Brownie Cookies
By Emmanuelle Grillet-Aubert, pastry chef
The crispness of a cookie and the fudgy center of a brownie in the same bite. Seven small pieces, intensely chocolatey.
The video for this recipe is coming soon.
If you love chocolate, this recipe may well become one of your favorites.
Picture a little cake that brings together the crispness of a cookie and the tender, fudgy center of a brownie, with a fine chocolate intensity. That is the whole appeal of the brownie cookie.
And what is particularly interesting about this recipe is that you can play with the flavor by choosing your chocolate. An intense dark chocolate gives a powerful, full-bodied result, while a milder one brings more roundness.
For more indulgence still, you can also add a few chopped pecans, chunks of chocolate or chips to enrich this delicious combination of textures.
A little history: when two American classics meet
The cookie and the brownie are two essentials of American baking.
The word cookie comes from the Dutch koekje, meaning “little cake”. Popularized in the United States, the cookie became famous for its lightly crisp outside and its more or less soft inside, depending on the recipe.
The brownie, for its part, appeared in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. This chocolate cake, traditionally cut into squares, is particularly prized for its dense, rich, fudgy texture.
So why choose between the two?
The brownie cookie brings together the best of both worlds: a small chocolate treat, lightly crisp on the outside and deliciously fudgy within.
One of my favorite recipes
I have to confess something: I adore these brownie cookies. They are among my favorite recipes, the ones I always take as much pleasure in making and, above all, in sharing.
I had the chance to make them free of charge for a local association, for a celebration where these little brownie cookies were offered to everyone taking part.
And what a joy to see how well they went down. The people who tasted them liked them so much that they came back for more. I think that is one of the finest compliments you can receive when you cook for others.
These small moments of sharing remind me why I love pastry so much: giving pleasure, surprising people and showing that indulgence needs no compromise, even when it is gluten-free and fully plant-based.
Today I am offering a small-sized version, perfect with a coffee, a tea or simply for a little break. But nothing stops you from making more generous cookies — you will simply need to adjust the baking time slightly.
Total weight of the mixture: 161 g, not counting the pinch of salt and the optional add-ins.
Do choose a chocolate and ingredients suitable for a gluten-free, fully plant-based diet.
Ingredients
Makes 7 small brownie cookies, about 23 g each
- 50 g bar chocolate, to melt
- 20 g plant-based margarine, 80% fat
- 25 g water
- 15 g sugar of your choice (white sugar, coconut sugar…)
- 25 g potato starch
- 20 g wholegrain rice flour
- 5 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 g gluten-free baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- Optional: a few chopped pecans, chocolate chips or small chunks of chocolate
Method
- 1
Gently melt the bar chocolate with the plant-based margarine, in a double boiler or in the microwave in short bursts, without overheating. Stir thoroughly until smooth and even.
- 2
In a bowl, combine all the other ingredients: the water, the sugar, the potato starch, the wholegrain rice flour, the unsweetened cocoa, the gluten-free baking powder and the pinch of salt. Mix to incorporate them, then add the melted chocolate and margarine. Stir thoroughly until the mixture is perfectly smooth. At this point it is still quite loose, even slightly runny: that is perfectly normal, and it is why you cannot shape the cookies straight away.
- 3
Let the mixture firm up at room temperature for about 30 minutes. The chocolate and the fat set, and the mixture gradually gains body. Check the texture regularly by stirring it lightly, until it can be rolled into small balls.
- 4
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Once the mixture has the right consistency, divide it into 7 portions of about 23 g. Roll them gently into small balls between your hands, then set them on a sheet lined with parchment paper, well spaced. Flatten each ball slightly with your fingers: unlike some cookie doughs that spread naturally, this one keeps much of its original shape. So you give it its shape before baking, thicker or thinner depending on the texture you want.
- 5
Bake at 180 °C (350 °F) for about 10 minutes. This time is indicative: adjust it to your oven, but also to the size and thickness of the cookies, since larger ones need a little longer. The aim is above all not to dry them out — we are after that combination of a lightly crisp surface and a still-fudgy center.
- 6
Out of the oven, let the brownie cookies cool directly on their baking sheet. They are still fragile while hot and firm up gradually as they cool, so avoid handling them right away. Once cool, they are ready to eat.
My tips
- Careful with the refrigerator. You can put the mixture in to speed up the setting, but the chocolate hardens fast and it risks becoming far too compact to work with. Do not go beyond about fifteen minutes, checking regularly. If it becomes too firm, let it come gently back to room temperature before shaping. The aim is a mixture firm enough to handle, but still supple and malleable.
A last word
Here is a recipe close to my heart, because it is at once simple, intensely good, and has already made a lot of people happy around me.
I sincerely hope it gives you as much pleasure as it gave everyone who has had the chance to discover and taste it.
And above all, do make it your own. With a few chopped pecans, a more or less intense chocolate or a few extra chips, everyone can imagine their ideal brownie cookie.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to discover this recipe and, perhaps, to make it in turn.
If you do, I would love to know what you think. Leave me a comment under this article, or find me on Instagram @lessecretsdunecheffe to share what you made.
And if you photograph your cookies, do show me. It is always an immense pleasure to see my recipes come alive in your kitchens.
Because deep down, what I love most about pastry is this very simple happiness of creating, passing on and sharing.
I wish you a lovely tasting and a great deal of pleasure in the kitchen.
See you very soon for more delicious adventures, always gluten-free and fully plant-based.
Les Secrets d’une Cheffe
Emmanuelle Grillet-Aubert
Emmanuelle Grillet-Aubert
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