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Fudgy Brownie Crinkle Cookies
These fudgy brownie crinkle cookies are the best of both worlds. And they have been the #1 cookie obsession in my house this past month. This recipe is only slightly adapted from my friend Edd aka The Boy Who Bakes. If you have never tried baking up a batch before, they are pretty much exactly what you might hope — rich and fudgy and chewy on the inside, impossibly light and crinkly on the outside, sprinkled on top with the perfect little crunch of flaky sea salt, and irresistibly delicious.
Temperature and timing are the most important things with this recipe, so before you start… you'll want to get all of the ingredients measured out, two baking trays lined with parchment paper, and the oven preheated to 350°F (180°C). The batter cools and thickens pretty quickly, so you’ll want to scoop all of the cookies immediately, and then bake, otherwise, you'll risk losing all those perfect crinkles on top.
How To Make Brownie Crinkle Cookies
Melt the chopped chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, constantly stirring, until melted and combined. Remove from heat and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugars, and vanilla on high for 5-6 minutes, or until the batter is thick and creamy; it will resemble a thick pancake batter. Don’t cut this step short! The cookies won’t have that shiny, crinkle-top exterior if you cut the mixing short.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and stream in the melted chocolate mixture. Then, stir in the dry ingredients until just combined, and you're ready to scoop and bake. It couldn't be easier!
Tips & Tricks
- Bake one tray at a time. It might seem like a waste of time—if you have two cookie sheets and two oven racks, then baking two sheets at once makes the most sense... but a little patience is required. Because heat rises, the hottest part of the oven is at the top; if you bake two sheets at a time, the first tray shields the second from being exposed to this heat. Without that blast of heat, the second tray of cookies doesn’t create crinkles that look anywhere near as nice as the first.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Remember, every oven is different, so you’ll have to keep an eye on them. Just remember, these cookies will set as they cool. They'll come out of the oven crinkly & slightly domed and will collapse a little as they cool, which helps form that delicious, fudgy center.
LOOKING FOR MORE COOKIE RECIPES? CHECK THESE OUT!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Frosted Peppermint Brownie Cookies
Red Velvet Macarons
*Originally posted on December 4, 2018*
Fudgy Brownie Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 200 g 70% cacao dark chocolate chopped
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 110 g light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs (~100g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 10 g unsweetened natural or Dutch process cocoa powder
- 5 g black cocoa powder (see notes)
- 5 g baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- garnish: flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, black cocoa, baking powder, and salt until combined, then set aside.
- Place the butter and chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water to create a double boiler. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is fully melted. Then remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, whisk together the eggs, sugars, and vanilla for 5-6 minutes on medium-high speed.
- With the mixer on, pour in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and mix until smooth. Sift in the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until just combined.
- Using a 3-tbsp cookie scoop, drop 6 cookies on each prepared pan. Make sure to leave plenty of space between each cookie as they will spread when they bake.
- Sprinkle each cookie with a little flaky sea salt and then bake one tray at a time for 12-13 minutes. The cookies will be soft so allow them to cool on the baking trays for at least 15 minutes before removing from the tray to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
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Kate
I have made chocolate crinkle cookies in the past but these are by FAR the best ever. Luckily, I had black cocoa, so I followed the recipe exactly except for using my 1 1/2 tbsp scoop & only baked them 10 min. Amazing, must try more
of your recipes (got this one from Bake from Scratch blog). Thanks, Mike!!
Ellen
These are fantastic! The black cocoa really shines through. I did the first batch with a 3 tbsp scoop, then switched to 2 tbsp and baked for 10 min, as I prefer that size cookie. These will be on repeat in my house. I also like that it makes a smaller batch of cookies.
Hillary Pettit
These have become a loved part of our Friday Night Pizza & Cookies tradition! They are so so so good.
Teisha
Just made these cookies and I rarely have amazing experiences with online recipes don’t know why, but when I say this was as beautiful as the pic, I knew I had to write a review. Delish cookies, Easy to make. And beautiful to photograph. 10 out of 10.
Maggie
Made these yesterday for Halloween. I made them with my smallest cookie scoop, I think it is about 1 Tbsp, they cooked about 10 minutes and I had 3 pans 12 and one of 15, so it made a lot of cookies. But I put a kiss on the top of some to make a witch's hat. They are so good! They all turned out with a nice crinkly top, but it was pretty warm in my kitchen and I scooped them all immediately (some just on parchment, I don't have that many pans!) These are perfect, I want to eat them all!!
Diane
These cookies were awesome! I’ve made them several times now, weighing the ingredients, and they have consistently turned out as pictured. Fortunately, I read all of your suggestions before baking them and followed your recommendations. I also had problems with the second batch not crackling on the top. The next time I make these, I will try leaving the second tray in a warmer spot. It doesn’t really matter, they were nonetheless about the BEST chocolate cookies I’ve ever made. Thank you.
Cassie
Hi! I just tried this recipe and the metric measurements were pretty on point but I first tried it with the US conversions and it was a big ole fail hahaha they tasted good but they looked just terrible. I went back to the original recipe with the boy who bakes and they came out beautifully! Here are the two things that I found that may need some attention:
- Metric weight of 115g of butter does not convert to 1/2 cup of butter. It came closer to 1/4 cup of butter plus a 1 tablespoon (2 sticks vs 1 stick)
- Folding didn't work very well. I found that bringing in the dry ingredients at the end in the mixer briefly until just mixed was much more effective.
Really excited about the black cocoa powder!! I just ordered some and can't wait to try it! Overall I really enjoyed the taste but thought I give you a heads up on the US conversion cause it really did alter the outcome of my first attempt
Overall - tasted good but thought I was mention some
Michael Johnson
Hi! Sounds like you didn't follow the US customary recipe exactly as written! 1/2 cup of butter = 1 standard stick = 113g (instead of 115, if we want to get technical!) If you used 2 sticks, that would have been 1 cup of butter and would have completely altered the recipe and I wouldn't be surprised with the fail. Glad you were able to make them with Edd's recipe though! 🙂
Sheeba
We don't have to chill this cookie dough right... Directly we can bake it !!!!
Michael Johnson
Correct! Don't chill this dough at all!
Sheeba
Thank you so much
Denise Herrick
silly question, is the 7oz 70% cocoa sweetened or unsweetened?
Thanks, Denise
Michael Johnson
I always use unsweetened chocolate/baking bars. Guittard and Valrhona are the brands I prefer.
Margo
Delicious! Turned out perfectly!
Robyn
Hi! I made these today and they turned out super good! I had two questions:
1) I did all the steps as written and used an electric mixer. I understand the reasoning why you need to whisk the eggs and sugar for that long to create the crinkle top. I did change the amount to 1.5tbsp scoop since I was making cookies for kids. The first batch of 6 turned out exactly as your photo. The rest, however, lost their crinkle and shine. Is it because as I continued scooping, I lost air in my batter? Would it have been better to put them in 4 bowls and scoop from each?
2) I tried to add peppermint extract per your IG suggestion. But my guess is that you added 1/4tsp oil? We couldn’t taste it. Do you have a guess of how much extract to add? Or, which brand of peppermint oil do you use? Thank you for an awesome chocolatey cookie recipe!!
Michael Johnson
Nope, not from the scooping! It's actually from your batter thickening down from sitting out waiting to be baked! Once the melted chocolate is incorporated with the rest of the dry ingredients, it doesn't take long for it to start cooling down. (Like I mention in the post, temperature and timing is everything for this recipe!) What I usually do is scoop all of my cookie blobs out, 6 to a tray, and while the first tray is baking, I allow the second tray to rest in a warm spot on top of my oven.
As far as the peppermint extract, I use McCormick brand, and I used a little under 1/2 tsp!
Ruth
Hi Mike! These look absolutely delicious! What are your thoughts on adding a little espresso powder to the batter? I don't have black cocoa on hand and I see your note about just using more regular cocoa, but I was just curious if you think espresso powder could be a good substitute or addition? Thank you!
Michael Johnson
You could certainly add it in, but I wouldn't substitute it for the black cocoa! I would use 3 tbsp of unsweetened natural cocoa powder and then up to 1 tsp of espresso powder.
Ruth
Thank you so much!
Sarita Mendonca
Made these today and they were sooo good. Nice crinkly and chewy and fudgy. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe.
Emily
I made the mistake of brining these to a dinner party once, and now my friends ask me for them every time!! Phenomenal cookie, but I really miss the days when I could get away with bringing store bought dessert places?
Lori
These were so good!
Mine didn't quite turn out as pictured, but they were delicious.
Looking forward to baking them again, and again.
Love the black cocoa powder. This is the first recipe I've made using it.
Thank you for all of your amazing recipes!
heather
delicious! mine didn't spread as much, but i think it's because i made smaller cookies and accidentally overbaked them. the flavor was amazingly chocolate-y though, and loved that these weren't too sweet.
Julia
Hi Mike, love your blog and your recipes!
Is there an optimal temperature for the chocolate when it goes in the sugar and eggs mixture?
Thanks!
Michael Johnson
Hi Julia! I've never measured the temperature of the chocolate myself for this recipe as I work off of timing. However, the cocoa butter in chocolate melts fully at 110°F (43°C) and the most heat sensitive proteins in an egg white coagulate at around 145°F (65°C). Meaning, as long as you aren't overheating the chocolate, you don't have to worry about it cooking the egg/sugar mixture as you add the mixture in.
Gaby
Hi, I would try this recipe soon, can a freeze de cookie dough?
Michael Johnson
Unfortunately, no! Everything has to be made and baked at once.
Liz
I didn't quite get the same crackly top, but they were super fudgy and delicious! My second tray, where the batter cooled a little bit more, came out less crackly than the first, but fudgier on the inside. These cookies are super addicting!!
Phing
Any recommendation on a black cocoa brand you like?
Michael Johnson
I usually buy King Arthur Flour's black cocoa!
Julianne
Made these for the first time this weekend, they were AMAZING! Fudgy like a brownie with crisp edges like a cookie, absolutely melted in my mouth. The dough was quite thick, but they spread just as expected with the perfect crinkle top. I got 16 cookies using a large cookie scoop. Will be making these again!
Michael Johnson
So glad you enjoyed it!! <3
Kay Griffin
Loved these cookies! They were even better the second day! You definitely have to let them cool before eating them, but they were definitely worth the wait!
Agnes
I tried making these and ran into a few problems! The first batch the cookies had the crinkle pattern on the top but did not spread out that much. The second batch I think the mixture got too cold while I waited for the first batch to be done and this one spread a little more but had no crinkle pattern. And same with the third but these spread even more !
What did I do wrong?
I used a scale and measured all the ingredients and whisked the eggs and sugar for a 6 min with a hand whisk.
Michael Johnson
Hi Agnes! The eggs and sugars really need to be whisked together using an electric mixer; a stand mixer works best! If you used an electric hand mixer and still ran into those issues, then it sounds like your melted chocolate might have cooled too much before initially mixing it into the batter.
Grace
Hi Mike!
I have a small oven and it is hard for me to bake all of them at once, max i can do is bake maximum of 5 cookies at a time, any idea what i can do with rest of the batter while they wait?
Mike Johnson
I would recommend just keeping the batter somewhere warm while the cookies bake. I will usually just place mine right on top of the oven!
Tahira
Iv made these before and they were divine and came out perfectly, if i reduced the sugar would it mess with the texture?
Michael Johnson
Yes, and it could also affect the crinkles on top!
Zainab
Can i use a double boiler for these cookies?
Michael Johnson
You can use a double boiler to melt the chocolate and butter, yes!
Vicky
Hi Mike! Really into your bakes. I see that you usually use a stand mixer. Do you have any tips for recreating your recipes without one? Like can I muscle through the mixing with a whisk? Thanks!
Michael Johnson
A lot of the recipes you would be fine to mix by hand, but for recipes that call for whipping eggs and sugar together on high for 5 or more minutes (a lot of my brownie recipes), you probably won't be able to achieve the same crackly top crust mixing by hand! A hand mixer works just as well though!
Cheryl Wu
Hi Mike,
I made these cookies several times and the first time it turned out perfect - thick and fudgy - delicious. The next few times the cookies came out cakey not fudgy. What do you think happened?
Michael Johnson
It could be a few things! Using too much flour, overmixing/deflating the batter, or baking them (or leaving to cool on the baking sheet) for too long could all lead to cookies that are more cakey rather than fudgy! I'd recommend weighing your ingredients, if you aren't already, and make sure to use an oven thermometer so you know your oven is accurate!
Megha
Hi,
I don’t have unsweeteneded cocoa powder can I use the normal one and adjust the sugar?
Michael Johnson
Most cocoa powders are naturally unsweetened unless it specifically says otherwise! You should be able to use what you have without needing to adjust the sugar! Hope that helps!
utsavi
can i replace eggs?
Michael Johnson
Unfortunately, I don’t think these would turn out the same if the eggs were replaced!
MaryElizabeth Burns
They taste good but mine were not flat like yours. What do you think I did wrong?
Michael Johnson
Sounds like possibly too much flour or cocoa powder? I'd recommend using a scale to make these cookies!
Intan
I follow all the steps. Why my dough was so sticky? I cant roll with my hands since it was so sticky, then the tops of the cookies not crinckle as well. What went wrong 🙁
Michael Johnson
Because they’re brownie cookies, it’s more of a batter than a dough. You shouldn’t be able to roll them at all using your hands, otherwise the chocolate/batter cooled too much! You’ll need a large cookie scoop to scoop the batter from the mixing bowl to the prepared baking sheets, then you’ll have better luck!
Zahra
These are delicious but pretty big; i want to make them for my kids & their friends so if i half the size of the cookies, is the cooking time the same? Thanks!
Michael Johnson
Since this dough is fussier than most regular cookie doughs, I've never tried making them smaller. But if using a 1½ tbsp cookie scoop, I'd say cook the first batch for 9-10min and then adjust if needed. They won't need to cool as long on the tray after they come out of the oven either!