Gluten-Free Brownie Cookies

Soft, fudgy brownie cookies with an intense chocolate flavor are the perfect chocolate cookie fix when nothing else will do. These tasty morsels combine the rich, fudgy goodness of brownies with the fun, bite-sized convenience of cookies.

These delicious gluten-free cookies are made with dark chocolate, peanut butter, and a little bit of espresso powder for the beautiful brookie (aka brownie + cookie) taste everyone will love.

Why Make Brownie Cookies

• Simplicity. With six ingredients and a little salt, you have a cookie your family will rave about.
• Irresistible chocolate. Let's face it, sometimes chocolate is a necessity, don't you think so? This cookie brings life to the table. Or you can hide the cookies and save them all for yourself if it's just that kind of day :-). Because they are flourless, they are intensely chocolaty.
• Quick and Easy to make: because they're so easy to make, you can whip up a batch in no time at all with simple ingredients.
• Intensely chocolatey: These brownie cookies are the perfect combination of chewy and fudgy, with a rich chocolate flavor that will satisfy any sweet tooth.

Ingredients Needed

• Eggs. If vegan you can use flax eggs, we've tested the recipe. The cookies will be flatter that's all.
• White Sugar. No brown sugar is necessary for this brownie cookie recipe.
• 70% Cocoa Chocolate Chips. We love the intensity that dark chocolate brings to this cookie.
• All-Natural Smooth Peanut Butter. Or Crunchy Peanut Butter. This replaces the butter or oil in regular recipes.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. For more chocolate flavor.
• Espresso Powder. Or Instant Coffee. Coffee enhances the chocolate flavor. If you don't love the taste of coffee you can omit it.

How to Make Brownie Cookies

Set aside your prepared baking sheets, and preheat your oven. Pull out your ingredients and double-check the list making sure you have everything. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar for 3-5 minutes on high-speed until pale yellow and doubled in size.

Using a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips with peanut butter in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring every 20 seconds, until melted.  Mix well. You can also use a double boiler to melt the chocolate.

Add warm melted chocolate to the egg mixture and whisk until combined. Next, add cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt and whisk. Place the cookie dough in the fridge for 5 minutes

Scoop  1 ½ tablespoons of batter using an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop. Leave an inch of space around each cookie for our chocolate brownie cookies to spread out. Bake for 8 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool.

FAQ

What's the difference between brownies and brownie cookies?

Brownies are baked in a pan, like cake and are usually cut into squares. Cookies are baked in individual pieces, usually in round shapes. While brownies are cookies, cookies are not brownies except in this particular case when we took the concept of brownie bites and changed it up a bit to take on a cookie form.

Why is my cookie flat?

Using an egg substitute, small eggs (instead of large) or too much fat may cause the cookies to spread too much. The dough needs to keep its structure while baking, sometimes using too little flour will cause flat cookies as well.

Should I refrigerate cookie dough before baking?

Refrigerating cookie dough will prevent the cookies from spreading too much. This way the butter, oil, or coconut oil used in the recipe will not melt too quickly causing the cookies to be too flat.

In the case of our chocolate cookie recipe, it's important to refrigerate the dough for 5 minutes, so it is easier to handle. Since our flourless cookies recipe does not call for baking powder or baking soda, the eggs are the leavening agent.

What is the best chocolate to use for brownie cookies?

Unsweetened cocoa and chocolate chips are perfect for our double chocolate cookies. We prefer to use dark chocolate chips (70%), you can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips if you prefer, but your cookies will be sweeter

Is a brownie a cookie?

Yes. A brownie is a cookie dough baked in the form of a bar.

Cooling and Storing cookies

Let the brownie cookies cool before placing them in an airtight storage container or stacking them on a cookie platter. This will keep the cookies from sticking together. The cookies may be too soft after baking to place them on a cooling rack.

Can cookies be frozen?

Yes. Freeze the cookies in an airtight container. They will keep for three to six months. Thaw individually for a quick treat in the lunch box.

You can also freeze unbaked cookie dough. Separate the dough into cookie size balls. Spread them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the tray in the freezer for two hours or so. Move the cookies to an airtight container and keep them for up to three months. Bake the cookies from frozen for one extra minute. If they do not spread out, press them down a bit with the back of a mixing spoon halfway through the baking process or tap the baking sheet a few times on the oven rack.

How long will brownie cookies last?

These cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature longer than they will remain uneaten. At least five days.

Variations

• These cookies have no butter and no oil, we replaced the fat with peanut butter. Any nut butter will work such as almond butter, hazelnut butter, or cashew butter.
• For a sweeter and less intense chocolate flavor, semi-sweet chocolate chips or even milk chocolate chips can be used. This change might make the cookies a bigger hit with the younger crowd.

How can I make cookies vegan?

Replace the eggs with flax eggs. One flax egg is made by mixing 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds and 3 tablespoon of water or plant-based milk.

More Great Chocolate Recipes

• 5- Ingredient Chocolate Chia Pudding
• Chocolate Tart with Roasted Hazelnuts
• Flourless Chocolate Cake
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.