Brownie Cookies

When you can’t decide if you need a brownie or a cookie, this is the recipe you make. Fudgy and soft in the center like a good brownie, crispy edges like a good cookie, coming together to make one grrrreat treat! With melted chocolate, chocolate chips and cocoa, these are a triple chocolate hit, one I’ve made before with peanut butter and orange as well, but the original version needed a few updates and I promise these cookies are now even more addictive!

Many years ago, after spotting this recipe on Nigella Lawson’s site, I’d fallen in love with how decadent these cookies turned out. With all that chocolate and that unmistakable brownie-ness, there was no way they’d be anything but amazing. At the time, I’d reduced the sugar, but this time around, I made them with the intended sweetness and they’re perfect in flavour and stay fudgy in the center for longer. In cookies, sugar adds moisture and prevents them from becoming cakey, something I finally learned not long ago!

I did reduce the chocolate chips though, using one cup instead of two and they’re still VERY chocolatey, so I don’t think you need to use more! Although of course, it’s your cookie 🙂 These can be baked a little longer if you like your cookies crispier, but I really think the sweet spot is 10 minutes in the oven, then letting them cool completely so that they firm up, but remain soft in the center for almost a week. Melted chocolate is the hero we thank here because it creates that gooey texture that just keeps on giving.

The dough is a bit sticky so some chilling is needed. I prefer to chill it until it’s easy to scoop, not till it’s hard. While they taste great either way, extremely cold dough makes it harder to shape the cookies and they also don’t flatten much, especially if you’re baking them for lesser time for softer centers. They do get extra crinkly tops though, so the decision is entirely yours! Enjoy these with a cup of hot, strong coffee and you won’t know what hit you!

Brownie Cookies

Rich, fudgy triple chocolate cookies with crisp edges and soft centers

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Makes: 20 cookies

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Ingredients

  

• 125 gms dark chocolate (70% to 75%), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature (115 gms)
• 1/4 cup caster sugar (50 gms)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar (105 gms; preferably the soft brown kind)
• 1 egg (see notes)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 gms)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (20 gms)
• 1/2 tsp salt, if using unsalted butter
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

• Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave in 10 second increments on high. Stir to melt down any remaining lumps, taking care not to over heat the chocolate. Set aside to cool.
• Beat the butter and sugars together using a hand mixer on medium speed until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat briefly to combine.
• Now add the melted chocolate and and beat on low speed until smooth. Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Fold gently with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to combine into a thick, sticky dough, then stir in the chocolate chips.
• Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until firm enough to scoop, but not super hard. If you find that the dough has hardened considerably, let it sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before you scoop it out. Otherwise, I find the cookies barely spread and don't have the perfect brownie-like softness in the center. Colder dough creates crinklier tops if you prefer that!
• Preheat the oven to 170 C and line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat.
• Use a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons) to scoop out 20 to 22 portions of the dough (see notes). Place them at least an inch apart on the baking tray (you might need more than one tray depending on your oven size, I bake one batch of 9 cookies at a time).
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the cookies have spread a bit, but are also still a little puffy. Very gently press down on the tops with the back of a spoon to flatten further, then let them cool on the tray and firm up for about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. This creates soft, chewy centers even 4 to 5 days later. If however you prefer your cookies crisper and drier overall, bake for 15 minutes.
• Store in an airtight tin at room temperature for a week. If it's very humid where you are, store them in the fridge after the first couple of days. Cookies freeze beautifully too! You can either bring them to room temperature, or additionally gently reheat them before eating. Happy baking!

Notes

*The recipe originally says you get 12 cookies. I found I got almost double that so I assume the intended size is much larger, which needs a longer baking time as well in case you're doing it that way.

*Original recipe from Big Fat Cookies by Elinor Klivans via Nigella Lawson
(I use standard US cup measures while baking and King Arthur Baking for weight conversions, mostly for dry ingredients, while writing the recipe. UK cup sizes vary a little as you'll notice in Nigella's recipe, but I stick with the standard US sizes across recipes and it's working fine.)

*Prep time does not include chilling time. Cook time is per batch of cooking if making soft-baked cookies.

*Here is an eggless triple chocolate cookie recipe!

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