Brownie Crackle-Top Cookies

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 12 mins

Total: 27 mins

These brownie crackle-top cookies are the best of both worlds—soft on the inside (like a brownie) and slightly crunchy on the outside (like a cookie). They look almost too pretty to eat, yet you have to do very little to produce this lovely effect. They’re popular at bake sales and holiday cookie exchanges and are perfect candidates to bake for friends and loved ones as a gift from the kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 3/4 cup cocoa powder, preferably Ghiradelli

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until they are evenly mixed. Set this dry mixture aside.

3. In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the eggs and the vanilla extract. Let the melted butter cool slightly, then whisk into the egg-vanilla mixture.

4. Add this wet mixture to the dry flour-cocoa mixture and combine thoroughly by hand or with a rubber spatula. It might seem as if you need more liquid, but do not add any. Just keep folding and pressing until the mixture comes together. It will eventually reach the consistency of stiff brownie batter.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to firm it up.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpat baking liners or parchment paper. (Alternatively, you can lightly grease them.)

7. Put confectioners' sugar in a small bowl. Scoop the dough by teaspoons, roll into balls, and drop the balls into the powdered sugar, rolling them around to cover them completely. Place the sugared dough balls on prepared baking sheets 1 1/2 inches apart.

8. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies will spread, puff up a bit, and form cracks. The longer you cook them, the more crispy they will become.

9. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before using a spatula to remove to racks and cool completely. Store in a covered container.

10. Enjoy.

Recipe Variations

• Peppermint is perfect for the holidays, so if you are baking up a batch of these cookies for Christmas, swap out the vanilla extract for some peppermint extract.
• If you are pressed for time and happen to have a box of brownie mix in the pantry, you can whip up these cookies in a jiffy. In a large bowl, whisk together the brownie mix and 1 cup of flour. Then add 3 eggs and 1/3 cup vegetable oil and mix until combined. Place the confectioners' sugar in a bowl and continue with the recipe, rolling in the sugar and baking until cracked on top.