1-Bowl Fudge Brownie Cookies

These easy, 1-bowl fudge brownie cookies are crispy, chewy, gooey winners! Make them in minutes with no mixer, no chilling, and a short list of everyday ingredients.

Brownie + Chocolate Chip Cookie Heaven

Oh my heavens, I love these cookies. Chocolate is not even my favorite flavor (I know, I am a dessert heretic).

But these cookies! Morph the best of a chocolate chip cookie (crispy edges, melty-gooey chocolate chips, & quick assembly) with an ever beguiling brownie (fudge-y, chewy, chocolate-y) and you have Fudge. Brownie. Cookies.

Fudge is good. Brownie is good. Cookie is good. Add them up and you have chocolate joy!

Brownie Cookie Highlights

My husband and I play a game (ad nauseum; just ask our teenage son) whenever we make or bake something especially delicious. It goes like this: “If we were in NYC/San Francisco/Chicago, we would be paying (insert huge $ amount) for this!” (Insert eye-roll from aforementioned teenager :)).

And yet, said teenager claims these cookies could make a fortune, anywhere. He has since learned to make them himself; I think he is envisioning a future as a fudge cookie baron.

Beyond their more obvious double-chocolate glory, it’s important to know that these cookies are also:

• Ridiculously easy to make.
• Made in one bowl.
• Fast to make and bake (no dough-chilling required).
• Made with pantry-friendly ingredients.
• Frugal.
• Made without a mixer,
• Loved by all.

Ingredients for the Cookies

The ingredients for these cookies are modest. You likely have all of the ingredients on hand, so you can make a batch almost anytime. This is both wonderful and dangerous.

A complete list of the ingredients, with amounts and instructions, is located in the recipe card below.

• Granulated (white) sugar. Regular, granulated sugar is all that you need for these cookies.
• Unsalted butter. I prefer unsalted butter in all of my baking (so that I can control the amount of salt. An equal amount of salted butter can be used in place of the unsalted butter (either decrease the salt by a pinch or leave as is).
• Vegetable oil. Choose the neutral vegetable oil that you prefer. For example, canola oil, avocado oil, safflower oil, or brands labeled “vegetable oil.”
• 1 Egg. I use large eggs in all of my recipes, unless otherwise noted.
• Vanilla extract. Pure vanilla extract delivers the best flavor, but use what you have on hand/can afford/can find at the grocery store.
• Baking powder. Be sure to use baking powder, not baking soda (they have different strengths).
• Salt. I use plain, fine table salt for my baking recipes.
• All-purpose flour. No fancy flours required, just regular all-purpose flour. Spoon the flour into the measuring cups to avoid packing it in.
• Semisweet chocolate chips. The most common variety of chocolate chips, semisweet are not too sweet, not too bitter, and positively perfect in combination with bananas and brown sugar. That being said, feel free to swap in an equal amount of the chocolate chips or chunks you prefer.

Step-by-Step Instructions with Photos

Step One: Preheat the Oven & Prepare the Baking Sheet

Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Line a large, light-colored (silver, not dark) rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step Two: Blend the Wet Ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, cocoa powder, melted butter, oil, egg, and vanilla until completely blended. The mixture should look thick and glossy.

The combination of melted butter and oil is by design: butter for flavor and crisp edges, and vegetable oil for fudge-y, chewy middles. I am strongly in favor of this combination of characteristics.

Tip: The recipe calls for melted butter that has been cooled slightly. If you added hot butter instead, it is 100% fine. However, let the cocoa powder-butter mixture cool for a few minutes before moving on to step 3 (to avoid melting the chocolate chips).

Step Three: Add the Dry Ingredients

Add the baking powder, salt, flour, and chocolate chips to the bowl. Be sure to add the baking powder and salt first, as indicated (for the best dispersion).

Stir until completely blended. Use a rubber or silicone spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure that all of the flour is incorporated and the dough is evenly and well-combined. It is a major bummer if you scoop out several batches of dough and discover a layer of unevenly mixed ingredients at the bottom of the bowl.

The dough will be thick and somewhat stiff. No need to chill the dough, it is ready for scooping!

Step Four: Portion the Cookie Dough

Scoop tablespoon mounds of the dough (I use a #40 cookie scoop) onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches (5 cm) apart.

Step Five: Bake & Cool the Cookies

Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 11 minutes until the cookies have spread and are puffed. You want the surface of the cookies to look dry, but the centers will still look underdone.

Note that the cookies will not yet look like the photos of the finished cookies. They will look puffy, which is perfect.

This is how they should look when they emerge from the oven:

The cookies look somewhat cake-y right? They are delicate at this point, too. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. They will begin to deflate, forming dips and bumps around the chocolate chips. Use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely.

See, now they look like fudge-y brownie cookies. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.

What is the Taste & Texture of the Cookies?

These cookies live up to their name in taste and texture. The high proportion of cocoa powder renders a deep chocolate fudge flavor, compounded by the addition of more chocolate throughout (in the form of melted chocolate chips).

The texture is crisp at the edges–like the corner piece from a pan of brownies–but softer in the middle than the average brownie (since they are, well, cookies).

Go ahead. Take a big bite :).

I know that you will love these cookies, too!

FAQ

Q: Can I use something other than dairy butter in the recipe?

A: Yes! You can use an equal amount of melted plant butter (the stick variety, not soft-spread or tub-style).

Q: Can I make the cookies with 100% butter (no oil)?

A: Yes! Replace the oil with 1/3 cup melted butter. The cookies will be crisper (less chewy) compared with the original recipe.

Q: Can I make these without the chocolate chips?

A: Yes! The brownies will still have a deep, chocolate brownie flavor. Keep in mind that the total yield for the cookies will be less than the original recipe (the 1 cup of chocolate chips increases the volume of the cookie dough). Expect a yield closer to 22 to 24 cookies.

Happy baking! Be sure to tag #onebowlbaker on social media if you make and share these–I would love to highlight your efforts!