Brownie Crinkle Cookie Recipe

“Cookie!” -Cookie Monster

I just learned that Cookie Monster’s name is Sydney, I feel embarrassed that I didn’t know that sooner. Apologies to Sydney, it seems being a Cookie Monster is more of a title, a job, perhaps an honorific even.

So, anyways! These cookies are very simple and quick to make, would make for a great gift (because most people like chocolate, right?) and might make you too feel like a Cookie Monster. I could eat literally an entire batch of these if you give me enough coffee and a day to do it in.

A sugary & crunchy outer crust on a perfectly sized cookie that is essentially a brownie inside. These have a really soft and moist interior that make it really hard to stop after just one. And the crinkles are so charming and cutesy, demure even.

I’ve been making slight alternations here & there to this recipe for awhile now, trying out various techniques. It finally feels perfected. I think like with anything creative you can allow yourself to keep nitpicking on and on and sometimes end up with something you don’t even enjoy any more. OR you can surrender to the timing- if it feels like the right time to give it up…then it probably is. I’m ready to share these because I’ll keep making them the same way now (give or take some sprinkles) and I’m ready to see someone else take it from here! What makes this recipe specifically feel more personal? I have no idea! It might be the chocolate which will always hold some nostalgia for me, or the number 13! I truly hope you absolutely love these if you try them! They make a great base for ice cream sandwiches too! Although I’m dreaming of seeing them in a holiday cookie box right now…autumn is just around the corner and fall baking is so inspiring, I can’t wait.

Needed equipment:

A hand mixer

Large cookie sheet

Parchment paper

Large mixing bowl

A kitchen scale

A small saucepot

Small bowl, a glass or large circle cookie cutter, silicone spatula, measuring spoons, a whisk

Ingredients:

165g Granulated white sugar

75g Light brown sugar

70g Coarse sugar for rolling*

1 Large whole egg

1 Egg yolk

1 tsp Vanilla extract

65g Unsalted butter - browned (weighed before browning)

80g Neutral Oil

35g Chopped dark or bittersweet chocolate*

35g Unsweetened dutch-process cacao powder*

1 tsp Instant espresso powder

3/4 tsp Baking soda

1/4th tsp Baking powder

195g All-purpose flour

1/4th-1/2 tsp Salt*

Makes exactly 13!

Notes:

• These can be made funfetti style, add 2-3 tsps of funfetti sprinkles and mix in at the very end after you incorporate dry ingredients. You can also press some additional chocolate pieces into the top of the cookies after you first pull them out of the oven, if you’re a chocolate chunk kind of person!

• If you prefer a noticeable hint of saltiness use a 1/2 tsp but otherwise use 1/4th a tsp to even out the sweetness but not to taste.

• For the rolling sugar you can also use classic granulated sugar. A courser sugar (like raw cane sugar) will make a crisper outer crust and a more noticeable crinkle effect, but you definitely do not need to use a special type of sugar to make these.

• The quality of cocoa powder you use will make the big difference. Do not use pre-sweetened powder. I personally use Guittard’s rouge cacao powder, which is further alkalized than traditional cacao powder but not as much as black cacao. I just absolutely love the taste of it so it’s what I continually have around when it comes to chocolate powder. But this recipe will work just as well with a traditional cocoa powder! Ghiradelli has an affordable and easy to find alternative.

• For the chopped chocolate a dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate will definitely work best, you can still use milk chocolate if you prefer it! But make sure it doesn’t have much if any additional sweetener. You can also use chocolate chips- I really love the taste of Guittard’s Santé dark chocolate chips, and Enjoy life’s semi-sweet mini chips! Or you can use couverture, it can be quite expensive but worth the investment if you find yourself working with chocolate often!

• Neutral oil: I’ve tried this recipe with algae oil, vegetable oil, and avocado oil. The avocado oil has been both the easiest to incorporate, and produced the best result texturally. I recommend using avocado oil instead of vegetable oil if you have it, you can use vegetable oil, however it produces more residue when baking than other oils which I don’t prefer but it will still create an excellent end result.

Happy baking, y’all! 🤠

1.) Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit, and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Prepare a small bowl with sugar to roll cookie dough balls in. Get ready any additions you’d like such as sprinkles, and chop chocolate in to chunks- no bigger than an almond in size, set aside.

2.) Brown butter in a small saucepan on medium-low heat, whisking consistently til fully browned- you’re looking for an even light-amber color with darker speckles on the bottom. Remove from stovetop and whisk chopped chocolate (or chips), cocoa powder, and espresso powder- mix till lumps are totally gone and chocolate pieces are full incorporated. Next add in oil and vanilla extract while continuing to whisk til totally emulsified, set mixture aside. It should be starting to cool before you use it, but it’s okay if it’s still warmer than room temperature.

2.) Separately in a large bowl beat together white and brown sugars with egg and egg yolk using a hand mixer. Mix on medium-high speed till thickened and noticeably lighter, this takes about 3 minutes.

3.) While running hand mixer on a low setting pour cooled chocolate mixture into egg/sugar bowl, scrape bottom and sides of bowl thoroughly, continue mixing til oil is completely incorporated.

4.) Add in dry ingredients- flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix throughly with a spatula, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as you go, only stopping when you no longer see any white patches and all the ingredients are totally combined.

5.) Scoop and weigh out 55g of cookie dough, roll into a ball, and coat cookie dough ball in coarse sugar- I typically roll my dough balls through the sugar twice. Bake no more than 5 cookies on a single sheet at a time, bake for 10-12 minutes.

6.) Once removed from oven immediately use a glass, or circle cookie cutter to shape cookies, by placing it over the warm cookie and gently rotating around the sides. When finished shaping- gently use bottom of glass to press down on tops of cookies- this is optional but will create deeper crinkles and an even thickness.

7.) Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes or til hardened enough to move without breaking, place on drying rack to cool the rest of the way. The texture will be the best after fully cooled but if you can’t wait they will taste excellent warm as well.

Thank you for checking out this recipe, I hope it finds you when you need some quick and easy bake therapy. And I hope your coffee tastes just right today. And that you unexpectedly see a cute critter, I really enjoy noticing the monarch migration in the part of the Midwest I live in! It’s so uplifting. Thanks for being here!

-Esther 🍊