I have birds.
Living in Los Angeles is like living in a jungle. Instead of dense tropical trees and dangerous pumas, Los Angeles has obnoxious cars and… actors. There is very little visible animal life besides dogs on leashes, squirrels rummaging through the trash bins and pigeons just walking around being pretty gross.
But I have birds. I call them my Midnight Song Birds. They live in the tree outside my bedroom window and sing to one another all night long. All night! Sometimes I’ll be up until 1 in the morning and the birds are still going at it. They keep up the chatter all night long.
I’ve come to love sound of these birds chirping as I fall asleep. It helps erase the occasional helicopter or paramedic siren. My birds sound beautiful. And though they sound completely out of place at 1 in the morning, they remind me to be thankful for the little things- like the simple joy of chirping birds, or chewy chocolate cookies.
How about some cookie adventures? Follow me.
I’m convinced that these cookies are actually brownies in disguise. They’re super soft, full of chocolate, and my favorite part- they have that brownie crackled skin on top. I think it’s the slightly flaky chocolate top and soft center that won my heart.
Topped with darling chocolate covered sunflower seeds, these cookies are perfect to snack on with a glass of cold milk sitting in front of the TV watching dvds of Big Love… or maybe that’s just me.
Chocolate Brownie Cookies
recipe from King Arthur Flour
yields 26 cookies without chips, 30 cookies with chips
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped or in chips)
3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
In a double boiler, or in the microwave, gently melt together the chocolate and butter. To avoid heating the chocolate too much and possibly burning it, the best method is to heat till the butter is melted and the chocolate has partially melted, then remove from the heat. Stir till all the chocolate melts.
In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs till they’re thoroughly combined. You don’t need a mixer, just do it in a medium sized bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the hot melted chocolate, then stir in the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, if you’re using them. Refrigerate the batter like dough for 1 hour, to make it easier to handle.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, three if you have them.
Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoonfuls (about the size of a small ping pong ball) onto the prepared baking sheets. A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this task extremely simple. Leave about 2″ between the dough balls, as they’ll spread as they bake.
Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked. They won’t crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they’re cracked all the way across the top surface, they’re done. The point is, you want these baked all the way through, but just barely; additional baking makes them more crisp rather than chewy. Remove the cookies from the oven, and top each with a kiss-shaped chocolate, a bittersweet chocolate wafer, or a chocolate covered sunflower seed. Wait 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
yi-jang
hi joy!
i was wondering, does the batter freeze well? i loved your idea for the whole wheat chocolate chip dough balls and wanted to apply it here. just wondering if you’ve done that before!
thanks. :)
Carly
Cookies done! They didn’t spread at all, but they look cute and taste amazing!!!! Will save and keep again!
Carly
I’m cooking these now…I used unsweetened chocolate and peanut butter chips. I put the cookie dough in the fridge and ran some errands and it is very stiff…hard to scoop. That being said, the dough tastes amazing and I can’t wait to try them cooked!! Will post with an update :)
Alexis
I just took a batch of these out of the oven – they’re beautiful! (and delicious!)
I was just wondering, how long would these last, and how should we store them?
Thanks!
Kaitlyn
What a great excuse to buy chocolate covered sunflower seeds!
Ronni
My cookies aren’t spreading for some reason…
Livia
Wow! I just made these and they were delicious! I’m planning to make them for my boyfriend’s birthday, and I just made a half batch to test them out… they definitely passed. I used semi-sweet chocolate instead of bittersweet and topped them with chopped walnuts. Though they didn’t spread out as much as yours and I took them out a bit prematurely, I am SO glad I made them… yum :)
-Liv
ameesha
I love the look of these, they look beautiful.
Sooo gonna make these when i get the chance (which is now….)
I am from australia, so the decoration on top is not avalible here :(
They will look good anyway…
Thanks xx
hanie
I made this today and they were a mess :(
JennR
Oh, and I also refrigerated some extra dough (a tiny bit of self-control–aren’t you proud?) and it kept really well and baked perfectly a week or more later.
JennR
Yum. In Love.
I omitted the espresso powder, used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of bittersweet chocolate, used part whole-wheat flour, and part flax seed meal instead of butter–and they were still AMAZING. It was a little too much chocolate (if that’s possible . . .) with the “optional” chocolate chips, so the second time (can I admit I’ve already made two batches?) I left them out. What I really want to do is put in white chocolate chips–mmm, mmm!
Salted brownies are a thing now, so I gave it a try and sprinkled some on top before baking. That made them even more addicting–you choose if that’s good or bad! :D
Lexi
I baked up a batch of these day with white chocolate chips – it was AMAZING.
Do it.
:D
Jenny
My cookies didn’t come out flat like that for some reason. They remained little mounds that didn’t really crack at the top. They still tasted great though.
Laura
Oooh, one of my coworkers brought in a batch of brownie cookies to work the other day, and they were gone in minutes!
I was dying to get the recipe, but it seems I’ve found one by myself! Seeing it’s by you, I have no doubts… can’t wait to get to baking.
But do you think semisweet chocolate would be okay, instead of bittersweet?
Christine
Wow, these look AMAZING!
Can’t wait to make some!
Would omitting the espresso powder make a huge different in taste/texture?
joythebaker
leaving out the espresso powder will make no difference in the texture and only a small flavor difference. Leave it out if you’d like… no biggie.
Lina
Sorry for double posting! But, on another note, I drizzled some with dark chocolate and sprinkled on some toasted coconut! Very hot. >:D
Lina
Sup, brah?
I just made these, since I’m showing up at my cousin’s house today. I used white whole wheat flour, and 2 eggs and 1/4 cup egg white instead of 3 eggs. I drizzled white chocolate on some, and topped with dried cranberries on a few. I even did both on a couple, but I left some plain. Very sexy cookies, I must say.
Megan
I’m making these today with my sister to sell my parents house. They have a showing today. :)
Brigette
I went to bed last night and thought about this recipe.
It sent me gleefully to slumber land. I will cook them up and let you know if they were as sensational as their pictures!!!
Brooke - in Oregon
Oh my gosh you are killin me here! lol These sound soooo good :)
Shannon
I’m baking these up this weekend and shipping these puppies to Iraq for my cousin. Global brownie cookie goodness!
Robin
Made these cookies and they were a big hit with all the family, even my husband who doesn’t care for brownies. I did have a spacing problem and ended up with some twin cookies, but they were still delicious. They really spread while baking so be careful.
Kaylee
This look AH-Mazing, Joy. Gonna make them tommorow morning to possibly impress a boy :)
Leah
These just look so good I really have to bake them this weekend.
I am afraid to though, as I know I will eat them all on my own!….
Anne-Marie
Joy, hello from Minnesota! Just a note to tell you these cookies are probably the best chocolate thing I’ve had in about a million years. I made a batch this morning for my husband and his hunting pals to take on their 8 hour drive to South Dakota. They (the cookies) lasted 20 minutes. They barely made it out of St. Paul! Thanks for the great recipe and the cool blog. You’re a sweetie.
lisi
cannot wait to bake!!!
Lucy
Oh my! I’ve had chocolate on my mind for a couple of days…brownies, sheet cake, the choices are so many and I couldn’t decide what to make. But these look scrumptious! I think I’ll try. Thanks for sharing.
angelique
Hey there, I was wondering if it would be wise to not include the expresso into the mixture?
Connie
They look soooooo good!! I have to try them…:)
I love your site…!!! I can tell that I’m a new fan of your place…thanks a lot for everything you share with us…:) I’m from Mazatlan, Sinaloa in Mexico.
XOX
Sarah
Hello there! My name is Sarah–I was looking for a good chocolate cookie recipe and this cookie meets ll the criteria. If you don’t mind, have you any recipes for native Mazatlan dishes–my Father was from Colima, Colima…thanks so much!
Becca
oh my goodness. these look absolutely amazing!!!!!
Holly
These look so good and easy to make! I sure hope I don’t screw it up, but thank you for the recipe!
Rene
You can usually find chocolate covered sunflower seeds at Cost Plus World Market, too! We don’t have Trader Joe’s in northern Louisiana either…but from the sound of it I’m jealous!
Erin
I lived in Los Angeles for my first 42-years…I know exactly what you mean about the midnight song birds vs. cars and actors! I’ve never seen chocolate covered sunflower seeds…they are awesome. (No TJ’s in Eastern Washington! It has already been five years and I still miss it!)
Marisa
Oh, man. I am sooo making these!
Question: Where did you buy chocolate covered sunflower seeds? Maybe I’m just an uncultured swine, but I literally have never seen chocolate covered sunflower seeds. And if I have, I probably didn’t really look to see what they were.
joythebaker
i had never seen them before either until i went to a magical place called Trader Joe’s.
Karen Pollard
I live in a smaller community where espresso powder will not be available. Could I substitute instant coffee? Maybe ground into a powder???
joythebaker
instant coffee is just fine!
Margaret
These look great! I haven’t made these yet, but they look like (and sound like they taste like) a brownie cookie recipe from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course. In case you ever want to compare.
Thanks for sharing!
Istin
Wow! Thanks for this recipe! I just a newbie in baking but this was such a joy to bake. It’s so yummmmy :)
Tia @ ButtercreamBarbie
they were excellent. a huge hit and everyone wanted the recipe. thanks joy!
Michelle
these look absolutely scrumptious!
i can’t wait to make these for my cool little brother.
Grace
Mine didn’t really work :(
They spread out too much, so they were crispy on the bottom, but hadn’t cracked on top. What did I do wrong?
x3FLO
these were awesome cookies
it took me a while to drop the cookies since i didnt have a scoop and resorted to two different spoons, but they were worth it.
Gwyn
These were awesome! They are a chocoholic’s dream! I used 1/4 C of semisweet chocolate chips & 1/4 C of milk chocolate chips in the batter too & my cookies took 15 minutes at 325 degrees & my cookies were a little puffier (i’m guessing because of the chocolate chips?). Oh & I also topped them with an M&M. I’ve made them twice now. The first time i just used spoons to dish out the batter & it was messy & sticky (still yummy though!) – i went & bought a 1-1/2 Tbsp scoop (that’s what they had at Bed, Bath & Beyond) and that worked MUCH better for the 2nd batch! Glad i stumbled upon this recipe. :)
Sars
I made these the other day but I used a pack of mini m’n’m’s instead of the optional cup of chocolate chips…worked a treat plus they added that little bit of colour as we don’t get the chocolate & candy coated sunflower seeds here. ;-)
Mark Smith
Wow, your food looks great and you’re very pretty, too.
You’d make some guy very lucky!
Jen T.
I was telling my boyfriend last night that I wanted to find a way to turn boxed brownie mix into a cookie, so I figured I’d look around online, and these are exactly what I was looking for! He thought that I was trying to combine brownies and cookies, so I think I’ll have to make that as well, but first thing’s first, and these just look perfect! Thank you so much!
joythebaker
Yes Maris, these cookies freeze well, just wrap them well!
maris
Hi Joy – I would love to make these for an event in a few days. Can you tell me if they freeze well?
Suzanne
Just tasted my first one and it’s a HIT! I topped mine with a dark chocolate M&M (the Easter colored ones are so pretty against the dark cookie.)
Note to self…buy cookie scoops or use two spoons next time. I tried to scoop out dough with a spoon and then roll it into a ball with my hands. I ended up with a few cookies worth of dough stuck to my hands. Sadly, I’m not a cookie dough fan, so it was a tragic loss of a cookie or two on my palms.
Melinda
Chilling my dough now. And ordering more espresso powder from KAF since I’m out. :( So sad that I’m out of chocolate chips, too. And that I haven’t found chocolate covered candies of any sort that are dairy free that I can use…but, the batter still tasted swell! Timer needs to hurry!
zurin
Those look gorgeous!. M bookmarking these. the birds sound delightful. Here we get teh occasional birds with colourful streaks. An amazing feeling when I spot one.
ruth
i’m sitting in my kitchen waiting for these babies to pop outta the oven… yay for this recipe, and yay for you for writing all these happy blog posts!
Margot
Thanks Joy! I just made these and that are sooo good – dreamy is the right word for them!! If I wasn’t taking them to a get together, half would be gone by tomorrow. :)
Alyssa
I baked some of these last night. Two words: instant hit.
My cousin says they’re better than boxed brownies and I agree. The two of us nearly devoured a dozen before the other 4 family members could get to them :P (We college kids are horrible, we know.)
Thanks for sharing! This is a keeper :)
joythebaker
Margot! These cookies are just dreamy. To answer you question, I used espresso powder, not ground espresso beans. The instant powder stuff. Enjoy!
Margot
Hi there, Your blog is fantastic!! I’ve seen this recipe a few places and am going to try it. Can you tell me if the teaspoon of espresso powder is just a teaspoon of ground espresso or if it’s the instant powder you see in some baking recipes? Thanks!
Betsy
Joy – I just made these last night…delicious! I brought the rest of them into work today, because I would eat them all in one sitting otherwise! Everyone has said how yummy they are… truly a delicious brownie transformed into a portable cookie. Thanks for the recipe!
la vie est belle
Hi Joy,
I was on my was to making your brownies yet again but I stumbled on these.
Great way to say Thank you to my son’s teacher for a great first few weeks – Thanks for spreading the joy of baking all around.
Merci.
Sharon Casey
Do you bake pies? I need one delivered for a birthday in your building.
Thank you.
Mansi
fantastic Joy! what a nice way to sneak the goodness of sunflower seeds in these cookies! I made espresso-kahlua brownies 2 days back, and I’m still on the espresso road, so these sound delicious!:)
Lissi
Hello! I’m a fairly new follower of your blog, I got a tip from a cousin and am glad I took the advice to give you a look! I just made these brownie cookies today, (I put crushed peppermints on top, the softish type, not the hard crunchy ones,) and appreciate the recipe! Even Himself liked these, and he’s not got a huge sweet tooth. When I first mixed them up, I had my doubts. The batter was so thin, but it firmed up quite nicely in the fridge, and I think mine turned out as prettily as yours. I liked hearing about your bird neighbors, too. That made me smile!
Monkee
I have birds outside my windows too. Albert and Alfred will perch on the tree outside my apartment and coo for their bread. And yes, chewy cookies are delicious. I had them for dinner last night :D
bunny
this is the chocolate cookie of my dreams!!!
Katie
These look and sound wonderful. A brownie in cookie form mmmmm.
Erin
These look delicious! They look so pretty with the chocolate sunflower seeds in them!
Sandie
These cookies look great, just from the pictures I could imagine the soft insides and light crust on the top, mmmm.
brilynn
I love brownies in any form, those look great!
steph (whisk/spoon)
oh. my. gosh.
Miri
Oh Joy, these sound and look marvelous! I’m so gonna make them!
Amber
I have a mockingbird that comes every summer and sings all night long varying what he hears. It is my favorite thing in summer. My blog is very new, and seeing as these are chocolate cookies, then I must make them.
Teresa
Cookies, Cookies, Cookies…my daughter and I can never get enough of cookies, especially chocolate ones. The photos you took of the cookies look wonderful. I’ve never seen chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Maybe I can get them online. Great blog. Thanks for sharing.
peabody
I love chocolate covered sunflower seeds.
Jill in Atlanta
Never heard of chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Yum.
I can’t wait to try the cookies. Now, how about a good chewy oatmeal raisin cookie?
I would miss the variety of birds and other critters. Suburbia isn’t all bad. Glad you have a few by your window.
megan
Brownies in disguise. O yum!
Alicia
There’s actually a bit of wildlife where I live, but I just noticed my own “Midnight Song Birds” about a month ago. I thought it was odd at first, but now I find it quite soothing.
I love the crackly tops on these cookies! The sunflower seeds look really lovely too.
Traci
I have those crazy birds in Nashville, TN outside my house. I don’t have the appreciation for them that you do at 1:00 AM…i DO however appreciate those scrumptious looking cookies! Maybe next time the silly birds are keeping me awake I’ll make these cookies and sing along :)
Amanda
Oh joy, I believe that those dangerous pumas are actually the actors :) are you melting down in Southern California? Up in Northern California, we are COVERED in smoke. I literally can’t see 10 feet ahead of me because of the dense haze. It’s nasty. So instead of hanging out outside like I normally do, I will be watching reruns of Big Love (I share your addiction) and chomping on these cookies.
Patricia Scarpin
I love how you decorated them, Joy. They’re beautiful.
Sarah
I think I just did that Homer Simpson drooling thing when I saw those pictures.
Mary
Oh these cookies look delicious! I wish I could have one right now. And that’s pretty neat about your birds!
Jenn
My kids would love these !
Kevin
That brownie cookies look so good! I like the sound of those chocolate covered sunflower seeds. I will have to look for some.