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These fudge brownie cookies are chewy on the inside with a crackly outside. The same as your favorite box mix brownies, already individually portioned out. You could make brownies, but there’s something about a chocolatey cookie that hits the spot.
Notes on Ingredients
The most important thing to avoid while making fudge brownie cookies are cakey and crispy textures. Reducing the dry ingredients in comparison to typical cookie recipes is a good step. The flour and cocoa powder combined will total one cup. I use Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder* because it doesn’t add sugar and has a fuller chocolate flavor. I’ve also included espresso powder and salt to help bring out the chocolate flavor. I don’t keep regular coffee or espresso in the house. So, I pop open a Nespresso pod, measure out a teaspoon, and save the rest in a Ziplock bag for a future bake. And because these are cookies and not brownies, we will need a leavening agent in the form of baking powder.
I’ve used a combination of granulated and brown sugar. The granulated sugar will help form the crackly cookie tops. And the brown sugar (light or dark) will help create a chewy texture. The melted semisweet chocolate will give a fudgy quality to the cookies. Of course, the eggs bind the dough, but they will also help keep the fudge brownie cookies fudgy. For the fat, the recipe calls for neutral oil instead of butter. We don’t want to add any flavor or milk solids. And just as we add salt to bring out the flavor, I’ve included vanilla to balance the flavors.
Notes on Method
Melting chocolate can be done over a double boiler or in the microwave. The microwave uses fewer kitchen items and therefore is my preferred method. Place the chocolate in a Pyrex cup* or microwave-safe bowl, and pulse in the microwave in 10-second increments.
Once the dough comes together, cover it and chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Chilling the dough will make rolling the dough into balls easier. But don’t overchill the dough. Overchilling will affect the baking time and texture of the cookies. If you do chill it for more than 20 minutes, let it sit at room temperature for a bit before baking.
Fudge Brownie Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 60 g all-purpose flour - ½ cup
- 42 g cocoa powder - ½ cup
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 99 g granulated sugar - ½ cup
- 106 g brown sugar - ½ cup (packed)
- 240 g semi-sweet chocolate (melted) - 8 oz
- 2 large eggs
- tsp vanilla
- 60 ml canola oil - ¼ cup (2 oz)
METHOD
- Put chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and pulse for 10 seconds at a time until melted. Set aside.
- Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
- While the chocolate is still a little warm, use an electric hand-mixer or stand-mixer to combine the sugars and melted chocolate. Beat at medium-high speed until the sugar dissolves.
- Next, beat in the eggs and vanilla until well-combined.
- Stir in the oil.
- Add in the dry ingredients. Start mixing on a low speed to avoid a flour cloud. Then increase to medium-high speed until well-comined.
- Cover bowl and put in refridgerator to chill dough for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350° F
- Once the dough has chilled, measure out 30 g (1½-2 tbsp) of the dough and shape into balls.
- Place 3 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake on middle rack until edges seem set - about 10 minutes.
- Cool on tray for 5 minutes. Then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
