.
- Add nuts, if using, and mini chocolate chips. Stir in to combine. The batter should be the consistency of a thick brownie batter at this point.
- Cover the batter, and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, drop batter onto the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake cookies 8-10 minutes. The cookie will look set at the edges but still be a little wet looking in the center. Don't overbake, or the cookies won't be crackly and fudgy.
- The shiny, crackly crust will develop as the cookies cool on the baking sheet.
Operating in a compact kitchen demands baking projects that do not require an arsenal of specialized pans or excessive counter space, relying instead on a single heavy saucepan and a standard stand mixer. Achieving the characteristic shiny, crackly crust on a brownie-style cookie depends entirely on the aeration of whole eggs and sugars. Beating three large eggs alongside granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder, and salt on high speed for a full five minutes incorporates sufficient air to create that papery top crust without needing chemical leaveners beyond a minimal pinch of baking powder. Melted bittersweet chocolate at sixty to seventy percent cacao supplies the structural body, but temperature management is critical when combining the hot chocolate and butter mixture with the whipped egg base; the saucepan contents must cool slightly off the heat to prevent scrambling the eggs upon contact. Standard natural unsweetened cocoa powder works best here rather than Dutch-processed varieties, as natural cocoa retains the acidity required to react correctly with the other components. Chilling the finished batter for thirty minutes firms the fats, preventing excessive spread across the parchment-lined baking sheets during the eight to ten minute bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pulling the trays from the oven while the centers still appear slightly wet guarantees a fudgy interior once cooled. Portioning the dough with a 1.5 tablespoon scoop maintains uniform sizing for even heat penetration. Storing surplus dough balls in the freezer allows for single-batch baking on demand, yielding identical texture when transferred directly from frozen to hot oven with just a minute or two added to the timer.
