Soft and Chewy Brownie Cookies — These cookies have the taste and texture of perfect brownies! Soft and tender in the interior with chewy edges. They’re fudgy, dense, and not at all cakey!
Easy Fudge Brownie Cookies Recipe
These cookies have been on my bucket list for years. I only wish I had checked them off my list sooner because I loved every fudgy center and chewy-edged bite.
They’re one hundred percent from scratch, no cake mix, no brownie mix, no shortcuts. The recipe is adapted from Donna Hay, who’s been called the Australian Martha Stewart. After converting grams of butter to tablespoons, and using regular granulated sugar in place of superfine caster sugar, I thought I was in for smooth sailing. Wrong.
I’ve seen versions of this recipe using melted chocolate chips for the 12 ounces of dark chocolate that Donna calls for. I wanted that to work because a standard bag of chocolate chips is 12 ounces and that would have been convenient. But when I melted the chocolate chips with butter as directed, the mixture seized horribly.
I should have known better because chocolate chips have stabilizers in them that prevent them from melting easily. This is great when used in chocolate chip cookies so they retain their chip-like shape in a 350F oven. Not great when you want them to melt into sauce with butter.
The water that’s released from the melting butter turned the mixture turn into seized-up sludge. So I started over. I hate wasting butter and chocolate, but salvaged the clumpy mess and was used it as s’mores chocolate.
I tried again with a 54% Dark Chocolate Pound Plus bar from Trader Joe’s, not to be confused with their 72% bar. Because there’s only 2/3 cup of sugar in the entire batch of cookies, I didn’t want to use chocolate that was too dark for fear the cookies would be bitter.
I like my brownies and chocolate cookies on the less sweet side, but had read reports of others trying 72% chocolate and the cookies were bitter.
The chocolate intensity and sweetness level of the cookies from the Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate bar (54% chocolate) turned out to be spot-on perfect. Sweet enough, but not too sweet; nor bitter.
The 5 ounces of chopped chocolate that’s added to the batter are unexpected nuggets of bliss. It adds so much intensity and also texture. The cookies are so dark and you can’t see the chocolate, so the chunks really are heavenly surprise bites. The chocolate chunks make the cookies so rich. Like having a mini chocolate candy bar baked into every cookie.
What’s in Brownie Cookies?
To make these soft and chewy brownie cookies, you’ll need:
- Dark chocolate
- Butter
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
How to Make Brownie Cookies
To make the cookies, combine 7 ounces of chopped chocolate from a bar (not chocolate chips as I learned) with 3 tablespoons of butter and heat to melt, about 45 seconds in the micro, and set it aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat together 2 eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Donna suggests beating for 15 minutes, or until pale and creamy. That seemed ridiculously long, but I kept my stand mixer running for over 13 minutes. The mixture didn’t change in appearance after the first 5 minutes of beating, and I believe 5 to 8 minutes of beating is adequate. The mixture thickens up and become slightly frothy, but earth-shattering changes didn’t happen after the 5-minute mark.
All at once, add the melted chocolate-butter mixture, the remaining 5 ounces of chopped chocolate, 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, and beat it together, about 1 minute on medium low speed.
If you’re visualizing two eggs, 10 ounces of a melted chocolate-butter mixture, and only 1/4-cup flour and the contents of the mixing bowl looking like liquid chocolate sauce, you’re visualizing correctly. I was freaking out thinking, no, please not another chocolate fail in a recipe that hasn’t even been baked! The mixture was so sloppy, soupy, and wasn’t anywhere near cookie ‘dough’. Chocolate smoothie was more like it.
Donna’s recipe instructs to set the bowl aside for 10 minutes so the mixture can firm up before baking. After 10 minutes, there was no way it was firm enough to do anything with other than maybe insert a straw and drink the chocolate. So I covered the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, said a prayer, and left it on the counter for 1 hour.
In that hour, it had firmed up enough that I was able to use my medium 2-inch cookie scoop and scooped out 17 mounds onto Silpat-lined baking trays. In reality, it felt like I was scooping out severely melted ice cream that had been sitting out of the freezer for a few hours.
There was no way I was going to bake that ‘dough’ and allowed it to remain uncovered on baking sheets at room temperature for another hour to continue to solidify before I was brave enough to bake them.
So that’s setting the bowl aside for 1 hour, then scooping out into mounds, and letting the mounds sit on cookie sheets for another hour before baking. Two hours of solidification. The 10 minutes suggested by the author would have never worked for me.
I was bracing for chocolate puddles to emerge from the oven, but much to my shock and amazement, the cookies spread much less than I expected.
These cookies are worth everything they put me through and are the lightest, fudgiest, moistest, best brownie cookies I’ve ever tried. You’d think they’d be thick and as heavy as bricks, but they’re not since they’re nearly flourless. And they’re not cakey in the least. I don’t want cake in my brownies, cookies, or brownie-cookies.
How to Store Brownie Cookies
These fudge brownie cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.
Can I Add Mix-Ins?
Possibly, although the “dough” is so finnicky that you may not want to add any mix-ins. If you’re looking for a fudgy chocolate cookie packed with mix-ins, check out the “Related Recipes” section below the recipe card.
Tips for Making Chocolate Brownie Cookies
As I was making this recipe, I ran out of cool baking trays and clean Silpats and baked the last two cookies on unlined baking trays and they spread so much more and baked so thin and turned crispy and crumbly.
The difference between baking with and without Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mats was night and day. Silpats are tacky and give cookies traction and something to grab onto so they don’t slip and slide around on a hot baking sheet, spreading and turning into cookie puddles.
It’s worth mentioning that this recipe may not be for everyone. If you are typically prone to cookies that spread and have never mastered the art of anything close to a puffy cookie, this probably isn’t the recipe for you. And now is a great time to spend that $20 bucks on a Silpat because without one, I didn’t have success.
Finally, you’ll need a cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop because there’s no way to get the ‘dough’ out of the mixing bowl and onto baking trays in a shape that’s domed enough to hold up to baking.
But they’re so worth it. They really do taste like a brownie, in cookie form. So fudgy, rich, intense, and decadent.
Now I can have my brownies and cookies in one.
Pin This Recipe
Soft and Chewy Brownie Cookies
These cookies have the taste and texture of perfect brownies! Soft and tender in the interior with chewy edges. They're fudgy, dense, and not at all cakey!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dark chocolate from a bar, chopped and divided into 7 ounces and 5 ounces*
- 3 tablespoons butter (I used unsalted)
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (or superfine sugar if available)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
Instructions
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine 7 ounces of chocolate, butter, and heat to melt, about 1 minute on high power. Stop to stir. Heat in 10-second bursts until mixture can be stirred smooth; set aside to cool briefly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use an electric mixer), add the eggs, sugar, vanilla and beat for 5 to 8 minutes on medium speed, or until pale and creamy. (Original recipe recommends beating for 15 minutes, but I saw no changes in the mixture after about 5 minutes and believe 8 minutes is ample).
- Add the flour, baking powder, melted chocolate-butter mixture, and remaining 5 ounces chopped chocolate and mix to combine, about 1 minute on medium-low speed (the machine will make lots of noise and shake from the chopped chocolate).
- Remove the paddle, cover bowl with plasticwrap, and allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour in order for batter to firm up (Original recipe suggests 10 minutes but my batter was like chocolate sauce and it needed 1 hour).
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop, scoop out mounds of dough onto Silpat-lined baking trays, placing 8 mounds per tray. Do not crowd them in case your cookies spread a fair amount (mine didn't but I can foresee it). Allow mounds to remain on trays, uncovered, for about 1 hour before baking to help batter set up more.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until puffed and cracked (I baked for 9 minutes).
- Allow cookies to cool completely on trays.
Notes
*Chocolate: I used a Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Pound Plus Bar 54%; do not use chocolate chips.
Storage: Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Recipe adapted from Donna Hay.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
17Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 110Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 34mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 1g
More Chocolate Cookie Recipes:
Nutella White Chocolate Chip Cookies — Thick, rich, chocolaty cookies that are so soft you won’t be able to resist them!
Dark Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies — Soft and chewy chocolate cookies packed with peanut butter and oozing with dark chocolate chips AND peanut butter chips!
Quadruple Chocolate Pudding Cookies — These pudding cookies are packed with cocoa powder, chocolate chips and chunks, and chocolate pudding mix to deliver seriously chocolatey flavor!
M&M’s Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies — Foolproof cookies made with just 5 ingredients!! If you’re craving chocolate and want to make super EASY cookies that are soft, FUDGY, and delicious, this is the recipe to make!!
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies— These chocolate crinkle cookies are slightly chewy around the edges with a very fudgy interior and perfectly crinkly seams!
Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies — Cream cheese keeps these double chocolate cookies super soft! Say hello to your new favorite chocolate cookie!!
Chocolate Chip Andes Mint Cookies— These quadruple chocolate Andes mint cookies are big, bakery-style cookies that are rich, not overly sweet, and loaded with chocolate and mint chips.
I do not use the Silpat mat & my cookies tend to spread. However, after checking out the Silpat brand on Amazon, I won’t be buying one, at least not there. After reading many reviews, I’ve discovered there are a lot of knock-offs being sold, even the ones sold & shipped by Amazon. That’s a real shame!
I’ve never had a problem but of course shop where you feel most comfortable.
Hi Averie! I just made them and they were GREAT, the best recipe for quarentine!!! What I did different, I lets the batter firm for just 15min, place 8 mounds on tray and put on refrigerator for 10 min, and perfect, cracked outside and very soft inside. Thanks for these wonderful recipes, I always enjoy making them.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad they turned out perfectly!
Hi Averie!I just made these cookies yesterday to give as gifts and they were a huge success! If you’re at all interested, I think I have some suspicions as to why your batter was so wet. (Although you posted this roughly 4 years ago and you have 150+ comments, so you’ve probably figured stuff out…nevertheless…)I wonder if your eggs weren’t cold enough, and the melted chocolate was still pretty hot when you mixed it in. When I made them, I did everything I could to proactively have a studied dough, and that included using cold eggs, beating them for almost 15 minutes (I did the last 5 or so on high and it turned thick, custard like—not frothy at all), and then waiting until my chocolate was only just a little warmer than room temperature (but still melted) before I mixed it in. That resulted in a very firm dough I could work with after 10 minutes resting time, and as they sat resting on the baking tray they got even as firm as a slightly chilled chocolate chip cookie dough. The last suggestion I have is adding salt to the recipe. I added about an 1/8th of a tsp and that seemed to work, though I may experiment with more. Otherwise, I bet putting flaked salt on top as soon as they come out of the oven would be yummy too :). Thanks again for an amazing recipe—me and about 11 other musicians living in Nashville think they’re one of the greatest things we’ve ever tasted!!!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad these were a huge success and one of the greatest things you’ve ever tasted! All great pointers and tips you gave and I bet flaked sea salt on top would be delish!
I just printed the recipe and hope to make soon. I read one review that used powdered sugar and beat the mixture for 15 minutes. I’m thinking of using the powdered sugar, beating for the amount of time specified in the recipe and refrigerating the dough for around one hour. What do you think? Many thanks for such a delicious-looking cookie.
I have only made as written so really can’t comment on how things will go if you change things.
Hello, I tried your recipe today and I used powdered sugar instead and mixed the dough for the 15 min originally suggested and I have to say that the dough turned out VERY thick, like normal cookie dough. I believe the extended mixing time has something to do with it. I’m the person that you mentioned that hasn’t mastered making cookies that keep their shape during baking. Today I made my first batch of cookies that kept their shape perfectly!!! I am so happy, I might mix all my cookie dough for 15 min from now on!? thank you so much for the recipe!
P.S. I used 35g of gluten free flour instead of regular flour, since I have celiac. I am always searching for recipes that have very low flour content since g-free flour has a funny texture, I think. This recipe was perfect!
I’m sure the powdered sugar thickened up the dough compared to what regular granulated sugar would have done. Glad they came out great for you, even GF too! Just as a fyi, don’t mix all your doughs for 15 mins because not all doughs are the same, but for this one, it works!
I just started looking at these recipe Pins, all I have is a cheaper tablet & don’t have access to a printer. A couple of days ago all the recipes were lemon, lemonbars, lemon cupcakes with lemon
Butter cream frosting! I wanted every recipe on the whole page but it’s too complicated to try to hold my tablet on my lap and hand write all the recipes and all the instructions. Is there a way to get recipes other than what I’m doing now? Actually I just started trying this pinning thing so I flying by the seat of my pants completely! Please if you can help me get the recipes I want on a page and maybe not the whole page just the ones I really want, I would be a happier camper!!!
Try copying/pasting the recipe section of the post you’re interested in into an email to yourself. Or just take your tablet into the kitchen! That’s what I do with my phone when I make recipes from the internet.
Hello Averie,
I am in a rut. My cookies are turning cakey.
Is there any way to salvage them? They aren’t exactly your recipe bur pretty close. Except that I used cream cheese in them also.
I tried adding some extra butter and egg but to no avail.
Maybe you or anyone else seeing this plea can help.
Rgds,
Talha
Extra eggs will make things cakier. If you didn’t follow my recipe exactly, I really can’t help you troubleshoot at this point. Follow the recipe exactly next time and your cookies won’t be cakey.
These look delicious! I’ve made brownies from scratch and you really do need to whip the eggs for 15 min it makes them almost a merangue and help them to set up better! Maybe it will cut your waiting time down!
These sound delicious! I’ve made homemade brownies before and you really do need the 15 min of whipping the eggs! It almost makes them a merangue and helps them set up. Maybe it will cut your waiting time down!
“Silpats cost 20$ where you live? Woah. They cost about 50$ here which is why I don’t own one. I tried ordering one off Amazon but shipping costs increased the price to more than double! I always bake my cookies on parchment or baking paper and I get good results.
I’m super excited to try these. Brownies and cookies are two of my fav things and this recipe combines both! I start my Christmas break tomorrow & these will definitely be on my to-bake-list. I’ll report back when I make them. Let’s hope that they won’t overspread .”
These are so yummy!! I used bakers semi sweet and mixed for the 8 min. Only needed 10-15 min to set up:) Turned out great!!!! However, I forgot to buy enough chocolate and ended up substituting mini chocolate chips for the extra bits in the cookies, which worked out really well;) thank you for the great recipe!!!
The mini chips sound like a great swap (mini chips tend to melt well, much better than full-size chips) and glad these cookies came out great for you! Thanks for trying them!
Hi! This is going to be my first time baking cookies – ever., so am getting nervous about it. Cant wait for the weekends.
Ok of ALL the cookie recipes on my entire site, this is probably the most challenging. Like out of 100+, you picked the fussiest one.
Try these instead! They’re very similar and WAY less fussy! https://www.averiecooks.com/triple-chocolate-brownie-batter-cookies/
Lol. Thanks for pointing out on the fussiest part, or else i’ll be crying in tge kitchen feeling like a total failure in baking! :) will definitely try the wayyyy easier cookie first as a start.. heee
I don’t usually comment on recipes but these cookies are so yummy! I am by no means an expert baker and was a little hesitant to try this recipe after reading all of the comments, but mine turned out great! I used Ghirardelli baking bars and let the batter set up about 30-40 minutes just to be sure because I wasn’t exactly certain what it should look like. I baked the cookies for 9 minutes and they turned out perfect! Also added chopped walnuts. I didn’t use a silpat because I don’t have one and didn’t see any kind of baking liners at the Walmart near me so decided to give it a try with parchment paper anyway. I doubled the parchment layer…not sure why lol just figured, what the heck. But they didn’t spread and flatten. Still soft and chewy. Will definitely be making these again!! Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad they turned out great for you, and you had zero issues! If you want a similar cookie, I just posted these this past week and love them so much! If you want a little variety…and if not, glad you love the current ones enough to make them again!
https://www.averiecooks.com/triple-chocolate-brownie-batter-cookies/
Hi Averie, this doesn’t relate to the post but do you think that Greek yogurt or applesauce is a good substitute for 1/4 – 1/2 the amount of oil/butter in blondies ?
I think neither choice is a good substitute. Yogurt will make it gloppy, applesauce will make the texture weird as well. Use butter.
I made these as directed but instead of eggs I used flax seed. The cookies were oily and very flat. Any ideas on what happend? Thanks! ~Jennifer
Hi Jennifer you cannot substitute SEEDS for eggs and expect the same results. I know that in vegan baking you sometimes can, but definitely not in this recipe. Eggs are imperative. If you follow the recipe and use eggs next time as indicated, the recipe should work just fine for you.
I made these using the semi-sweet Ghirardelli chocolate bars, as suggested by someone else. I didn’t find it to be too watery, but still let it sit longer (maybe 40 mins. after mixing) just to be sure. The only issue I had involved the cookies sticking to the silpat baking mats after they baked. But maybe I let them cool too long on there. I only have one mat, so it was a slow process making them all afternoon. I didn’t let them sit up for 1 hr. on the mats as suggested in the recipe. Mainly b/c I didn’t have the time, but also I figured it’d be okay since my dough wasn’t watery. Overall, they were very chocolatey and yummy. But it didn’t make very many and were hard to preserve the shape of the cookie since they stuck to the mats.
Hmmm something sticking to a Silpat doesn’t sound right. Silpats DO wear out over time and become less resistant to sticking and I’m thinking that may be the case with yours, especially if you only have one and it sounds like it’s gotten a workout :) Anything is possible but I’ve never had cookies stick to one unless it’s getting older and even then, it’s not really ‘sticking’ but just not as easy-release as it once was. Treat yourself to a new mat and I bet you’ll be all set :)
I’ve had my eye on this recipe for a while and finally got around to buying the chocolate. Oh my word! Total decadence and total bliss. Exactly what you imagine when you say brownie cookie.
I used Endangered Species Dark Chocolate with Espresso Beans (72% cocoa) for the melted chocolate component and then just added Nestles dark chocolate chips for the 5 ounces added to the batter since they didn’t need to melt. Didn’t have any problems with the batter needing to set.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe and all your tips! It’s a keeper :)
Thanks for trying this recipe and for coming back and LMK how it went! I’ve had that Endg Species bar before! Long time ago and didn’t bake with it, just ate it – but I bet it would be wonderful in here. Glad to know the batter set up perfectly for you and that the cookies lived up to your expectations!
Yeah these look fantastic
I mixed the eggs, sugar, and vanilla for 15 minutes and then proceeded with the recipe. The batter wasn’t like sauce, it was thicker. I let it stand for 10 minutes, and after that the batter was definitely thick enough to make cookies. I did use different chocolate than you (Cadbury dark chocolate bar) I don’t know if that possibly had something to do with the difference. I think the real key thing is probably mixing it the full 15 minutes (eggs, sugar, vanilla) and then you really only need to let the batter stand 10 minutes.
These look divine! Adding a Silpat to my shopping list for sure
These look amazing. And I liked that you tried it with and without the silpat. So many times I skip my silpat and blame my flat cookies on the butter or baking soda. But maybe it is the pan.
It’s the pan, for sure! Not using a Silpat is the kiss of death for my cookies in all recipes, not just this one!
Hey! I made these and while they were delicious, they didn’t puff up and instead flattened out into wide cookies. Any suggestions?
Also I used one silplat and one with just parchment paper, they both turned out the same.
Given everything I went through to make them as I wrote about in my post (they weren’t an easy cookie for me either), it’s so hard to say where your issue came up. I would guess that the batter was a bit on the thin or warm side and that’s why. Next time you could add slightly more flour, chill the dough more, and make sure your baking powder is fresh. I also think the type of chocolate matters. The TJs choc I used wasn’t great in these and normally I love it. Reports of Baker’s brand and Ghrirardehli from readers who’ve made them seem more promising. If you remake, please LMK!
LOVE! I made these last Friday and here’s my report. The closest TJs is over 35 miles from me, so I chose to use Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet baking bars. After melting the 7 oz with the butter in the micro, it was pretty thick, but not seized. I also did mix the egg mixture for 15 minutes just to see what would happen (with a hand mixer since my stand mixer needs to be repaired). Mine got lighter in color and considerably thicker after the 8 minute mark. After 10 minutes on the counter (or less), my cookies could have been baked. I had to wait though since I was waiting for the UPS man to get here with my Silpats I ordered. :) I got way more than 17 cookies, but I used a pretty small scoop. And yes, letting them cool all the way on the pan is a must. I got impatient and lost some of the bottoms of some cookies to a pesky spatula. Thanks for the recipe! Making them again soon!
So glad that they worked out so well for you and love the blow by blow account. I have this feeling that TJs choc bars have more ‘liquid’ volume in them than other brands. I am going to remake with a Ghira or another type of bar-chocolate and see what happens. I had another reader make with Baker’s brand with great results. Glad to hear that after 10 mins, you were in business! And my mixture thickened with beating maybe up til the 8 min mark, but by 13-14 mins, nothing changed, so I just stopped a minute early. I also wonder if this is a situation where a hand mixer may actually give finer control and precision than a stand mixer. Hmmm… Anyway thank for LMK you made them! And woohoo for new silpats!
Here’s a little field report! They are very chocolate-y (a good thing)! This was an easy recipe to cut in half for two of us. I was prepared for runny batter, but mine firmed up quickly (less than 10 min at room temp). It actually started firming up in the mixer, so maybe my egg/sugar mixture was on the cool side (but I did let that mix for about 8 min). I used Baker’s semi-sweet for my chocolate. They tasted great and I would definitely make them again!
Oh I am so happy you were able to have success with this recipe!!!!!! They are exceedingly choclaty and rich, decadent and wonderful. Had I known then what I know now, I would have made a half batch. And then made another batch another time. Fresher is always better :) I am amazed your chocolate firmed up so fast but another woman wrote to say the same thing. Perhaps the TJ’s chocolate is on the liquid-ey side? I’ve noticed that with brownie making before, that it melts into a very ‘thin’ state…I digress. I will try these with Baker’s next time. It’s 2x the price, ounce for ounce, but in this recipe I’d gladly pay it! Glad to hear that 8 mins/mixing worked and that you’d make them again. Thanks for the detailed field report, Paula. I appreciate it!
Love that you made these from scratch! They look so puffy and perfect!
Thanks for linking up to What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Thank you for HOSTING!
Love Donna Hay – I already know I’d love these cookies too! :)
Thanks for the chocolate melting info. Chocolate chips (even the more expensive brands) seize up on me 90% of the time (I must somehow hit the magic mark on that slim 10%). So frustrating, and messy! From now on I’ll use the baking bars. TY! :D
If I try to melt them, just chips by themselves, and take my time doing it in short burts in the micro, I am generally fine. But the minute I add butter, it’s a no go! The water from the butter and the combo of that with the chips – always seize up on me!
Hi Averie!
These cookies look fantastic! I can’t wait to make them – when I do, I’ll let you know how they turn out with gluten free substitutions. (I’m thinking maybe almond flour and potato starch, or maybe just arrowroot or tapioca starch. We’ll see.)
A chocolate note: I use Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips anytime I need a chocolate that is already sweetened. I don’t have a microwave, so I always melt it in an improvised double boiler – large metal bowl set over a pan of steaming water. A little more time, but the same number of dishes, since the water pan just needs to be dumped and cooled, not really washed.
I have never once had a problem with Enjoy Life chocolate siezing up. There are no fillers, stabilizers, or weird ingredients. The vast majority of sweetened chocolates (both baking and eating types, and including all of TJ’s products, as well as almost all the expensive brands and all of the cheap ones) contain an emulsifier called soy lecithin. I’m allergic to soy, in addition to other things. Enjoy Life is free of soy, peanut, nut, dairy, and gluten, so it is safe for the majority of people. It’s also a pretty good quality chocolate, and not overly sweet. If I need it less sweet, I add a little more cocoa powder to my recipe.
I have found the mini chips at many stores, from the conventional supermarket to Whole Foods. They don’t carry it at TJ’s, though. For a little while I found lovely chocolate chunks from them too, but I can’t find them anymore, alas.
Just another option, especially for soy-free chocolate treats!
I have used Enjoy Life in the past and they’re a great option if one is willing to pay $$ for them! They’re about 2-3x the price of the average choc chip, unfortunately.
If I try to melt just average choc chips, i.e. TJs brand, by themselves, and take my time doing it in short burts in the micro, I am generally fine. But the minute I add butter, it’s a no go! The water from the butter and the combo of that with the chips – always seize up on me. So that’s why using baking bars is a safer bet.
So I made these tonight and they are awesome! I actually did let them only sit for 10 min and was surprised how easily they set up. That never happens for me! I did melt the chocolate/butter over a double broiler so maybe that made a difference? Thank you!
So glad that you had success with them after just 10 mins! I used TJs chocolate and I’ve noticed it can be a little more ‘watery’ than other brands in terms of how much liquid it produces, ounce for ounce. Maybe that was my issue. But regardless, glad you liked the cookies so much and thanks for coming back to LMK! :)
Oh, now I want a dozen of yours!! Seems all that hard work really paid off!! :) I’m so glad you were able to save these… aren’t they the best?
I know you make brownie cookies w/ butterscotch and yours just look picture perfect!
Ohhh my it looks so delicious! I crave chocolate so much during my pregnancy, will definitely make these brownies! By the way, I’m hosting a link up and would love to see your recipe there!
http://dcinstyle.com/
Congrats on your bundle :)
Dedication to these had to have paid off because they look incredible and I can only imagine how great they taste!
Those cookies look great! I can’t believe what you went through to make them. What’s important is that you felt it was worth it. If I love a recipe, I’ll do just about anything to make it.
Well it was really only a 2 hr chill time on the back end (just wasnt expecting that to happen OR be chocolate soup) and the front end the siezed chocolate. But totally worth it. I just remembered…you can’t even eat chocolate. Well, I appreciate you even reading the post!
These cookies look amazing!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.blogpspot.com
I just had to scroll through this post a second time to ooh and ahh over all your photos. I am so with you on the chewy brownie & cookie love!
You’re so sweet that you came back to ooh and ahh :)
They look like brownies, but in the form of cookies :-) I’ll have to try this with our family brownie recipe! Thanks!
I love dark chocolate! These look so soft and definitely scrumptious!
Averie, these look so gooey and delicious! Mmmm!
Yay! I hate when I see delicious brownie-like cookies, only to read the ingredients and they’re like “cake mix” “brownie mix” “pudding mix” and I go all arghhhh.
So I adore these. :P
I know. It happens to me on FG or TS when I click over to a recipe and bam…it’s cake mix cookies. Nothing wrong with that if that’s what you know you’re in for; but sometimes (most times) I am caught off guard!
Can I just tell you how absolutely helpful your breakdown of all the little parts of this (and most!!) recipe is? Also the written account of all your second guessing/mental panic about the instructions in the original recipe made me feel better about the cake-cookie I’ve been working on. You are super!!! And so are these brownie cookies!! Thanks for all your hard work!
So glad that it was entertaining/helpful. Sometimes I like to know what goes on in the heads of those who’s blogs I read….like does their stuff really turn out so effortlessly every time? Mine sure doesn’t…so I figured I’d be candid about this one :) And good luck with your cake! I want those carrot cake cookies!
Wow, you’ve really perfected this recipe, Averie! Can’t wait to try this for myself. I may just have to whip up a batch and send it to Jason – he’ll be over the moon if he gets a box filled with this!
I’m sorry you had such a gruelling experience making these cookies but I’m super appreciative that you went through it first and detailed it in this post. I would’ve been freaking out the entire time, wondering what the heck I did wrong! Judging from the look of these amazing, fudgy, decadent cookies, I’d have never known there were so many problems. They look positively molten in the middle (which I’m sure is from the fact that you had to scoop the runny batter). I love the effect – these look incredible!
Molten and gooey is what made all the trials & tribulations worth it. I know you’ve been there with recipes – they sometimes just make you pull your hair out!
These are gorgeous! And all from scratch, I love it.
So glad you did the experimenting. Now I have another reason to get a Silpat!
Oh, man, I have to make these! SO decadent and chocolaty…perfect!
Fudgy, chewy with chocolates chucks sounds sooo good! And they do look amazing as well.
Averie, you have to STOP this incredible looking baked goods madness…you are driving my sweet-buds absolutely crazy! The photos of these cookies just scream soft and chewy!!! Lovely!!!
You’re so sweet, Carol, thank you!
This was quite the process. Thanks so much for giving such details about what works and what doesn’t. These cookies look incredible and indeed look like little round brownies, but I can just see myself in the kitchen trying to recreate these! The faster I can breeze through something the better. Still, one day, I really would love to make an effort and give it a shot. They look to good to miss out on!
They’re really not that bad NOW, as I wrote the recipe. A 2 hour chill process on the counter. But I just wasn’t expecting that…at all :)
YUM! These cookies look so rich, chocolatey and decedent!!! I would thoroughly enjoy sinking my teeth into about 5 of these!! And I really enjoy that the ingredient list is so easy. Simple is better :)
Super simple ingredients list and now that I have the methodolgy down-pat, I’m good to go :)
Oh! Brownie cookies are on my bucket list too. What a lot of trials and tribulations Averie! But the result, those look amazing!
I wanted to throw them out the window, Dorothy! I know you’ve been there too w/ recipes but so glad I stuck w/ them b/c they are the best brownie cookies I’ve ever tried!
I love brownies and I am sure I would love these equally. They look so delicious! Man do I ever miss those pound plus chocolate bars from TJs!!!
pound plus chocolate bars from TJs are such a great value$ – love those things!
These cookies look perfect. I’ve made many brownie type cookies….. probably my favorite type of cookie. These look so much better. Mine are always much thinner and chewy. These look like a fudge brownie!
These are super fudgy, Carrie. And it was such a pain and comedy of errors to finally get the recipe to where it works for thicker cookies but so glad I stuck with it. Fave brownie cookies EVER!
These cookies look fabulous, totally worth the waiting. And I never bake cookies without the Silpats, they are the best.
Averie – these look perfect! You have so many chocolate cookie and bar recipes posted, I wish I had a collection like that on my blog =). And now I want to try all of them!
I keep trying things til I find something that I love and is the end-all, be-all. Between these the the Quintuple Chocolate Cookies, I am pretty happy now!
This is SOOOO getting pinned now! :)
Thank you!
Brownie cookies are one of my verrrrrry favorite things. In fact, if you added fro yo in there somewhere, this would probably be my favorite dessert of all time! I love how descriptive you are with your instructions! I always have the opposite of the flat cookie problem. With whole wheat flour, and not using much better, my cookies stay suuuuuper puffy, so these actually sound like the perfect thing for me to try!
Well these would cure your puffy problem I think :)
Thank you for detailing your experience on these, Averie. I also would have freaked out if I saw a chocolate smoothie-like batter. I’m glad you mentioned which dark chocolate bar to buy because I only have the 72% dark chocolate in my pantry. I’ll have to buy the 54% bar the next time I am at TJ’s so I can make these!
I used to only keep the 72% around but have recently had use for their “Dark” chocolate which is still plenty dark and not milky in the least and is a good option for when you don’t want something quite as dark.
I get frustrated when I click on a recipe and it calls for “one box of brownie mix” or “one box of cornbread mix,” That’s not a recipe! It bugs me. I LOVE that these are real life, from scratch, actual recipe cookies. Love.
And many times the cake mix or boxed mix recipes/sites have huge followings. I have been there and used plenty of cake mix in my life and in my older recipes and nothing against it; it works. But I really try hard the past year or so to not post anything with a mix and to push my own envelope and develop my own from-scratch recipes or adapt those I see to suit me.
These look fabulous, as usual Averie. It’s funny because I use chocolate chips a lot for melting, and usually don’t have a problem, except eeeeeevery once in a while. It’s too bad because they’re so darned convenient!
Now do you do it with or without the presence of butter? Without butter, I am fine. But throw in just a drop of butter and it’s seize city. Ugh!
These brownie cookies look so decadent! They will be made, I promise you that :)
When I was writing this post I had just got on a little pinfest and had pinned that one chocolate hot fudge crazy decadent looking recipe of yours and was really hoping that would appear in front of my face, too :)
1. Totally agree about baking puffy cookies with Silpat. 2. Now I know why my brownie cookies were flat and crispy! :) 3. I will take a dozen of these, pretty please. :) Pinning!
If you’re not using a Silpat for things like this and you have even moderately decent results, you will look like a superstar if you try them with a Silpat, Anna. Seriously you will just loooooove the results 100x more! Thanks for the pin!
I think I need a half dozen of these right now, for taste-testing purposes :).
So much chewy goodness in here!
The measly 1/4 cup flour speaks to how fudgy these brownie cookies are and this recipe is the exact excuse I needed to run out and get myself a slip mat!
I love that the ingredient list is so simple — that really tells me how positively fudgy and indulgent these brownie cookies must be!
how positively fudgy and indulgent = YES! That is it right there!
MMM…brownies + cookies + dark chocolate = my favorite!
My mouth is watering, these cookies are perfection! You had me at fudgy center and chewy edge ;) can’t wait to try this one
I appreciate you pointing out that these cookies have a tendency to spread without using a Silpat and also that they are not for people who can’t make “puffy” cookies. I always end up with cookies that spread, which I think is due to a)I tend to veganize cookie recipes and b)no Silpat.
I do love brownies, especially the edge pieces with the chewy crust. These cookies look like they would all taste like edge pieces.
No egg to bind/veganized cookies AND no Silpat..yes would be a recipe for a disaster here! But I am not here to convince anyone anymore. I’d rather be upfront and tell people what’s what than have them write to me all mad and frustrated on the back end when they have a fail or dont get the results they wanted. Not everything is ‘fast and easy’ and this is that recipe :)
Yummm. I have made a gluten-free version of brownie cookies but I really should make a regular kind soon, preferably these ;-)
These sound like the brownie cookies that almost weren’t…but you hung it here and made it work! The texture looks incredible–very brownie like! Good to know that a silpat is a must for these. I always think of them as an easy to clean surface, but I can see how the tackiness would help prevent too much spreading. I’ve also had bad luck melting chips and butter (but coconut oil seems to work ok)…so for those who can pull it off, I wonder what their secret is?!?! Do you think this dough could be refrigerated briefly to help it set up without adversely changing the texture? I’d LOVE to try these.
I think a silpat is a must for ALL cookies and these it’s just a “don’t even attempt it without one” situation.
Butter and the water in it, reacts with the stabilizers in the chips. When I use certain brands of butter with certain brands of chips, the problem seems to be worse and more magnified but it’s one of those molecular problems and a fact of the science so to continue to try to fix it and experiment seems futile!
Do you think this dough could be refrigerated briefly to help it set up without adversely changing the texture? <--- I wasn't sure and my short answer is that I wanted to try to stay as close to the orig recipe as I could and to refrig the dough would instantly cause all that melted choc to solidify fully and I didnt want that variable involved so I kept it at room temp to solidify. If you try the fridge LMK! I have a feeling it would be fine, in retrospect, but I had already gone thru enough that I wasn't going to do anything else!
Glad these were worth all the hard work and paid off. I love Donna Hay – her magazines are works of art!
Yes they ARE works of art! So happy that you’re familiar with her!
These look so good! And I agree, as much as I love cake, I don’t like cakey brownies. Fudgy is best, and these look really fudgy!
These look great! I’ve never made brownie cookies, but am tempted to try a raw vegan version now!
My very first post ever, 4 yrs ago, was for raw vegan brownies! Cocoa powder, agave, walnuts, dates. Food processor (and at that time it was my Vita) & enjoy!
Yum! These cookies are gorgeous! You have to love TJ’s Pounder Bars! They are the best chocolate! Beautiful recipe!
Yes and their prices ounce for ounce are unbeatable!
OHHH, those look really good! Brownies are a favorite at our house so I just HAVE to make these! Thanks for yet another great recipe!
Oh my goodness those look amazing, and seem easy enough. Saving this for sure :) And I’m glad you went through all the trial and error and hopefully I can learn from those before I attempt :)
I have no idea how anyone got her original recipe to work and if they do, more power to them. For me, tweaking was necessary and as written, you should have good luck with it!
These look absolutely delicious! So decadent looking… I LOVE that. Brownies + cookies in one = perfect!
sounds like you’re getting alot of your bucket list recipes accomplished this week! I’ve got yeast bread on my bucket list. Don’t have a stand mixer, but its not the kneading that puts me off. Its the waiting around for the rising!
Yes on my bucket list recipes. And good luck with your bread!
Chocolate smoothies sound good to me! Glad to see you were able to get the fussy cookie baked…I’m not sure I would have had the patience to wait out 2 hours before baking them. I would have probably poured it into a baking dish and said a prayer!!!
Normally a 2 hour chill time for dough is nothing; I factor that in and then some. But for these, I was truly not expecting it or the liquid soup I got in my bowl!
” I would have probably poured it into a baking dish and said a prayer!!!” <-- in retrospect, that sounds like a great idea! I am glad I made them as cookies but in the heat of the moment if that had come to mind, I would have b/c I was fed up with them!
I can literally see how brownie-like they truly are Averie. And I never, ever have luck with melting chocolate chips and butter together. Some people do, but I am not one of them. I stick to chocolate made for melting like TJs pound plus or Bakers chocolate in a regular grocery store. That being said, with 7 oz of the stuff in the dough/brownie cookie batter, I can only imagine how fudgy these are. They look like brownies! It’s wonderful that you pointed out that these cookies are not for everyone. I couldn’t make any cookie without my beloved silpat and when I have readers write to me about cookies spreading, I ask them if they own one and immediately suggest they buy one. Ahh I want one of these cookies right now with my coffee!
You know I decided rather than try to ‘convince’ everyone to make these, I am pointing out front and center that they are a fussy cookie (well honestly, after my tutorial on them and my own trials and tribulations, I feel like I took the fussy out, in large part – but as the recipe is written, it wasn’t exactly easy but is way better now!) but anyway just like not everyone will be a sub 7 minute mile runner, not everyone should be baking every cookie :) Silpats. Couldn’t imagine life without them! And so glad to hear it’s not just me with the choc chips/butter. I swear to god I felt like…well am I doing something wrong? But I really do believe it’s a chemical reaction b/c it happens EVERY time for me.
Oooh yum! I love brownies and cookies, so these have got to be just perfect! Need to make these, they look so fudgey :)
I love love love your story for this–basically every single panicked day of my life in the kitchen. I have an extremely temper(ature)mental oven that loves to dry out my goods even when I turn down the heat 50 degrees–thankfully, my friends know me as the ganache and frosting guru, so I always manage to reconstitute things by poking a bunch of holes in cakes or bars and drenching them in some sort of icing. :)
It was a COMEDY of errors this recipe – I wanted to chuck it out the window 10 times but so glad I just had patience and adapted on the fly. Sounds like you’re familiar with that as well! love your story too!
Glad you salvaged the first batch of chocolate and butter! I’ve never made brownie cookies before…As for bucket list recipes, I need to make a killer chocolate cake with chocolate and peanut butter ganache layers…I haven’t seen the exact recipe for this yet but I think I could cobble together a few different ones to make it work.
And also, I need to make Bernaise sauce sometime soon, especially with spring veggies like artichokes and asparagus to eat it with!
As for a killer choc cake that’s so easy, make this one http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/08/chocolate-cake-with-chocolate-ganache.html One bowl, a whisk, and 5 mins later the batter is going into the oven. I wouldn’t say it was reallllly good if it wasn’t. Considering the work/reward scale, it’s a total keeper! Ive had people report back that they’ve doubled it and made layer cakes with it.
Awesome, it is now bookmarked!
I’ve made brownie cookies from a mix, but I’m dying to try this from scratch version!!
Deborah you’d LOVE them! They blow blow blow away the cakemix types. It’s like…not even a fair comparison. They are soooo rich and good!