My friend and baker extraordinaire Matt Adlard and I are partnering with Amazon Live and chefs across America to host At Home Cooking, a live-streamed cook-a-thon to support Feeding America. Matt was kind enough to share his incredible recipe for brownie cookies, which is what we will be baking during our segment.
All I can say is they are incredible! They truly are just like brownies in cookie form. From their chewy, soft centers to their crispy edges, they’re irresistible.
The only catch is that because Matt is British, all his recipes are in metrics!! While I actually enjoy using my kitchen scale to bake, I know a lot of you are more comfortable using cup measures.
I’ve converted Matt’s recipe to the imperial system to make it a bit more approachable.
The Ingredients Used in this Brownie Cookie Recipe & Substitutions
While I love this recipe just the way it is, I know some people have different preferences! For example, if you know you love milk chocolate, use that instead of dark chocolate.
Or you might not have all of these ingredients on hand! If you find yourself in either of these situations, below I share the purpose of each ingredient along with swaps and variations that can be made.
The Chocolate
This part is up to you! I like these cookies best with good quality dark chocolate, but you can use milk, semi-sweet, or even white chocolate! Chocolate chips or chunks both work great.
Unsalted Butter
The reason why most recipes including this one call for unsalted butter is that different brands of butter use different amounts of salt.
There’s no way to know how much salt is added to a recipe unless you use unsalted butter, then add in salt separately.
To ensure your cookies tastes just right, it’s best to use unsalted butter!
However, if you only have salted butter on hand you can use it. The cookies will taste a bit saltier, but will still taste great. Just be sure to omit the salt that this recipe calls for.
Eggs
The eggs help give these cookies structure, and bring the batter together.
If you don’t have any eggs on hand or want to make egg free brownie cookies, you can use a flaxseed egg! Use one tablespoon of ground flax seeds and three tablespoons of water to replace one egg.
Be sure to grind the flax seeds into a fine powder using a coffee or spice grinder, and then whisk in the water until the mixture becomes gelatinous.
Granulated Sugar
A little bit of sugar gives these brownie cookies the perfect touch of sweetness, and helps create that tender texture.
You don’t need a ton because the chocolate is also sweet, but I wouldn’t recommend reducing the amount of sugar in this recipe or it will negatively affect the texture and spread of the cookies.
If you prefer your brownies with brown sugar, you can use it in place of the granulated sugar in this recipe. Light or dark brown sugar will work.
My only note is that it will be harder to get crinkly tops on your cookies if you use brown sugar, because of the moisture that the brown sugar adds to the cookie dough.
Instant Espresso Powder
Adding instant espresso or coffee powder into brownies can be surprisingly polarizing. Some people love it, others hate it.
I personally am a big fan, and think that a hint of coffee really elevates the flavor of these cookies. It isn’t enough to be a prominent flavor, but it does add depth of flavor.
However, if you really dislike coffee, you can omit this ingredient from your cookie batter.
All Purpose Flour
These brownie cookies are made with good ol’ all purpose flour.
But don’t worry, these can easily be made into gluten free brownie cookies! You can use a gluten free flour blend of the AP flour in this recipe (cup for cup).
Just be sure to stir the batter really well to help give it structure. It needs extra help since it doesn’t have any gluten! Also let the batter sit for 30 minutes before baking the cookies (helps the flour absorb moisture from the batter).
Baking Soda
The leavening agent in these cookies is baking soda.
It’s more potent than baking powder, and helps the rise and spread perfectly to create crackly tops on these cookies.
If you only have baking powder on hand, it can be used in place of the baking powder in this recipe. However, baking soda is about three times more potent than baking powder so you will need to use three times as much!
Sea Salt
Adding a bit of salt into the batter and a garnish of sea salt not only looks beautiful, it also helps balance out the sweetness of this cookie!
It also helps cut through all that deliciously rich chocolate. I don’t recommend omitting it!
Tips for Making The Best Brownie Cookies
- Be sure to properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure and then level) or use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients
- Ingredients at room temp mix together better, so be sure you set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
- Use a cookie scoop to make sure your cookies are uniformly sized
- Be sure to really give the eggs and sugar a good whisk by hand, for at least 3 minutes (or use an electric mixer! This incorporates air into the mixture, which helps them bake up with a crackly, flaky top.
- Let your cookie dough cool slightly (2-3 minutes) until it makes thick ribbons when lifted with a spatula. This will help the cookies spread less, to ensure they bake up with chewy centers.
- Be sure to space your cookies about 3 inches apart before baking them. They spread a lot as they bake.
- Press extra chunks of chocolate onto the cookies once they’re baked, and garnish with sea salt to make them look and taste even better.
Making These Brownie Cookies In Advance & Storage Tips
- Make your cookies in advance! If stored in an airtight container, they can last for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge.
- Sadly the batter cannot be made in advance and frozen, since it needs to be slightly warm when scooped and baked.
- Baked cookies can be frozen! These cookies last for up to a month if frozen in a ziploc bag or airtight container. Move them to the fridge the day before you plan to eat them to reduce the temperature shock, then let them sit out at room temperature for a few hours before eating.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this recipe for brownie cookies or any variation of it, I’d love to hear what think of it!
Please leave a rating, and let me know your thoughts by sharing a comment.
Brownie Cookies
These brownie cookies have soft, chewy centers and crispy edges just like your favorite brownies! They even have that signature crinkly top we know and love.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups dark or milk chocolate (240 grams)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (56 grams)
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar (120 grams)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature (112 grams)
- 1/2 tsp instant espresso or coffee (2 grams) - optional
- 1/4 tsp of salt (1 gram) - optional
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (80 grams)
- 3/4 tsp baking soda (5 grams)
- 1/3 cup dark or milk chocolate chips (60 grams)
- sea salt to garnish
Instructions
Brownie Cookies (slightly adapted from Matt Adlard's brookie recipe)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Place 1 1/3 cups dark or milk chocolate and 1/4 cup of butter into a heat proof bowl.
- Melt in the microwave by heating in 30 second intervals (stirring between), or using a double boiler.
- Heat and stir until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
- In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk together 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar with 2 large eggs, 1/2 tsp of espresso powder, and 1/4 tsp of salt.
- Whisk for a couple minutes to incorporate air into the mixture, until it becomes lighter in color.
- Pour the slightly cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Mix until combined.
- Sift 2/3 cup all-purpose flour and 3/4 of a tsp of baking soda into the chocolate egg mixture, and mix until the batter is smooth.
- Let the dough cool down for a few minutes, and creates thick ribbons when lifted on a spoon above the bowl.
- Fold in the remaining 1/3 cup of chocolate chips.
- Use a cookie scoop to make 12-14 uniformly sized cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, placing the cookies at least 3 inches apart from each other.
- Bake for 12 minutes, then garnish with a sprinkle of sea salt and additional chocolate chunks if desired.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a wire baking rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Making These Brownie Cookies In Advance & Storage Tips
- Make your cookies in advance! If stored in an airtight container, they can last for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge.
- Sadly the batter cannot be made in advance and frozen, since it needs to be slightly warm when scooped and baked.
- Baked cookies can be frozen! These cookies last for up to a month if frozen in a ziploc bag or airtight container. Move them to the fridge the day before you plan to eat them to reduce the temperature shock, then let them sit out at room temperature for a few hours before eating.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 204Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 47mgSodium 207mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 1gSugar 14gProtein 4g
Other Recipes You Might Like:
- 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Buttercream Cookies
- Brookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Chocolate Blackout Cake
Can these be made with semi-sweet chocolate chips? Also, can they be tried with gluten free flour?
Hi Fatami,
They sure can! I haven’t tested them out with GF flour, but it should work if you use a good blend like King Arthur GF flour! Just be sure to overmix the matter to help give it a bit of structure since there’s no gluten. Please let me know how they turn out, I’d love to know for the future <3
Can these made with cocoa powder instead of chocolate?
Hi Gabriela,
Sadly the consistency doesn’t turn out right if you don’t use regular chocolate :/ I’m so sorry!
It was all in the post if you would have read it. She took the time to type it all. ?
I plan to try these out this week and if all goes well I want to ship them to a friend a few states away. Would these be ok being shipped domestically?
Hi Sid,
I am no shipping expert, but I’d think they should be fine to mail as long as they’re well padded and in air tight container or bag. They can sit out at room temp for several days, so they should be good to go! Hope that helps and that your friend loves them!
Hey Chelsey! My cookies fell flat. Like real flat. What did I do wrong?
Hi Kelsey,
It sounds like the batter might have been too warm when you scooped and baked them! I’d recommend letting the batter cool a bit more before baking them next time. Hope that helps, happy baking!
Hey! I’m so excited to make this!! When I measure 1/2 cup of butter it weighed 112 grams not 60. Should it be half a stick of butter? Which is 60 grams?
Hi Sarah,
I am so sorry about that, it was a typo that has since been updated! It should be 1/4 cup of butter, or 60 grams.
I made them and they tasted super good, but they turned out pretty flat. Is there something i might have done wrong? My cookies often turn out kinda flat. Thanks so much!
Hi Sarah,
This batter is temperature sensitive, so I’d recommend letting it cool just a minute or two longer before scooping and baking next time! It should help the cookies spread a little less <3
Can I omit the 1/3 cup of chocolate chips at the end and add walnuts instead?
Hi Christine,
For sure, I bet that’d be delicious!!
Hey so mine turned out really thin! And also I think they were abit to big !
I’d suggest making smaller scoops or cookie dough next time, and letting the batter cool a bit more to make thicker cookies! <3
These look wonderful. I’m a bit confused about your weight measurements though. 1/2 cup butter measures closer to 112grams. However, you have it listed at 60g. Should I follow your cup measurements more closely And ignore the weights? Thanks in advance!
Hi Aes,
I’m so sorry about that, it was a typo! I have updated it to be 1/4 cup / 56 grams <3
1/2 c butter = approx 112 g My daughter made these with the designated 1/2 cup and they were just plain flat. I caught the error in measurement since I have a reliable kitchen scale. You may want to put out an errata or correct the recipe 🙂 I’ll be using the british weights when I try them today. Approx 1/4c butter would be closer to 60 g
You are so right Suz, that is a typo!! It’s supposed to be 1/4 cup! I am so sorry this ruined your cookies :/ I just updated the recipe, thank you for letting me know!!
I had a lot of issues with the cookies spreading too much and am not sure where I went wrong.
Hi Elizabeth,
These cookie do spread quite a bit, but if you want them to spread less I’d recommend letting your batter cool just a bit more before baking the cookies, or using a bit less batter to make each cookie. Hope that helps, happy baking!
I love learning from you! These are so so so so delicious! But my cookies are spreading and are much thinner than yours. Any advice on how to prevent them from spreading so much/ getting them thicker?
Hi Amber,
So happy to hear that! I would recommend letting the batter cool just a bit more (maybe a minute or two) next time, to help the cookies spread less.
These are amazing! The top came out perfectly crinkled and nice. I did make them with semi-sweet chocolate chips since it was what I had on hand, and they still tasted great. They spread a bit and didn’t really keep their shape, but I’m assuming that was perhaps a bit of under-mixing or I scooped too much batter for one cookie. Delicious and highly recommended!!
So happy you got the crinkly top, that’s my favorite part of these cookies!! I like to kind of shape the dough blobs before I bake them, to try to help them end up being circular, but they can be finicky!
You can also use a circle cutter larger than the cookie to reshape cookies fresh out of the oven by moving it in a circular motion around the cookie. Hope that helps for next time, happy baking!!
Hi Chelsea!
These were so yummy but they did spread extremely thin. I let the batter cool as recommended for my first batch and then for my second batch I put the batter in the fridge for 20 minutes and they still spread just as thin. Regardless of how thin they were, they were delicious!
Hi Kendra,
Happy to hear they tasted great, but I’m so sorry about the spread! What type of chocolate did you? Did you make sure to really whip up the sugar and butter when you creamed it?? Those are the only two things I can think of that might have made them spread extra other than the batter being too warm! Hopefully we’ll be able to get to the bottom of it <3
Flavor is absolutely delicious.. but any idea why they spread out and essentially made one giant brownie? I followed the recipe exactly. Disappointed only in the fact that I had to put them back in to bake the center cookies longer!
Hi Rachel,
I’d let the dough cool a bit longer before scooping and baking the cookies next time, and I’d use a smaller cookie scoop! These cookies do spread quite a bit, so they need to be placed quite far away from one another. I’d also give them more space on your baking sheets.
I should have read the reviews before baking. I too used too much butter. I watched the Tik Tok video and thought i was safe. I have super flat, crispy cookies. 🙁
I’m so sorry to hear that Angela :/
Made these today and they are so delicious! My only issue is they got super flat after they were done cooling. Any suggestions on what to do differently? All of my ingredients were fresh and at room temp.
Hi Cristy,
I’d let the batter cool down for a couple more minutes next time before scooping the cookies. Hope that helps, happy baking!
The written instructions still say 1/2 cup of butter. Just FYI. I am excited to be trying this recipe today!
Hi Angela,
So sorry about that typo! It’s been updated to say 1/4 cup of butter, happy baking!!
They turned out awesome! Took your advise about waiting 3min to rest before baking and they raised really well. Yummy ?. Wish I could show you how Lovely they look.
That’s great, so happy to hear that Kizzy!! 🙂
What do you mean by cool? Put in the fridge? Mine didn’t look like dough balls at all. More like regular brownie batter.
Hi Natalie,
I just mean let it sit at room temp for a couple minutes to cool the batter slightly. It should have a consistency of thick brownie batter, which allows you to scoop it onto the pan, but not to really shape it much. You def won’t be able to for dough balls with it. If you can, your batter is way too cold!!
These broockies were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!!!! Love this recipe and will definatly make again! Also i love your Tik Tok account!
So happy to hear that Sheridan!! And yay, I love TikTok!!!! 🙂 happy baking!
I LOVE THESE ! I made these at night while my family was sleeping and the delicious smell woke everyone up, lol. These were such a great snack to enjoy while chatting with my family. Also super easy to make as well !
aw I am so happy to hear that Ivana!! That’s wonderful 🙂
I tried these yesterday. Taste great, but like many others my cookies spread a lot. I read all your tips and I going to give it another try. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Hi Tori,
Happy to hear they tastes great, so sorry they spread so much!! yes hopefully letting the batter cool a bit more will help them spread less <3
these were so delicious!! they had such a pretty crinkle top with the sea salt! the batter was still a little sticky so i used an ice cream scoop instead of rolling them into balls with my hands. i love all your baking videos on tiktok :))
That’s great to hear Anne! So happy you loved this recipe 🙂 And yay, I am so into TikTok these days!!
Will I need to adjust these for high elevation? At 7,000 feet here.
Hi Emily,
I don’t have much experience baking cookies at altitude so sadly I’m not sure! But I’d recommend making any adjustments you normally do when baking cookies at that altitude. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
They tasted great, I just had to cook them for 12-15 minutes instead of 10 minutes and I’m not at high altitude either.
Hi Malia,
Interesting!! Your cookie scoops might have been a bit bigger than ours, or your batter might have cooled a bit more. Happy they turned out great though!!
These were a huge hit with the family! I personalized the batch by garnishing some with dark chocolate chunks, others with semi-sweet morsels & a couple with sea salt (to please everyone’s tastes, haha). They turned out absolutely perfect – thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that Paula! Love that, there’s nothing better than getting to eat a cookie just the way you like it 🙂
THEY WERE AMAZING, I MADE THEM IN QUARANTINE AND MY FAMILY AND I AND WE LOVED THE
So happy to hear that Sharon 🙂
These turned out great!!!Huge hit with the family!!! Thanks!!!!
So happy to hear that Rebecca 🙂
Should I bake it for 12 minutes at the same temperature I preheated the oven to? (Which is 177 degrees C)
Hi Sunaira,
Yup! Usually recipes have you preheat the oven to the temperature you need to bake the dessert at <3
Hi, my batter has been cooled but it spread a lottttt. But it tastes great! Should I let it sit longer?
Hi Cory,
Sounds like it! It should be somewhat thick when you scoop it <3
Is it okay if I use dairy milk chocolate?
Hi Sunaira.
Yup, milk chocolate should work great in this recipe 🙂
So i just baked these cookies and they tasted great but they spread out so much. It was like brittle. I dont know what im doing wrong. I followed your instructions very carefully and let the batter sit for about 5 minutes. Please let me know what im doing wrong
Mine didn’t turn out as pretty as yours but WOW these are amazing! Some of the best cookies i’ve ever had! I thought they’d taste like a regular chocolate flavored cookie but they have a unique texture with the inside being gooey like a brownie!!
Would be great with some vanilla ice cream!!
Hi Chelsea!! So my oven is pretty old and it doesn’t even have the preheating option or anything. Every time i bake cookies the middle would be still doughy even though i would use the correct temperature sometimes a little higher. I really wanna bake these but i m scared it might turn out bad. Any suggestions?