I fell so in love with my Shiny Crinkly Brownie recipe that I had to create Shiny Crinkly Fudgy Brownie Cookies — and I AM IN LOVE. These are chewy around the edges, fudgy near the center, with a gorgeous shiny, crinkle top. Just like brownies but in cookie form–SO GOOD.
Similar to my latest brownie recipe, these are mixed and baked in under an hour (what more do we want?). If fact, the faster these are mixed and baked the prettier they turn out as the warm, melted chocolate in the batter guarantees that shiny, glossy top.
The most important things to remember with this cookie: time and temperature. You’re going to want to work fast (have your baking sheets prepared + oven pre-heated) and you want the dough to still be warm whilst going into the oven!
Brownie cookies are some of my favs (including these vegan brownie cookies here and these Brownie Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting), so let’s get to it. I can’t wait for these to be your new favorite fudgy brownie crinkle cookies!!!
And if you just want a classic Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies, look no further!
Delicious Fudgy, Crinkly Cookies Ingredients
These brownie cookies include everything you use in a regular brownie recipe plus some extras to add lift, crinkles and mega flavor!
With so few ingredients in this cookie, it’s important to get the best quality ingredients that you can get your hands on. The two most important to highlight, are the chocolate and cocoa powder:
Dark Chocolate
Use a nice dark chocolate that’s made for melting. Remember that dark chocolate covers both semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate (with some labels simply calling it: dark chocolate).
Chocolate chips will work in a pinch but they resist melting because of their ingredients (they’re meant to hold their shape!). If you have options, pick bars of chocolate, callets or discs as they’ll melt the easiest.
I’m loving these baking chips and these are my most favorite Callebaut callets; I used the Callebaut when testing this recipe (delicious chocolate, melts beautifully — LOVE).
Whatever chocolate you use, make sure it’s good quality and can handle melting.
Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
Double chocolate (both solid chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder) mean these brownie cookies have mega flavor. I love this Hershey’s Dark as it’s easy to find and yields beautiful flavor + color. When recipe testing this fudgy brownie cookie recipe I also used this King Arthur Flour unsweetened cocoa powder which is a gorgeous color and flavor (and definitely a splurge!).
I did test this recipe with regular unsweetened cocoa powder and I didn’t love the results. If you use regular cocoa powder your cookies won’t get that rich, dark cocoa color.
Other Ingredients
The remaining ingredients are pretty standard baking ingredients. The espresso powder is optional and doesn’t make the cookies taste like espresso, it just brings out more chocolate flavor. Simply omit if you don’t have any available. Please leave any other ingredient questions in the comments!
The Baker’s Guide to Measuring Flour
One of the biggest (and most common) mistakes in baking is how we measure flour. If you find yourself without a scale, see my top tips on how to properly measure flour for the perfect amount every time!
Tips for Perfect Shiny, Crinkly Fudgy Brownie Cookies
- Gently melt the chocolate; don’t rush it by turning up the heat as you run the risk of burning your chocolate.
- Make sure your eggs are really at room temp! If you don’t, it will cool down the melted chocolate too fast and change the appearance of the cookie.
- Really whip up the eggs and sugar.
- Use good quality chocolate and dark, dutch-processed cocoa powder (as noted above). I did one test with regular cocoa powder and while the cookies turned out, they didn’t look as pretty nor taste as delicious.
- Work fast! You want your dough to be warm to get that shiny sheen. Set the bowl with the cookie dough over the saucepan of water that you used to melt the chocolate to keep the dough warm in between bakes.
- Bake one sheet at a time. If you bake two sheets of cookies at a time, the bottom sheet won’t get the proper heat to crackle and shine. Additionally, I have this KitchenAid oven and the top oven (the smaller one) doesn’t yield a pretty cookie. My guess is it has to do with heat and circulation.
- Weigh your ingredients!!! This is an easy cookie with not a ton of ingredients, but getting too much flour or not enough sugar will throw off the balance (and yield a different cookie). If you don’t have a scale, be really meticulous in fluffing up your flour before you measure it.
- The brownie cookie dough will be loose like, well, brownie batter. Using a cookie scoop will make it easier to handle! Can’t recommend to use of one enough!
Making Brownie Cookies Q&A
Can I use a microwave to melt the chocolate?
I wouldn’t recommend it. Chocolate is fragile and overheating it is a disaster. If you’re pressed for time, you can put it in for five second bursts, stirring in between, until melted. Keep an eye on it!!
What if I don’t have a mixer?
Whisk whisk whisk the crap out of the eggs and sugar. You’ll want the mixture to really lighten in color and texture and increased in volume before adding the chocolate.
Favorite Crinkly Fudgy Brownie Cookie Equipment
Either an Electric Stand Mixer or this is my favorite Hand-Held Mixer (it’s in all of my videos!)
This will help you really whip up your eggs + sugar for those pretty crinkles.
My favorite extra-large Cookie Sheets
These will let you bake more cookies at a time (make sure they’ll fit in your oven). These are restaurant grade and I love them for everything from cookies to roasting veggies and sheet-pan dinners!
This is the 1 1/2 tablespoon Cookie Scoop I used for these cookies
You can also eyeball the size and use a spoon. Since this dough is especially loose, using a cookie scoop makes handling it easier.
The Spatula that I use for literally EVERYTHING
The set of heat-safe Glass Bowls that I use to melt chocolate
My favorite Scale because these cookies thrive with precision
More Yummy Cookie Fun
Grab My Favorite Cookie Tips for Perfect Cookies, make these Crinkly, Fudgy Brownie Cookies (they’re so good!) or try my favorite, S’more Cookie Bars!
Don’t forget all of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes: Small Batch Mega Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies, Salted Olive Oil Chocolate Chip, Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies ☕️, DO NOT sleep on these Brown Butter Muscovado Bar Cookies and/or get all of the cookie recipes right here!
Some Quick Fudgy Brownie Cookie Notes
This is a soft, thin, chewy cookie. Your dough will be more like batter than regular cookie dough. This cookie will also spread while baking, so make sure you leave room between dough drops. You’ll drop it in heaps and think, ‘this will never result in a round cookie.’ I don’t know how it does, but it does!
The first batch of brownie cookies will most like be shinier than the latter batches which is caused by the cooling dough.
To combat this set the cookie dough bowl over the saucepan with the warm water to keep the dough warm. This will help. Also, work fast. And remember, even if your last few cookies aren’t as shiny as the first, they will still taste hella delicious!
Have fun! I hope you enjoy these cookies!!! I spent a lot of time testing them because I wanted them to be perfect for you. Leave any questions or comments below and as always, if you love the cookies, please leave a rating + review. Thank you! xo
Let’s bake some delicious Crinkly Fudgy Brownie Cookies!
Crinkly Fudgy Brownie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup (213 g) dark chocolate, (finely chopped)
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, (cut into 16 pieces)
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, (optional)
- 3 large eggs, (room temperature)
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar, (packed)
- 1 tablespoon (13 g) real vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp (35 g) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, (sifted)
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
- 1 3/4 cups (237 g) all-purpose flour (how to measure flour)
- Sea salt flakes, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To a large, heat-safe bowl set over simmering water, add the chocolate, butter and espresso powder, if using. Make sure the water doesn’t boil or touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir frequently until the chocolate is melted; it does not need to cool down before using.
- While the chocolate + butter are melting: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the eggs, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla and whisk on medium-high for 5 to 7 minutes until light in color, doubled in volume and thick in consistency.
- Turn the mixer on low and add in the cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda and mix for 1 minute more or until combined. Next, stream in the warm chocolate. Take the bowl out of the mixer and fold in the flour until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed. The cookie dough will be very loose.
- Use a 1 1/2 tablespoons cookie scoop and drop the dough on the prepared baking sheet leaving 2 inches (5 cm) between to allow the cookies to spread. Immediately place in the center of the oven and bake for 9 minutes. The cookies will be puffed and then begin to collapse and crack as they cool. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes, if using. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
Would these work with milk chocolate? I have a whole bag of milk chocolate Callabaut discs I need to use!
Hi Judy!
Yes, this recipe will totally work with milk chocolate (and I love Callebaut!).
They will be a touch sweeter from the milk chocolate, but still completely delicious. Oh, and the color of the baked brownies might not be as dark (but that’s just cosmetics ;)). Let me know how it goes!! xox
We used flax eggs and vegan butter and topped with crushed candy canes for the holidays. They were more puffy than crinkly due to our subs but they were so GOOD! Thank you!
I’m so happy you liked them!! Thanks for your recipe sub notes–they help other people!! xo
I made these last week to share with a friend who deserved a pick me up. They were marvelous! The flavor was fantastic and I loved the texture too. They kept well for a few days. I really appreciated the note that the batches would look different due to the cooling dough. Mine sure did and I knew not to be worried about it. They all tasted fantastic!
This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thanks!
Hi Kendra! I’m so happy you loved them!! xox
I’m soooo happy my oven is fixed!! This recipe is at the top of my baking list this weekend…YUM!!!!!
Awesome!!! xox
I just made them, they’re incredible! Loved your tips, thsnk you.
I’m so glad you liked them!!! xo
Thanks for all the tips! Can’t wait to try the recipe.
You will love them!! xox
I’m not a big chocolate guy…..some times you just have make an exception. These are delicious!!!!!
Thanks dad!!!! xox
They look so yummy!
They’re so good! You will love them!! xo