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With shiny, crackled tops and rich, fudgy centers, these salted brownie cookies are the best ever. Made with semisweet chocolate and Dutch process cocoa, they’re the ultimate treat for brownie and chocolate lovers! Best of all, these life-changing chocolate cookies come together in under 40 minutes, no chill time required. Recipe yields 20 cookies.
If you’ve never made brownie cookies, now is the time to try. This reader favorite recipe is one of the most popular homemade cookie recipes on my site and the best way to indulge your chocolate dessert cravings!
When I want all of the richness of a crinkle top brownie in cookie form, I bake these crinkly chocolate brownie cookies. They’re super quick to make and always bake up soft and fudgy. Step-by-step photos included below!
Tips for Perfect Brownie Cookies
Prep ahead – Temperature and timing are key to perfect brownie cookies. For best results, prep all the ingredients before you start so you can work quickly.
Use a scale – This recipe has been developed and tested by weight for accuracy. (This is my favorite kitchen scale).
Don’t chill the dough – No chilling required! Brownie cookies are baked right away, while the dough is still slightly warm (similar to my double chocolate chip cookies and dark chocolate crinkle cookies). As soon as the dough is mixed, use a cookie scoop to portion out the batter and bake immediately.
Overview: How to Make Brownie Cookies
Whisk dry ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
Combine chocolate and cubed 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 completely smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Combine eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment.
Whisk together on medium speed (speed 4 on a KitchenAid mixer) for 5 minutes, until pale and doubled in volume.
Add melted chocolate mixture and mix in on low speed for 1 minute until incorporated.
Mix in dry ingredients on low speed for 20 seconds, just until combined.
Fold in semi-sweet chocolate chips with a silicone spatula. The dough will resemble a shiny, gooey brownie batter.
Spray a medium cookie scoop (1 1/2 tablespoon capacity) with nonstick spray. Invert the scoop just above prepared baking sheets and squeeze the lever to release the dough. Space cookies 2 inches apart, 10 per baking sheet.
Bake until cookies are shiny with crinkle tops, about 12-14 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and sprinkle the top of the cookies with flaky salt (I love Maldon). Cool on baking trays for 10 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
More chocolate recipes you’ll love:
- Ultimate Crinkle Brownies
- Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake
- Cocoa Powder Brownies
- Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake
Best Ever Fudgy Salted Brownie Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 20 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. These life-changing cookies come together in under 40 minutes, no chill time required!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (94 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp (12 g) Dutch process unsweetened cocoa, sifted
- 1 tsp (4 g) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (1.5 g) salt
- 8 ounces (226 g) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (recommended: 66-70% chocolate)
- 1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 large eggs (100 g), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated 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.
- Make cookies: 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, until pale and doubled in volume. 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 medium cookie scoop coated lightly with nonstick spray to form the cookies – invert the scoop just above the baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart (bake 10 cookies per baking sheet).
- Bake cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, 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.
- Brownie cookies are the most fudgy and tender when freshly baked. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. You can also freeze any leftover cookies for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Semisweet chocolate: I use and recommend Ghirardelli semi-sweet baking bars or Guittard semisweet chocolate wafers (66% cacao).
Espresso powder: If you’re a coffee fan, add up to 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder to the flour mixture.
Cookie scoop: Use a medium cookie scoop which holds approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough or batter.
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Baked these cookies many times and everyone who tried them love them! 🙂
I love this recipe it was amazing! Do you have like this flavor but in brownies? This seriously was the best cookies I had ever had! Also do you have any recipe for original chocolate chip cookies, like with this texture?
Thank you Ana! 🙂 For brownies, try my ultimate crinkle brownies: https://tutti-dolci.com/ultimate-crinkle-brownies/
For chocolate chip cookies, try my brown butter chocolate chip cookies: https://tutti-dolci.com/brown-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Oh my goodness. Best cookies I’ve ever eaten in my whole life! My housemates agree <3
Thank you so much, Lily! 🙂
Skeptical at first because of the high ratio of sugar to flour, but these cookies turned out exactly as described. I had to use half dark chocolate disks since I didn’t have enough chips. I weighed the chocolate. I also sprinkled Maldon sea salt flakes on before baking so the salt would set in the cookies and not fall off. These cookies were perfection—slight crisp as you bite into them, and a bit chewy. So glad I made a double batch. 🙂 Thanks for a great cookie recipe!
So glad you tried these, thank you Diane! 🙂
Hi! Thinking of making these cookies today, a little confused on if I should use the bottom heat, top heat, or the top and bottom heat for the oven? Thanks in advance!
Hi Liz! When I’m baking two sheets of cookies at a time, I place one sheet on the middle rack and one on the top rack, then rotate the baking sheets halfway through baking.
Amazing recipe 😋 my entire family loved these delicious brownie cookies … Soooo good, thank you for sharing 👍
So happy to hear that, thank you Veronica! 🙂
I agree Ruth, i’m confused by this too.
Hi Trina! The chopped chocolate and butter are melted together in a double boiler as part of making the batter. The chocolate chips are folded in as the last step of making the batter (see the last sentence of step 2). Hope that helps!
Hello,
I don’t have any light brown sugar handy, am I able to substitute that with white sugar?
Thank you
Hi Lisa! I recommend following this recipe as written – any substitutions may change both the texture and appearance of the cookies.
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.
Amazing Anja! Thank you so much! 🙂 And I love the salted caramel chip idea, yum!!
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!
So glad you tried these cookies, Anna! Yes, the batter should be like brownie batter. 🙂
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.
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.