Better-than-Brownies Chocolate Cookies
Better-Than-Brownies Chocolate Cookies are a chocolate-lover’s dream! Dense and fudgy, just like a brownie, with the portability of a cookie! They’re quick to make and are a great addition to any bake sale, party, or holiday cookie tray.
The title essentially says it all. Well, sort of. Having trouble deciding between making cookies or making brownies? Your problem is now solved – bake up these beauties and you get the best of both worlds.
I tried to determine if I really think these cookies are better than brownies. That, of course, required serious research. Research, in this case, would be defined as taste testing. And the result is – I just can’t choose. These are basically brownies in cookie form – they are rich, dense and fudgy, and they even have that characteristic shiny, crackly top that brownies are know for.
If you’re craving something super chocolately or even brownies, but you HAVE to make cookies (maybe it’s a picnic or party or cookie table or holiday cookie tray), then these are your do-not-pass-go, do-not-collect-$200 answer.
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To be totally honest, these are not for the faint of heart, and if you are only a fair-weather chocolate fan, these will either fully convert you or may be too much for you. My husband (who usually thinks I put too many chocolate chips in chocolate chip cookies) declared these “too chocolatey”. Since I am an all-chocolate-all-the-time chocolate fan, it goes without saying that these cookies razzled and dazzled me to the point of wanting to hide them from others. I didn’t really hide them, but I was tempted. Actually, it wouldn’t hurt to stash a few of these in the freezer for when chocolate hunger pangs strike.
I have a number of other chocolate cookies on the site, but these are, by far, the richest, densest and most like a brownie that you’ll find. I hope all of my fellow chocolate lovers enjoy these!
One year ago: Baking Basics: Vanilla Beans 101
Five years ago: Pretzel Dogs
Six years ago: Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread
Nine years ago: Cheddar Ale Spread
Better-Than-Brownies Cookies
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (453.59 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 eggs
- 1⅓ cups (266.67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (62.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking powder
- 1 cup (180 g) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In the meantime, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
- Add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until completely combined. Add the flour mixture in three batches, folding it gently into the batter with a spatula. Once all of the flour is incorporated, stir in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop 1½ tablespoons of dough (or use a medium cookie scoop) onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm on the outside. Like brownies, do not over bake! Leave to cool completely on the baking sheets, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. These can also be frozen for up to two months.
Notes
- I use Ghiradelli 60% cacao chocolate for these cookies. It's not SUPER bittersweet, but I think you could use semisweet chocolate if you prefer.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on July 22, 2009.
I totally stressed about making these cookies as I never melted that much chocolate in a double boiler! I am glad I did because there is nothing to stress about! very easy. These cookies are good but you have to be careful about what chocolate you buy. I bought Ghirardelli bittersweet 60% cacao 4 0z. and 4 0z. of 70% cacao. The rest I used nestle semisweet chocolate morsals. . I think because the cacao ratio was high, I should have upped the sugar?? not sure. appearance is impressive, texture was also great. Very rich tasting. Will make again but change the chocolate that I use. :)
I made these yesterday and they turned out amazing! Thanks so much! See them here. :)
http://hotpolkadot.com/2010/02/25/the-debate-brownie-or-cookie/
Hi Simmone,
Yes, this is a chewy cookie. I hope you try them and enjoy!
My my my .. all ur pictures is really tempting me to make them all at once! Wanna ask is this cookie chewy inside?
Wow, these are brownies conveniently packaged as cookies! The only way I can describe them is “chocolatier than chocolate”, and I mean it in the best way possible. Seriously decadent cookies. Great recipe!
the picture with the cookie after being dunked into the glass of milk loooooooooooooooooks absolutely divine, its crazy :o I WILL MAKE THESE SOON! :)
msdarkling – I appreciate your comment but I certainly had success with these cookies using the recipe as written, and others here have made them successfully as well. This same recipe was featured on at least 2 other blogs prior to my making it with the same ingredient quantities.
In addition, a very popular decadent dessert is “flourless chocolate cake” that typically is comprised of only chocolate, butter, sugar and eggs – no flour at all. The texture is dense, rich and fudgy, which is very similar to these cookies.
This recipe doesn’t make sense to me as written. Just reading it, half a cup of flour seems wholly inadequate for the amount of liquid ingredients. I went ahead and made it as written, and as I suspected the batter was very runny and there was no hope that it would hold a cookie shape. I added more flour a quarter-cup at a time until the dough could be scooped, in total I put in 1 3/4 cups flour. With the increased flour, the baked cookies look like your pictures. I also added salt to the dry ingredients, as the omission of salt from such a rich sweet recipe is inappropriate. Cook’s Illustrated published a very similar recipe that I’ve made many times, which calls for 2 cups flour and a full teaspoon of salt. More power to anyone who had good results from this recipe as written, I’ve no idea how you did it.
I too, have no idea how my cookies would ever look like the picture.
Hi Cari,
So glad you enjoyed these! And I totally agree about weighing ingredients – I do it faithfully and I think it’s really the only way to get truly consistent results!
PS For thise that had problems, try measuring with a scale. Does the trick for me every time!
Well Michelle, you’ve done it again! First it was your Chocolate Chip and Pretzel cookie bars and now these! I am forever a fan of yours and will come to you when I need a killer craving fixed or an impressive goody day treat to give to my hubby to take to work! These were definitely better than brownies. Super yummy! I’ve posted them on my site (and added you as a favourite, thank you!) and will now go devour another one with a tall glass of moo! I think they’ll be gone in no time and then I’ll have to make them again (maybe this time with some grated orange zest? Mmmm…)
Hi Olivia,
These cookies are on the soft and chewy side of the spectrum.
I just made these and I have to say they’re delicious. One problem though, when I baked them, they turned out to be pretty thin, almost waferlike, but you could still tell it was (supposed to be?) a cookie. I wonder what I did wrong, I’m looking over the recipe and I still don’t see a problem. Oh well, they’re still delicious, and that’s the part that matters, hm?
Hi I just love your Wonderful Cookies. May I ask how is the texture like.. is it more chewy, hard or soft? Cheers Olivia
This looks awesome! Definitely a must-try!
I made these last night and really, I want to love them – I’m chocolate obsessed. They sent me a bit over the top. I’ll try one again this afternoon. Might just be a bit too intense for my usual nighttime pigout. Thanks : ) for the recipe.
Jen – So thrilled that you enjoyed these cookies! Great to know that you can use un-lined sheets as well, thanks for sharing the tip and your results!
I made these last night and they are delicious! So good with a glass of milk. I didn’t line my baking sheets (didn’t have parchment) and they still turned out great and look just like your pictures.
Hi Mai,
I’m so sorry that these didn’t turn out like you had hoped! It sounds like you still had a decent result, which I am happy to hear! The cherries and mint sound like they would be delicious additions.
I hope you’ll try them again!
I just made these..blah they didn’t turn out at all! I did a test batch with 6 and it turned out more like a cake and really flat. My batter was really thin so I added more flour and I think that was the problem! I put them in a pan to try to make brownies and it turned out more like a cake..a delicious cake though!! haha
I added fresh cherries to the batter and mint chocolate chips. Yum
We made these over our holiday Cookie Day and the results were pretty awful. Like Mai said a few years back, the dough was more like batter. There was no way to scoop them into any formable shape. We added flour and they ended up turning into rocks. I think there should be an added direction to cool the batter, or maybe this recipe does not work in high altitude. Bummed because they look so good in the picture!!
Lizz & Bunney – So glad that you both enjoyed these cookies! Thanks for stopping back to give us the scoop on your results!
obparker – I used Ghiradelli 60% bittersweet chocolate.
I haven’t tried sprinkling salt on top, but I will try next time, thank you for the suggestion!
I was dreaming about chocolate cookies last night so I looked on tastespotting first thing in the morning. I just finished making those cookies. I replaced the chocolate chips with toasted pecans and the results were deliciously fudgy. The only downside is that my cookies aren’t as pretty as yours. They didn’t that cracked, glossy surface, but they still taste awesome.
Made this recipe today! cept I couldn’t get the consitency thick enough to form cookies so I just made brownies.. VERY YUMMY nonetheless..
You’re great.
Holy pastries Batman! That sure makes my skirt fly! Now Im seriously craving for some of that! Delicious!
what kind of chocolate did you use?
have you tried adding salt either in the recipe or sprinkled on top?
these look incredible!
Thank you for making me these wonderful cookies for my birthday. However, I think you should freeze the extra (extra?) ones. Then when you want a treat take them out of the freezer. lay on the counter to defrost a few minutes while you make coffee. The coffee is to dunk them in instead of the milk! Much better now, don’t you think
These cookies look amazing- the flavor of a brownie in a cookie proves the existence of God! Now all I need is a glass of ice cold milk!
OH GOSH…. loving the food porn! lol.
im gunna have to try this.
*DE-LISCIOUS!*