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These Brownie Cookies have melted chocolate, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips for a triple chocolate experience. They are everything you love about a decadent brownie but in the form of a cookie! These chocolate brownie cookies are so good, I could eat them all in one sitting! They’re easy to make, and kids will absolutely devour them. (Grownups too!)
There is a large selection of chocolate recipes here on this site, and for good reason: Chocolate is my favorite food. If you give me a dessert choice, about the only thing that might edge out chocolate is a perfectly made creme brulee. Other than that, I’m going for the chocolate dish Every. Single. Time.
So of course, since my Easy Cocoa Brownies are my grandkids’ very favorite thing, it seemed a natural progression to turn brownies into cookies. Then you can serve them all at the same time and have brownies AND cookies that are ALSO BROWNIES. Win-win all around!
Testing results for brownie cookies
- I will often melt butter in the microwave because it’s quick and easy, but I’ve found that you get better results when melting chocolate if you use a double boiler or a bowl over a saucepan. This keeps the chocolate from scorching, and you have a pan of hot water on the stove for warming the batter between batches.
- When beating the eggs and sugar it’s important to beat the mixture long enough. This process helps to add structure to the cookies and if you don’t beat the eggs and sugars for long enough you won’t get shiny tops. Do this for at least 8 minutes. You can check you have the correct consistency by taking the beater with some batter on it and letting it fall back into the bowl. If the ribbons of mixture stay for a couple of seconds before disappearing back into the mixture, you know it’s been beaten for long enough..
- The texture of the cookies turned cakey rather than fudgy if they cooked longer than 10 minutes in my oven. Pulling them while the centers are just set is what keeps the brownie texture.
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
Ingredient notes
Here are a few things to know about the ingredients in this recipe.
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card. Scroll below the recipe card for frequently asked questions and tips for success.
Semi-sweet chocolate. Eight ounces of chopped bar chocolate is what makes these cookies fudgy. Ghirardelli semi-sweet works well, and any good quality semi-sweet bar will too. Chop it before it goes in the bowl so it melts evenly.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder. A third of a cup deepens the color and the flavor without adding acidity, which pairs correctly with the baking powder in this recipe. Natural cocoa powder will work if that’s what’s in the pantry, though the cookies bake up a shade lighter.
Chocolate chips. A quarter cup folded in at the end gives you pockets of chocolate that stay soft in the finished cookie. Fold them in by hand with a spatula.
Flaky sea salt. Sprinkled on after baking, not before. Flaky salt is best here because it stays visible and gives a little crunch against the fudgy center.
Related 📖 ➡️ How to soften hard brown sugar
Pin this now to save it for laterHow to make fudgy brownie cookies
Here’s how these brownie cookies come together, start to finish.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together over a pan of simmering water, then set the bowl aside to cool. Leave the pan of water on the stove.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl.
- Beat the eggs, both sugars, and the vanilla in a stand mixer until the mixture is pale, thick, and ribbons off the beater.
- Add the cooled chocolate on low speed, then the dry ingredients, then fold in the chocolate chips by hand.
- Scoop onto lined baking sheets right away and bake until the tops are shiny and cracked and the edges are just set.
Why the tops crack and shine
The shiny, cracked top on a brownie cookie is almost like a thin layer of meringue. When warm (room temperature) whole eggs and sugar are beaten together long enough, the sugar dissolves completely and the eggs whip air into the mixture. That dissolved sugar rises to the surface during baking, dries into a fragile crust, and splits as the cookie underneath spreads.
That’s why the beating time matters so much. Undissolved sugar cannot form that surface layer, so a batch beaten for four minutes will bake up matte and smooth on top. The ribbon test is the reliable check: lift the beater, let the batter fall, and watch whether the ribbon sits on the surface for a second or two before it sinks.
Batter temperature also affects the same crust. Warm batter spreads faster in the oven, which stretches that sugar layer while it is still setting and produces deeper cracks. Batter that has cooled on the counter spreads more slowly and bakes up with a duller, tighter surface, and that’s the reason for setting the bowl back over the simmering water between trays.
Variations
- Chopped nuts. Fold toasted pecans or walnuts in along with the chocolate chips for some crunch against the fudgy center.
- Larger cookies. A two-tablespoon scoop instead of one gives you about fourteen bigger cookies. Add a minute or two and go by the visual cue rather than the clock: shiny cracked top, edges just set.
If the powdered sugar crackle is more what you had in mind, my Chocolate Brownie Crinkle Cookies take the same brownie-meets-cookie idea in a different direction, rolled in powdered sugar before they go in the oven.
Make-ahead
Make ahead. This batter gets scooped and baked right away, not chilled and held. The batter thickens and cools as it sits, and cool batter will decrease the pretty shine on your cookies. If you want to work ahead, bake the cookies fully and store them instead.
Freezing. These freeze for up to three months in an airtight container or a freezer bag. Let them defrost fully before serving.
What to serve with brownie cookies
These are rich enough that they don’t need much alongside them, but you can never go wrong with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My Chocolate Banana Ice Cream is a no churn recipe and adds a delightful but subtle banana flavor.
For a cookie tray, put something lighter next to them so the plate has a little contrast. These Award-Winning Chocolate Chip Cookies go with everything (obviously), and Lemon Brownies add a little variety.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below!
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Brownie Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Fill a small saucepan with an inch of water and bring it to a simmer. Put 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed and 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.
- Let the butter and chocolate melt, stirring gently now and then. Once melted, set the bowl aside to cool. Leave the saucepan of simmering water on the stove.
- In a small bowl, sift together 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add 3 large eggs, at room temperature, both sugars, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 8 minutes. Test it by lifting the beater and letting the batter fall back into the bowl. When the ribbon sits on the surface for a second or two before sinking in, it has been beaten long enough.
- Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and slowly add the melted and cooled chocolate and butter. Mix for one minute, then scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- With the mixer still on low, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Add 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and use a spatula to fold them into the batter. The batter will be very thick.
- Immediately scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets using a small cookie scoop, about 1 tablespoon each. Leave space between them, since they spread as they bake.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops are shiny and cracked and the edges are just set.
- Cool the cookies on the sheet pan for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- If the cookies need to be baked in batches, set the mixing bowl back over the saucepan of simmering water between trays. Warm batter is what produces the shiny, cracked tops.
- Sprinkle the baked cookies with flaky sea salt.
Nutrition
Questions and tips
Storage
Store the cookies in an airtight container on the counter, where they stay fresh for up to four days.
Yes. Once the flour and cocoa are in and the chocolate chips are folded through, the batter is closer to a thick frosting than a thin cookie dough. That thickness is normal, and it’s why the recipe calls for scooping right away.
You can. If you do, cut the added salt to a quarter teaspoon, since the half teaspoon in the recipe assumes unsalted butter. The flaky salt on top can stay either way.
