If you like brownies and cookies, then you’ll love this dessert

America's Test Kitchen on Dec 9, 2020

The best brownies balance their sweetness with deep chocolate flavor accented with a bit of salt to bring out the chocolate’s complexity. They’re rich and chewy with a pleasant, dense fudginess and a crackly, shiny top. So why not make a brownie in cookie form?

To maximize the chocolate’s complexity, we used both melted bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder plus a good dose of salt, which helped intensify the chocolate flavor. The key to chewiness was a mix of butter and vegetable oil and using both baking soda and powder ensured that the cookies would spread just enough and crackle on top, giving them showstopping appeal.

Whether you’re saving these for your own cookie jar or gifting them to others, you’ll probably want to make an extra batch. These might not even make it past the cooling rack.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Makes 20 cookies

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon table salt

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 cup (7 ounces) sugar

2 large eggs

1. Adjust oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl; set aside.

2. Microwave 6 ounces of chocolate, the oil and butter in a medium bowl at 50% power, stirring halfway through microwaving, until melted, about 3 minutes. Whisk milk into the chocolate mixture until combined.

3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip sugar and eggs on medium-high speed until very thick and pale, about 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add the melted chocolate mixture and whisk by hand until uniform. Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until thoroughly combined and no dry pockets remain. Fold in the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate.

4. Using a 1-tablespoon measure or #30 scoop, scoop 10 heaping-tablespoon portions of batter onto each prepared sheet (you should have 20 cookies total). (Use a soupspoon to help scrape batter from tablespoon, if necessary.) Bake until the cookies are puffed and covered with large cracks (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 16 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.

5. Let the cookies cool completely on sheets, about 30 minutes. Slide a thin spatula under cookies to remove from sheets. Serve. (Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.)

Recipe note: We developed this recipe using Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Bar and Droste Cacao Dutch-processed cocoa powder.

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