salted brownie cookies
With shiny, crackled tops and rich, fudgy centers, these salted brownie cookies are the ultimate chocolate cookie for brownie and chocolate lovers!
Baked until soft and chewy and sprinkled with flaky salt, these super indulgent cookies are delicious with coffee or even a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream (and the perfect way to get your chocolate fix!).
How to make the best brownie cookies:
Chocolate – Incorporating just a handful of ingredients, this recipe is really all about the chocolate, so use the best quality chocolate you can (around 70% chocolate is a great place to start).
Prep ahead – There’s no dough chilling here, but temperature and timing are key to successful cookies, so this method works best if you prep all the ingredients before you start.
Batter – Once the chopped chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth, set aside to cool slightly while you proceed with the recipe. Your finished dough will resemble a gooey brownie batter – the easiest way to portion out the dough is with a cookie scoop coated lightly with nonstick spray.
Bake – Bake the cookies until the tops are shiny and crackly, then let cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Salted Brownie Cookies
- Prep Time: 16 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 22 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
The BEST salted brownie cookies! With shiny, crackled tops and rich, fudgy centers, these are the ultimate brownie cookies for chocolate lovers.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (94 g) flour
- 2 Tbsp (12 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tsp (4 g) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (1.5 g) salt
- 8 ounces (226 g) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (recommended: 70% chocolate)
- 1/4 cup (57 g) unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 large eggs (100 g), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (92 g) light brown sugar
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (85 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- flaky salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Place chopped chocolate and butter in a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Combine eggs, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk together on medium speed for 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in melted chocolate for 1 minute. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed for 20 seconds, just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips (dough will resemble a gooey brownie batter).
- Use a cookie scoop coated lightly with nonstick spray to form the cookies – invert the scoop just above the baking sheets, spacing cookies 3 inches apart. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, for 12 to 14 minutes, until tops are shiny and crackly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaky salt. Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Keywords: Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Brownie Cookies, Cookies
Craving more chocolate recipes?
Ultimate Crinkle Brownies
Triple Chocolate Brownie Cups
Chocolate Pound Cake
Classic Chocolate Layer Cake
98 comments
Those crackles…that texture! I’m a soft and chewy cookie girl, so these are right up my alley 🙂
Thanks Sue, I know you’d love these! 🙂
You KNOW these will be happening at my house soon! They look amazing!!!
★★★★★
can you make and freeze before baking?
Hi Renata, these cookies are best baked right away as the temperature of the ingredients and the batter affects how the cookies bake up. You can freeze any leftover/extra cookies. Hope that helps!
These look absolutely dreamy Laura! They look perfectly rich and chocolatey!
★★★★★
The crinkles on these cookies look insanely delicious! I have to make these! YUM!
They look so decandent and so good. Need to make it soon.
xo
These cookies look delicious. Can’t wait to try them
★★★★★
Just a perfect bite of chocolate! Loving those crackly tops 🙂
Where do I get flaky Salt.
Brand name?
Hi Martha, I like Maldon sea salt flakes. You can find them on Amazon or at your grocery store – one box will last quite a while!
These are super popular here in Australia. I love the texture of them! 😀
Chocolate can be so magical! Just like these lush cookies!
I have to make these! I am not a cookie person, but this is one cookie I would LOVE to indulge in! Chocolatey, fudgey, gooey 😀
Yes you do – your kids would love them! 🙂
Made these and they were AMAZING. Everyone loved them! One question I have tho, you mentioned that they’re soft and chewy. Mine were just soft and fudgey, brownie like – could I have underbaked them?
Thanks Cheryl! These cookies are definitely brownie-like, so I think you baked them perfectly. 🙂 In the future, you could let them bake a minute more, but they will probably be less fudgy. Hope that helps!
LOOOOVED these, thank you! next time i’ll try the recipe with butterscotch or peanut butter chocolate chips!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, happy to hear you loved these cookies! 🙂
These are sooo good! I made them with almond flour and they turned out great!
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Thanks so much, Missy! 🙂
Recipe calls for 8 ounces of semi sweet chocolate finely chopped as well as 1/2 a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips – I don’t understand why not just one or the other to equal the same amount, for example a cup and a half of semi sweet chocolate chip or a cup and a half of chopped semi sweet? Unless I’m missing something, they’re the same chocolate and it gets melted in the double boiler either way.
Hi Ruth, the 8 oz semisweet chocolate is melted with the butter over the double boiler. After you mix in the flour mixture, the chocolate chips are folded into the batter. Hope that helps!
The best brownie cookies I have ever made. They are fluffy and perfectly chocolatey. Well done!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Ana! 🙂
What size scoop are you using?
Thanks
Hi Susan, I use a medium cookie scoop that holds about 1.5 tablespoons of dough. Hope that helps! 🙂
Super delicious! My boyfriend’s coworkers raved.
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Nicole! That’s wonderful to hear! 🙂
I just tried this recipe and they came out delicious, but the tops of my cookies don’t get super shiny like yours do. Do you know what I could be doing wrong? Thank you!
Hi Deanna, so glad you tried these cookies! The chocolate has a lot to do with the shine, so it could be the cocoa percentage of the semisweet chocolate. I usually bake with Ghirardelli baking bars or Guittard baking wafers. Hope that helps for the future! 🙂
Fabulous brownie cookies! But I have the same question, I baked them step by step carefully following the instructions, but I had to put the batter in the fridge because it was too runny. The cookies ended up looking beautifully round, but the tops don’t quite look like yours, mine are darker and the crack is not so obvious. Can you specify the percentages of darkness/cocoa in the chocolates you use? Thank you!!
Hi Natalia, I recommend 70% cacao for the 8 ounces of semisweet chocolate. This batter is gooey (like brownie batter), so if you have that, then you’re on the right track. Chilling the batter will affect the final look of the cookie, so next time I would try scooping the batter right away. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thank you so much for answering, I will definitely try to bake then right away then to see if maybe that’s the reason the tops end up looking different. Cheers!
Hi Natalia, just a follow-up that I remade these cookies and have added weights to the ingredient list. The final batter is gooey (like a brownie batter), but not at all runny, so I would try baking these by weight the next time you make them. I also tested the difference between scooping the batter right away versus letting some of the batter stand at room temperature to slightly thicken for 20 minutes. The cookies baked from the thickened batter do not have the same shiny tops and the cracks are less obvious. Just wanted to update you for future! 🙂
What are the measurements in grams? sorry living in London means we don’t use cups haha
Hi Stephanie, I’ve added weights to the recipe. Happy baking! 🙂
😋😋😋 I just made your re-arranged Otrageous cookies of Martha Stewart…wow they should be illegal! Totally delicious, a chocolate drug!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, so glad you tried this recipe! 🙂
Hello!
These cookies are so delicious! I’ve made them a couple of times now and they taste amazing but they look a little off. The crinkles on the top are a little bit grainy and not as shiny and smooth. Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong? I don’t know if it happens from melting the chocolate but it was petty smooth and creamy both times. I don’t think I overheated it but I can’t figure out what else it would be.
Anyways, thanks for the recipe!
Thank you,
Ashley
Hi Ashley, so glad you’ve tried this recipe! What kind of semisweet chocolate are you using? And are your eggs at room temperature? These two factors will have the biggest impact in the final look of the cookie.
Hi Laura! What a pretty crackling cookies! I really want to make em tomorrow for a gift to my mom. I wonder if I only using brown sugar. Would it be still shiny? Cause I don’t consume white/granulated sugar lately, and when I do, I got toothache 😭
Really appreciate your feedback.
Warm regards from Indonesia 😊
Hi Astrid, I don’t recommend omitting or replacing the white sugar. This recipe is written with specific ingredients that all work together to produce the final result, and any substitutions will likely affect the final cookies. Hope that helps!
Honestly this is the best cookie recipe ever! I’ve made them twice and I couldn’t believe how soft and chewy they are! Thank you for sharing it. They’re so good that this is my first time ever reviewing a recipe! Keep up the good work.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, so glad to hear that you love this recipe! 🙂
Made these last night and they turned out great. Thank you so much. Great recipe.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Brenda! 🙂
I am planning on making these for a cookie exchange this weekend but I don’t have a standing mixer. Can I use a hand mixer? Thank you!
Hi Frankie! Yes you can use a hand mixer for this recipe. 🙂
I’m just now taking these out of the oven. They look amazing and they smell even better. Pretty simple recipe not hard at all. I’m definitely going to make these again. I am going to the salt at the end though. I don’t have any on hand but I wasn’t gonna let that stop me.
★★★★★
So glad you tried this recipe, Beth! 🙂
Just tried this recipe. Amazing look and taste! Thank you for sharing 🤗✨
★★★★★
real tasty!!! you’ll probably feel like it’s too “fudgy” to be cookie dough, but just have trust in the recipe and don’t add extra flour! they’re nice and soft right out of the oven 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Rose, so glad you tried these cookies! 🙂
OBSESSED! This recipe is so easy to follow with amazing results – had to ration ourselves or we’d eat nothing else! 😍
★★★★★
Hi Billie, so glad these cookies have been such a hit! 🙂
I made them and came out great. I have a question, can I make the batter before hand and freeze it in individual cookie portions.
Hi Marcela, so glad you tried this recipe! Temperature of the batter is key to shiny cookies, so I wouldn’t recommend freezing the batter as the cookies may not have the same shiny, crackled appearance.
Hi Laura, thank you for this awesome recipe – it has become a family favourite. My husband & kids are crazy about these decandent brownie cookies! I make them twice a month. It’s a favourite with my friends too. Thank you Laura!
So happy to hear that, thank you! 🙂
I LOVE these cookies! They turned out perfect, except that I forgot to fold in the chocolate chips! However, they were still delicious! I will definitely be making them again soon!
★★★★★
So happy to hear that, thanks Melissa! 🙂
Just tried this recipe and it turns out amazing! I baked these cookies in two batches in the first batch I scooped the dough and in the second batch I made dough balls after chilling it, second batch didn’t have a shiny and smooth surface post baking while first did. Can you tell me what could have gone wrong?
★★★★★
Hi Shreya, so glad you tried this recipe! 🙂 Chilling the dough affects the shine of the cookies, so I recommend scooping the dough and baking all of the cookies right after making the batter. Hope that helps for the future!
Worked absolutely perfectly, and so delicious!! I swapped the extra choc chips for chopped pecans because i prefer it a little less rich. These will be going in my notebook of tried and tested favourite recipes!
★★★★★
So happy to hear that, thank you Karrin! 🙂
I made these for my family of 6 and they were amazing. Great for your family if you want cookies that taste like brownies!!
So glad you tried this recipe! 🙂
I just tried baking these cookies and they were an absolute hit! So fudgy, so chewy, so rich and so yum! Kids killed them instantly! They were amazing! Thank you very much for sharing such fantastic recipes! 👍🏼
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Amira! These cookies are one of our most favorite recipes! 🙂
Such an easy recipe to follow & the cookies turned out exactly like the ones in your picture. And oh the house smells heavenly when they are being baked! This recipe is for keeps.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Anita! I’m so glad you tried this recipe! 🙂
Just made them and had to whisk by hand as I didn’t have any mixers (missed that part of the recipe .. whoops). They turned out soooo great! Is going to be hard to try not eat them all at once.
★★★★★
So glad you gave these cookies a try, Jessica! 🙂
These were amazing! The sweet and salty was a perfect combo. My boys loved them and of course didn’t last very long. Already planning to make it again for my sisters.
Thank you so much, Jacquelin! So glad you tried these! 🙂
Already made them twice 😍 my boyfriend thanks you (lol) SO good. And takes almost no time at all. Awesome to have a different type of cookie.. Thanks!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Erin! So glad you tried these cookies! 🙂
Just tried these after someone else shared on IG. SO GOOD.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that, thank you! 🙂
These are delicious, chewy and packed full of flavour. The combination of flaky sea salt adds to the deliciousness. Making them for the 3rd time today.
★★★★★
That’s so wonderful to hear, thank you Marjorie! 🙂
I have made so many cookies; but never in my life have I made a cookie as good as this recipe. First time I made this it came out perfect. I was fool proof. Thank you sooo much for this recipe. Do you have different cookies with this method? What about chocolate velvet brownie cookies?!
★★★★★
I made this once and it was a crowd pleaser! I loved how soft and crumbly it was the first day and as the days went by it got slightly crispier, both textures i appreciated very much! I just got a request order to make these brookies again by a friend’s sister! How would these fare if alcohol like malibu/ frangelico/ kahlua were added, should the butter be reduced because the liquid from the alcohol would make it runny and spread wider in the pan? If i wanted a slightly stronger boozy taste, is 1/4 cup alcohol too much?
Hi Shannon! I haven’t tested making these with alcohol, but I would try 2 tablespoons of alcohol and add an additional 2 tablespoons of flour. Alternatively, bake the cookies and then sandwich them with a boozy frosting! I’ve made these with a peppermint filling at Christmas and they are delicious: https://tutti-dolci.com/peppermint-brownie-sandwich-cookies/
Hope that helps! 🙂
These are the best cookies I’ve ever made. My family finished the jar in one day! Definitely recommend.
★★★★★
Just made these today and wow, they couldn’t be better. While looking for chocolate chips I found salted caramel chips in the pantry and used those. This is already my new favorite cookie recipe for I am a lover of all things chocolate. Thank you for sharing!
So happy to hear that, Anja! 🙂
I baked these as a single batch and they were amazing but ran out fast! Is it ok to double the recipe?
So glad you tried these cookies, Ava! 🙂 I suggest making one batch at a time (instead of doubling the recipe) so that the batter temperature stays consistent and doesn’t cool off too much while scooping out the cookies.
Could I use melted milk chocolate and cut down on the sugar?
Hi Ivy, I recommend following the recipe as written. The specific ingredients, their amounts, and the method of making the batter is what results in the perfect brownie cookie. Cutting down on the sugar will affect both the final appearance and texture of the cookie, so I don’t recommend any substitutions for this recipe.
Hello, I was wondering if the batter should be more on the liquid side or doughy because my batter turned out on the liquid side and I don’t know if that is right!
Nvm I got it, thank you the recipe is great!
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So glad you tried these cookies, Anna! Yes, the batter should be like brownie batter. 🙂
Looove looove these cookies. Since first making them three weeks ago I made them 3 more times because we can’t get enough! I love anything chocolate and of course brownies are a favorite so these cookies are perfect for me. I use salted caramel chips and don’t sprinkle salt on top.
Thank you for this great recipe! I am teaching my mom in Germany how to make them, too.
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Amazing Anja! Thank you so much! 🙂 And I love the salted caramel chip idea, yum!!