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This easy brookies recipe is a fudgy brownie and a chewy chocolate chip cookie baked together in one pan. A box of brownie mix does the heavy lifting, homemade cookie dough goes on top in big scoops, and forty minutes later you have thick, gooey brownie cookie bars. They never last the night.
If a good chocolate chip cookie is your love language, make my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip espresso cookies, and chocolate chip cookie pie next.
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Pin ItWhat Makes Easy Brookies So Fudgy
Two desserts, one pan. Fudgy brownie on the bottom, chewy cookie on top, and nobody has to pick a side.
The box mix is the whole trick. Fast, foolproof, and fudgier than a lot of from-scratch recipes. If you’d rather go all homemade, my fudgy homemade brownies work here too.
They travel well. Bake in the morning, cut at the door. No frosting, no assembly. Same reason my gooey chocolate caramel bars are always in my back pocket for parties.
Warm, with vanilla ice cream. That’s not a suggestion, that’s the rule.
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“I discovered this a few months ago and can’t stop making them! My family and friends are always asking for more!”
Leah
Easy Brookies Ingredients
Two things: brownie batter and cookie dough. The batter comes from a box. The dough takes five minutes, or you can buy a tube of it and I will not tell a soul.
Boxed brownie mix. An 18 to 20 ounce box, and get one with chocolate chips already in it. That detail matters. Ghirardelli Double Chocolate is my go-to. You’ll also need whatever the box calls for, usually oil, water, and an egg.
All-purpose flour. Spoon it into the cup and level it off instead of scooping from the bag. Too much flour is why cookies bake up dry. More in my guide to flour.
Baking soda. Half a teaspoon. Just enough lift to keep the cookie layer from baking up dense and heavy on top of the brownie.
Salt. Half a teaspoon, and don’t skip it. It’s what keeps a very sweet dessert from tasting flat.
Dark brown and granulated sugar. Brown sugar holds moisture, which is where the chew comes from. White sugar helps the tops go golden and gives you crisp edges.
Unsalted butter. Room temperature, not cold or melted. Creaming softened butter with the sugar beats air into the dough, and that’s what makes the cookie layer chewy instead of greasy. Same as my best chocolate chip cookies.
Egg. One large egg binds the dough and keeps it soft.
Vanilla extract. Use the real stuff. There’s nowhere for imitation to hide in a dough this simple.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips. A full cup. Semi-sweet on purpose, since the brownie layer is already sweet and milk chocolate would tip the whole thing over.
How to Make Easy Brookies
1. Prep the pan. Butter a 9×9 metal baking pan and line it with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides. That overhang is how you lift the whole slab out later. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Mix the brownie batter. Make it exactly as the box directs, with whatever oil, water, and egg it calls for. Then ignore the box’s pan size, oven temperature, and bake time completely. You’re using mine.
3. Pour it in. Spread the brownie batter into the prepared pan in an even layer.
4. Make the cookie dough. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl. In a mixer, beat the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low, add the flour mixture, scrape the bowl, and mix just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips by hand.
5. Scoop and top. Drop about 12 large scoops of cookie dough right onto the brownie batter. Don’t spread them, don’t press them flat. You want brownie batter peeking through between the scoops, because that’s what makes them look like brookies instead of blondies.
6. Bake and cool. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes. The brownie edges will puff and turn. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before lifting and cutting.
Eden’s Tips
Pan size matters. A 9×9 metal pan gives you the thickness I love, and metal bakes more evenly than glass or ceramic.
Cool before cutting. This keeps your brookies from falling apart. Want them warm anyway? Cut them cool, then reheat a square for 10 seconds.
Don’t press the scoops flat. Leave them rounded with brownie batter showing between them. That’s what makes the tops look like brookies instead of blondies.
Flavor boost. Try a dark chocolate brownie mix for a richer taste. Lovely next to my chewy vanilla brownies on a dessert table, since one is deep and fudgy and the other is buttery and pale.
Rocky road version. Scatter mini marshmallows over the top for the last 5 minutes of baking. If marshmallow desserts are your thing, my strawberry rice krispie treats are the easiest one on the site.
How to Store and Freeze Brookies
Brookies keep beautifully, which is half the reason they’re such a good make-ahead party dessert.
Room temperature. Airtight container, up to 4 days. They stay soft.
Refrigerator. Up to 1 week, airtight. Bring them back to room temperature before serving, or warm a square for 10 seconds.
Freezer. Cut into bars, wrap well, freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Make ahead. Assemble the whole pan, cover it, and refrigerate it unbaked until you’re ready. Bake about an hour before serving and add a few minutes since it’s going into the oven cold. This is exactly how I handle desserts for a last minute party.
Cut small, these are also a perfect addition to a dessert charcuterie board.
Easy Brookies FAQs
Half brownie, half chocolate chip cookie, baked together in one pan. Mine start with a boxed brownie mix on the bottom and homemade cookie dough scooped over the top, so you get fudgy underneath and chewy on top.
Yes. Swap in my homemade brownie recipe for the bottom layer. Just keep the batter thick and fudgy so it holds the cookie dough instead of swallowing it.
Absolutely. Grab a tube of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough and tear it into chunks, then drop it over the batter. Fastest version of this recipe, and still so good.
Nope. Chilling mostly controls how far dough spreads on a flat sheet pan, and here it’s sitting inside a pan with walls. Mix it and scoop it straight on. Chilling matters much more for something like my cut out sugar cookies, where the shape has to hold.
Almost always overbaking. Pull the pan when a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs, not clean. Too much flour does it too, which is why I measure the way I do up top. The same thing happens with chocolate chip cookies without butter.
A little gooey is the goal. But if the center is still raw batter, it just needs more time. These bake thick, so give them another 5 to 10 minutes and check again. A toothpick should come out with moist crumbs. If you’re using glass or ceramic instead of metal, add even longer, since those pans bake slower and can leave a sunken middle.
Yes. One box of brownie mix fills a 9×13 on its own, so keep the mix as is and just double the cookie dough. Start checking around 35 minutes, since the layers are thinner.
More Cookie and Brownie Recipes
Cookies & Brownies
Easy Chewy Vanilla Brownies
Cookies & Brownies
Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Butter
If you make these easy brookies, please come back and leave a 5-star rating and a comment. It genuinely helps other people find the recipe, and I love hearing how they turned out.
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Easy Brookies Recipe
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 box brownie mix, Use one with chocolate chips in the batter. 18 to 20 oz
Chocolate Chips Cookies
- 1 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×9 metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.
- Prepare the brownie batter from your 18 to 20 ounce box of brownie mix, following the directions on the package. You'll usually need eggs, oil, and water, but go by whatever your box calls for. Use this recipe's pan size, oven temperature, and bake time instead of the box's.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter with 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add 1 large egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl and mix just until combined.
- Stir in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips by hand.
- Scoop about 12 large mounds of cookie dough directly onto the brownie batter. Don't flatten or spread them. Leave brownie batter showing between the scoops.
- Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes, until the brownie edges are puffed and glossy and the cookie tops are deep golden brown. A toothpick in the center should come out with moist crumbs, not clean.
- Cool in the pan at least 20 minutes before lifting out by the parchment and cutting into 12 small squares.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I discovered this a few months ago and can’t stop making them! My family and friends are always asking for more!