I know what you’re thinking. What’s the point of a brownie… cookie? Why not just have a brownie? Or a cookie? Why both? Well, a pan of traditional brownies has varying textures. You have slightly crisp and chewy edge brownies with softer, fudgier brownies in the center. When you bake brownies as cookies, you get both in 1. A super chewy and textured edge with that beloved fudge center.
Brownie cookies > brownies. (A bold statement!!!!!)
This recipe stems from an older recipe on my website: death by chocolate peanut butter chip cookies. I based the recipe off of an America’s Test Kitchen recipe a few years ago. This time, I subbed a little cocoa powder for flour. I found that this teeny tiny increase in cocoa powder gave the brownie cookies an even deeper chocolate flavor (of course). And for that cocoa. Remember the difference between dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder? Things are pretty important when we use baking soda (BASE) in the recipe as natural cocoa (ACID) reacts with it. However, it’s not that big of a deal when using baking powder (like today) because the recipe doesn’t need that extra acid (from natural). I know it’s confusing. Basically, today, we can use either dutch-process or natural in the brownie cookies.
Cookies are delicious chemistry.
Speaking of chocolate. The base of this recipe is… pure chocolate! Just like we do in peanut butter filled brownie cookies, you’ll start by melting down 8 ounces of the good stuff and mix it right into the dough. So just like how any ordinary cookie recipe begins by creaming butter and sugar together… but we’ll also add melted chocolate. I like to use a quality chocolate from the baking aisle like Ghirardelli or Baker’s. The melted chocolate paired with brown sugar and eggs creates a remarkably moist center. Just want you center-brownie-lovers crave!
“Indulgent” doesn’t even cover it.
“Excessively decadent” is more like it.
Because texture clearly rules all, I threw in a generous amount of walnuts. If you have an extra few minutes, give the chopped walnuts a quick toast in the oven for added flavor. Spread chopped walnuts onto a lined baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes at 300°F (149°C).
More Chocolate Cookies to Try
- Brownie Cookies (similar to today’s recipe, but plain)
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peppermint Mocha Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies (the chocolate version of my beloved Sugar Cookies!)
Brownie Walnut Chunk Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Super fudgy, thick, chewy, and rich brownie cookies with big chunks of chocolate and walnuts!
Ingredients
- 2 four ounce bars (226g) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/3 cup (27g) natural unsweetened or dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup (5 Tablespoons; 72g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125g) chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup (90g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or use the microwave. Microwave in 20 second increments, stirring after each until completely melted. Set aside to slightly cool (so it doesn’t melt the butter or cook the eggs!).
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. Pour in the slightly cooled melted chocolate and mix on medium speed until combined.
- On low speed, add the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until combined. Finally, beat in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Cover and chill the dough for at least 45-60 minutes in the refrigerator (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Roll the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. Place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets and bake for 11-12 minutes or until the edges appear set. The centers will look a little soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips or walnut pieces into the tops– this is only for looks!
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 5. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Hershey’s Cocoa Powder | Baker’s Semisweet Chocolate Bars | Silpat Baking Mat | Cookie Sheets | Cooling Rack | Black Plates
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: brownie walnut chunk cookies
This site is my go to for baking. However, this recipe was not good. The dough was so hard after being in the fridge for 45 minutes that it was almost impossible to roll into balls. Also, the directions first say to roll out the dough and later say to make the dough into balls.
In any case, the cookies stayed as balls even after baking and did not spread out.
I have made many recipes from this web site multiple times, but I will not be making this one again. The cookies taste good but I consider them a failure.
Hi Sharon, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. We do recommend chilling the before rolling into balls (it’s a bit too sticky to roll into balls beforehand). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard. If your dough is not spreading, be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to measure your flour to ensure it’s not over measured. If there is too much in the dough, it will soak up too much of the wet ingredients and prevent the cookies from spreading properly. This post on 5 cookie baking tips to improve your next batch (particularly #2, what to do if your cookies aren’t spreading) will also be a helpful resource. Thank you for giving these a try!
I experienced the same problem. Mine were rock-hard, small, ball-ish cookies that didn’t spread out much. (I’m an experienced baker so I know how to measure ingredients. ) But I really like the idea of these so I will be trying again today. They’re an expensive cookie with a whole package of Baker’s semisweet chocolate in them, so if they don’t turn out it’s pretty frustrating and disappointing!
These cookies are divine! Made a batch today to share with my family. So yummy! I didn’t use a scale and my sugar and butter didn’t cream well but once I added the eggs and vanilla it was fine. Great recipe. Looking forward to making them again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Sally! Can I use semi-sweet chips instead of the chopped chocolate bars?
Hi Mary, it’s best to use real baking chocolate when melting, as chocolate chips have stabilizers in them and won’t give that smooth, glossy texture you need in melted chocolate.
I made these for work, exactly as written. Everyone loved them even someone that doesn’t normally like nuts. I told her i would make them without the nuts next time and she said no, to leave it as is. She loved them. I always refrigerate my batter for about 30 minutes and then roll into balls. I bake them the next morning after sitting out for 30 minutes to an hour. They came out nice and thick and fudgy. Will make these often and switch out the chip flavors. I have been following you for years and can always trust they will turn out. Thank you
★★★★★
I also used a scale to measure all the ingredients, and these came out great! My butter and sugar also didn’t cream. That didn’t seem to change the results though. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
I love this recipe just waiting to bake it asap, could you please let me know how can I replace eggs in this recipe for a egg free version ?
Hi Nik, we haven’t tried an egg-free version of this recipe, but let us know if you give anything a try.
Hi Nik, We haven’t tested this recipe with egg substitutes, so can’t give any advice. Let us know if you try any! Here are all of our egg free baking recipes if you are interested in browsing there.
Fabulous cookie. I measured my ingredients using a scale and they came out perfect. The only thing is that my butter and sugar did not cream; I ran the stand mixer for probably 3-4 minutes. Odd.
Great tasting cookie but they didn’t really spread at all for me so it seems I have the opposite problem to others.
Still taste great but I’ll try them again and see if I can get them to look a bit more like a cookie next time instead of a truffle.
Love your recipes Sally! =)
★★★★
Thank you for giving these cookies a try, Steph! When cookies aren’t spreading, it usually means that there’s too much dry ingredient (flour) soaking up all the liquid. When measuring flour, use the spoon & level method. Do not scoop the flour out of the container/bag. Doing so leaves you with excess flour in the cookie dough.
These cookies were very flat, I think they need more flour.
★★
Hi Sally, it has been my nth time attempt to do this and it was always good! But always have the same problem everytime, that is, my cookies are always flat . What usually happens is, by the time I put it in the oven, it looks like it is melting for the first few minutes and ends up flat. This is really frustrating, good thing my bro and kids still loves it no matter what. ☺️ What do you think I did wrong? (By the way, I also tried some of your tips like freezing it longer, forming the cookie dough higher but nothing seems to work with me)
Hi Kate, so glad to hear you love these cookies! It sounds like your butter may be a bit too warm — room temperature butter is actually a bit cooler than many may think. Also, make sure to spoon and level your flour so that there is an accurate amount to help soak up the wet ingredients. This post on how to improve your next batch of cookies may also be helpful.
Hi Sally,
So I haven’t made these yet and bought all the ingredients however when I went to gather those ingredients I realized I purchased unsweetened chocolate bars instead of semi-sweet. So any suggestions?
Thanks Angel
Hi Angel, You can use unsweetened chocolate, but please know that unsweetened chocolate lends a very deep, dark chocolate cookie!