Thick, fudgy & chewy brownies in cookie form.
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small batch brownie cookies
If you can’t decide between a brownie and a cookie, you don’t have to. These brownie cookies are thick, fudgy & chewy, with crisp cookie edges. Start now and you can be enjoying them in just 30 minutes!
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before starting the recipe
Mix the dough carefully
When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.
how to get perfectly crackled brownie tops
The three most important ingredients involved in getting crinkle tops on brownies are egg, sugar, and chocolate. First up, you’ll want to beat together the egg and sugar for 3-5 minutes, until that mixture is light, fluffy, and has significantly increased in volume. By doing that, you’ve dissolved the sugar into the egg and allowed air to be trapped inside the mixture. When that bakes, it will expand and then fall down. The fall is what will give you that crinkle top.
Next up, the chocolate. Now I know I’m usually saying to use fancy chocolate for the best flavor, but when it comes to brownies, I’ve found that you want the opposite. Chocolate chips are going to be your friend here. I know I should know why, but for some reason, chocolate chips have always yielded me with a more prominent and reliable crinkle than chocolate bars. Also, I have tried these cookies with Ghirardelli, Nestle, and Great Value chocolate chips. Nestle and Great Value yielded a crinkle. The photos on this post are from using Ghirardelli, which didn’t yield a great crinkle. Crinkle or not, the cookies are *super* delicious. I just wanted to let anyone who might be interested in this (I hope there’s at least one) what I have found if they want to ensure they get that crinkled top!
Under bake for perfect cookies
Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, and the cookies look just a little wet on top still, they are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
The secret to perfectly round cookies:
Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
A note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for small batch brownie cookies:
- Semi sweet chocolate chips: We will use these to melt into the dough for the brownie base, but also to add in to the dough for texture and more chocolatey goodness! You can certainly use a semi sweet chocolate baking bar, just note that the crackled top will not be as prevalent and the cookies will most likely spread to be more thin.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cookies. You can use salted butter in it’s place, just be sure to reduce the added salt from 1/2 tsp. to 1/4 tsp.
- Light brown sugar: for flavor, texture, and moisture.
- Egg: for moisture and for binding the dough together. The egg and sugar will interact to help form the crackled top as well!
- Dutch process cocoa powder: for flavor. I recommend using dutch process because it is darker and has a richer flavor than natural cocoa. However, you can certainly substitute in natural cocoa powder. Just note that the cookies will turn out lighter in color!
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
- Corn starch: helps the brownies stay nice and fudgy while adding some structure to the dough! If you don’t have corn starch, you can use 65g of cake flour in place of the flour and corn starch.
- Baking powder & baking soda: for making the cookies rise and be thick!
- Salt: helps to bring out and balance the sweetness of the cookies.
small batch brownie cookies recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – I’ve tested this recipe up to quadrupling it with no problem. Please be sure to use grams for the best results.
can I make these cookies ahead of time?
If you’re looking for a crackled top, you’re going to want to bake these off right away. However, if you’re not so worried about the crackled top, you can store the cookie dough air-tight in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking the cookies off. You’ll want to let the dough sit out on the counter for at least 30 minutes to let it get soft enough to scoop again before baking. Note that your cookies will likely bake up a bit thicker after resting as well.
why didn’t I get a crinkled top?
There are two factors going into getting a crinkly top on the cookies. One is making sure you beat together the egg and the sugar. This captures air into the mixture, which rises and falls while baking. When it falls, it gives a crinkled look. The next factor is the type of chocolate you use. I mention it earlier on because it’s important, but the type of chocolate will make a big difference! I’ve found that chocolate bars will not give as prominent of a crinkle as chocolate chips. When it comes to chocolate chips, I’ve had success with Nestle and great value semi-sweet for getting a crinkle on the cookies, but with these pictures, I used Ghirardelli which, while delicious, did not give many crinkles on top. Regardless, the cookies are delicious but I just wanted to share that insight in case anyone was wondering!
why is the batter so runny?
The batter is more runny than your average cookie dough because the dough itself is a cross between a brownie batter and a cookie dough. If you try to add more flour to it to thicken it up you’ll end up with a cookie that is less fudgy, don’t be afraid to bake it as is!
how to store small batch brownie cookies
Like most baked goods, these cookies will definitely taste the best on the day that they are baked. They will keep well for 3-5 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Small Batch Brownie Cookies
Ingredients
- 180 g semi sweet chocolate chips divided (1 c.)
- 56 g unsalted butter (1/4 c.)
- 90 g light brown sugar (scant 1/2 c.)
- 1 egg
- 15 g dutch process cocoa powder (2 ½ tbsp.)
- 60 g all purpose flour (scant 1/2 c.)
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- ¾ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a small microwave safe bowl, melt together 90g of semi sweet chocolate chips and butter until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder, then set the mixture aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the sugar and egg for 3-5 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, and fold together until no streaks remain.
- Add in the flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold the mixture together until only a few flour streaks remain, then fold in the chocolate chips just until no flour streaks remain.
- Use a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies. Leave at least 2" of space between each cookie, to allow room for spreading. Top with additional chocolate chips if desired, and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Once the cookies come out of the oven, use a bowl or cup that is slightly larger than the cookies to make them more circular and thicker if desired. Top with some flaky sea salt, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.