Did you know that you can make yummy, deeply chocolate-y, melt-in-your-mouth cookies that taste like brownies, but with a fraction of the sugar that’s in most cookies and/or brownies? I didn’t either. This was just a random experiment turned into a chocolate party in my mouth.
Crispy on the outside like cookies, yet fudgy and dense in the center like brownies, they’re my current favorite! I’ve been waking up in anticipation of gulping one of these before I head out the door as a pre-breakfast snack (I like to start my days on a sweet note).
I seriously enjoy them as much as I enjoy brownies, and boy do I enjoy my brownies. And hey, they don’t have the 20-30 g of sugar that your typical brownie has so I can have a couple before lunch.
PS. These also happen to be vegan, refined-sugar free, gluten-free (use any GF flour) and can be nut-free if you prefer.
So let me know if you give these a try!
Small-batch Brownie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup nut/seed butter (64 g) sub melted butter or coconut oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (84 g) sub sugar-free syrup
- 1 tbsp (nut) milk (15 g) I use unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup flour (40 g) gf all purpose if desired
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder (24 g)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips (45 g) dairy-free if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Mix together nut butter, syrup, milk, vanilla until smooth. You might need to warm this a little in the microwave to fully combine.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt.
- Combine the two with a spatula. If your dough is too dry, add 1 tsp additional nut milk at a time and combine until you get a soft cookie dough.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Using your palms make balls of dough, place on parchment and flatten gently.
- Bake for 8 minutes (we’ll underbake these slightly on purpose so they’re soft in the middle like brownies). Let them cool on the baking sheet, they will firm up!
- Dig in cookie-monster style. Or brownie-monster style. Whichever monster you wanna be is okay with me as long as you give this recipe a try!
Notes
- I’ve made them with almond butter, peanut butter and tahini, all were delicious. Use cashew butter for a more neutral flavor. You can probably also sub melted butter or coconut oil.
- The recipe as written is sweet enough for breakfast or mid-day snacks. If you prefer a cookie that is good for dessert, add 2 tbsp sugar with the maple syrup and that should do it!