This super fudgy brownie cookies are chewy and thick with that perfect paper-thin crinkle top and crisp edges- all without eggs and dairy free! You won’t be able to resist! 

vegan brownie cookies on parchment paper

Seriously Fudgy Vegan Brownie Cookies:

Brownie cookies are a must for any holiday cookie exchange or cookie gift box, so it was only right for me to finally create what I think truly is the best brownie cookie I have ever had (and I’ve had a lot of cookies in my time- there’s a whole cookie chapter in my cookbook!).

Based on my ridiculously fudgy vegan brownies, I present to you the easiest and fudgiest vegan brownie cookies.

And yes, I did say vegan- there are no eggs and no butter in these cookies (don’t worry, we’re using the dairy free counterparts!), and yet these vegan brownie cookies are perfectly chewy, soft, robust in chocolate flavor, and have that drool-worthy shiny paper-thin crinkly top with crisp edges. 

vegan brownie cookies on parchment paper

Like the perfect corner brownie, but in cookie form. I’d put them in my top 3 favorite cookie recipes, including my vegan chocolate chip cookies and vegan double chocolate cookies.

And not only are these brownie cookies seriously rich in chocolatey flavor, but they’re actually SO easy to make (you don’t even need to sift the dry ingredients into a separate bowl- everything goes into one bowl!).

You’re just going to love these easy vegan brownie cookies- let’s make them!

Ingredients and Substitutions:

  • Vegan butter: For my new dairy free and vegan bakers, this might come as a shock. But the vegan butter these days is REALLY good. I like to use Miyoko’s unsalted butter (it’s dairy free and vegan, and cashew based). You can also use Plant Crock (Country Crock)- they’re great as well!
  • Vegan chocolate: A high quality brand is key, as chocolate makes up the bulk of this brownie cookie recipe. I recommend Endangered Species, Valrhona, Rawmio, or Pascha Chocolate- any of these brands have great vegan chocolate options. Enjoy Life also has great vegan semisweet chocolate chips. Any dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate will work here. Vegan milk chocolate might be too sweet for this recipe.
  • Dutch process cocoa: This is super important for the fudgy texture of these brownies. I love Rawmio chocolate, but their cacao powder is not the best for baking. The cookies turned up more red in color than deep brown, and the texture was more cakey (cacao powder has more acid, reacting with the baking powder). I recommend a high quality Dutch process cocoa powder, like Ghiradelli or Valrhona.
  • Aquafaba: If you’re new to vegan baking, aquafaba is essentially chickpea brine, or the liquid in your chickpea jar or can. It’s completely edible and a great substitute for egg whites in baking. Just check out my Top 10 Vegan Egg Substitutes for Baking here! If you can’t have legumes, you can also use soy milk or oat milk without much change. I’m still able to create that paper thin crackly top!
  • Dairy free yogurt: Just a tablespoon, which essentially replaces the egg yolks in a typical brownie cookie recipe. Combined with the aquafaba, we’re replacing standard large eggs in traditional baking.
  • Light brown sugar & sugar: These fudgy brownie cookies are SUPER rich, thanks to using a higher amount of brown sugar to regular granulated sugar. You can also swap in coconut sugar entirely in this recipe if you want a refined sugar free cookie.
  • Flour: I just use all-purpose flour here, but have tested gluten-free and it works! See my notes below for how to swap in the flour (because gluten free flours, like almond flour or coconut flour will NOT work here).
  • Sea salt: A little salt in the dough along with a flaky sea salt on top is just PERFECT.
stacked vegan brownie cookies

Step-by-Step How to Make Vegan Brownie Cookies:

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

fudge sauce in a bowl
First we’ll start with the fudge sauce. Simply heat the vegan butter and chocolate together, then stir in the cocoa powder. Now set this aside, and we’ll make the base batter.
mixing the aquafba with the sugar in a bowl
In a large bowl, mix the sugars with the aquafaba until dissolved. This will take about 5 minutes. You don’t want to feel any sugar granules, as this is what makes the crinkly top. Then add in the yogurt, sea salt, espresso powder, and baking powder.
making the vegan brownie batter
Pour in the fudge sauce, then mix again until completely combined.
finished brownie batter in a bowl
Add in the flour, and mix until JUST combined, then fold in the chocolate chips.
scooping the brownie cookie dough with a cookie scoop
Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes, then scoop the dough onto your prepared baking pans.
baked vegan brownie cookies
Space the cookies about 2 inches apart, and bake for just 12-14 minutes. Then sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy!

This is the biggest question with any cookie recipe is if you need to chill the dough. Some of my cookies, like my vegan chocolate chip cookies and vegan double chocolate chip cookies, you really don’t need to chill the dough (yes, even if it’s a wet dough!).

For these brownie cookies, however, I do recommend chilling the cookie dough. As there’s not that much flour in the cookie dough, the dough is much more like a brownie batter. 

Therefore, chilling the dough will help these cookies keep their shape better in the oven as they bake.

If you’re making cookies for a cookie exchange or as a homemade gift, I totally get the overwhelm of dealing with a bunch of different baking instructions for various cookies. 

You can check out my cookie guide here. I go over how to plan out a cookie box with different cookie recipes to share at an exchange or send as a gift!

Additional stir-ins:

Want to jazz up your brownie cookies? Here are some of my favorite flavors to add into your cookie dough:

broken open brownie cookie

Can I make these brownie cookies gluten free?

Absolutely! Just like my fudgy vegan brownies, these brownie cookies bake WONDERFULLY with gluten-free flour.

I specifically test with King Arthur Measure-for-Measure gluten free flour, and it’s lovely. The texture is so chewy and fudgy, you’d truly never know that these vegan brownie cookies were also gluten-free if that’s how you’re baking.

brownie cookies broken open

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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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vegan brownie cookies on parchment paper

Easy Eggless Brownie Cookies (Dairy Free + Vegan!)

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  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Chilling Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 13
  • Total Time: 53 minutes
  • Yield: 18 1x
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

This super fudgy brownie cookies are chewy and thick with that perfect paper-thin crinkle top and crisp edges- all without eggs and dairy free! You won’t be able to resist!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 tbsp (70 g) unsalted vegan butter
  •  1 1/2 cups (339 g) vegan chocolate chips, divided
  • 1/4 cup (25 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
  •  1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
  •  1/3 cup (80 mL) aquafaba or soy milk, room temperature
  •  1 tbsp dairy free yogurt
  • 1/2 tsp espresso powder, optional*
  •  ¼ tsp sea salt
  •  ½ tsp baking powder
  •  1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour

Instructions

  1. Prep: Measure out all ingredients.
  2. Make the fudge sauce: In a microwave safe bowl, heat the vegan butter until hot and melted (I do about 1 minute for my microwave). Add in 1 cup of chocolate chips, and let sit for 1 minute to melt. Then stir until the chocolate chips are completely melted. Then add in the cocoa powder, and whisk until completely integrated into the melted chocolate. Set aside.
  3. Dissolve the sugar into the aquafaba: In a large bowl, add the light brown sugar, sugar, and aquafaba to a bowl. Use a hand mixer and mix the sugars into the aquafaba until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. You don’t want to feel any sugar granules when you pinch the liquid to test if the sugar is dissolved.
  4. Mix in the remaining wet ingredients: Once dissolved, add in the dairy free yogurt, espresso powder, sea salt and baking powder, and mix on medium speed until combined. Then pour in the chocolate fudge sauce into the wet ingredients, and mix until the fudge sauce is completely combined.
  5. Add in the flour: Pour in the flour, and use the hand mixer again to mix on low speed JUST until the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients.
  6. Fold in the chocolate chips: Add in the remaining chocolate chips, and use a spatula to fold the cookie dough.
  7. Chill: Cover the cookie dough and place the bowl into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. While the cookie dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  8. Scoop the cookie dough: Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) to scoop the dough into round balls, spacing them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Roll each cookie dough ball in between your palms to smooth the dough ball into a round cookie.
  9. Bake: Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are set. Once baked, remove them from the oven, and use a large round cookie cutter or a spoon to scoot any edges to be more round.
  10. Serve and enjoy! Sprinkle on some sea salt, and serve immediately warm or store for later for a cookie exchange! Enjoy!

Notes

Espresso powder: This is optional, but will help enhance the chocolatey flavor! You can also use decaf espresso powder to avoid the extra caffeine.

Flour: For gluten-free, I recommend using King Arthur Measure-for-Measure gluten free baking flour. It’s a wonderful blend, and makes these cookies so perfectly chewy and fudgy in texture, you’d never know they were gluten free!