vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free
We’ve done it again! We took our Vegan Soft Brownie Cookie and made it even richer by adding silky vegan dark chocolate instead of cocoa powder. With brownies, I say the darker the better!
These Vegan Fudge Brownie Cookies are the ultimate chocolate lover’s dream with velvety vegan dark chocolate and espresso.
If you like chewy brownies like us, then this recipe is for you!
You’ll love the soft and chewy center ….and they are so easy to make!
These cookies take less time than making regular brownies and taste just as good as your favorite brownies. Why make brownies when you can make brownie cookies?!
Ingredients for the Vegan Fudge Brownie Cookies:
Dark chocolate – Of course, it wouldn’t be a brownie cookie without chocolate! Dark chocolate is best for its rich, velvety texture. I prefer to use Chocolove vegan dark chocolate bars because they tend to be silkier and this adds to the texture of the cookie. If you are short on time, you can always choose Enjoy Life vegan dark chocolate chips.
Cocoa Powder – Rodelle baking cocoa is our favorite cocoa to use when baking. It has a great taste and comes in a 25 oz. bag, so you won’t run out any time soon.
Espresso – I like a rich chocolate taste and espresso is great for adding an even richer flavor. My husband likes the Illy Classico espresso powder best but go ahead and pick your favorite espresso to use.
Vegan Margarine – I’ve always been a fan of Earth Balance and use this vegan margarine in all my recipes. Any vegan margarine works here so go ahead and substitute your favorite here.
Applesauce – We like to use unsweetened applesauce in our cookie recipes as an egg replacement and because it adds moisture.
Chocolate Chips – This is optional but why would you skip it?! The more chocolate the better. You can use the Enjoy Life brand of dark chocolate chips here as well or add their mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for additional flavor.
Mixing – You don’t need a stand or hand mixer for this recipe, but you will need a saucepan and two bowls. It’s more clean up but it’s worth it!
Chilling – We chose not to chill our cookies to make them softer. The softer the better! Place the dough on two cookie sheets and put them both in the oven. Rotate them for a more even bake.
Sprinkle – Adding flaky sea salt is optional and sprinkled on the cookies at the end of the bake. You can skip this if you are not a salty-sweet person.
Making These Cookies
Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside while you are making the batter.
You will not be using a mixer for this recipe so no need to lug out that heavy mixer. Instead, we will be using two bowls and a small saucepan.
Fill a large bowl with the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, espresso, baking powder and sea salt. Mix and set aside until ready to use.
Some recipes use milk or heavy cream in their recipes. In place of the dairy, we are adding applesauce to help with the binding and adding liquid to the cookies.
The next step is the fun step! Place a small saucepan on the stove and add chopped dairy-free dark chocolate or chocolate chips into the pan. Add the dairy-free margarine to the dark chocolate and melt. Stir frequently to mix and make it creamy. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly. You don’t want it to cool completely.
While it is cooling, quickly combine the sugars and applesauce to a medium bowl. Immediately add melted chocolate mixture to this bowl and mix until it is combined. Then add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until it is combined.
These cookies are better if they are placed in the oven immediately after mixing all ingredients together. Don’t let them sit—Bake Immediately! Scoop them out onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake both pans in the oven. Switch after 10 minutes and continue for another 5-6 minutes.
Use a large cookie scoop to create the larger cookies. You can still use a regular-sized cookie scoop if you like your cookies smaller.
But sometimes you just like a BIG cookie!
I mean, who doesn’t like extra cookies?
More Popular Recipes
If you can’t live without cookies, here are some of our most popular cookie recipes.
Vegan Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Blood Orange and Cardamon Cookies
If you love EVERYTHING chocolate, here are some of our favorite chocolate recipes.
Vegan Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffins
Vegan Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Vegan Dark Chocolate Brownie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 c all-purpose flour (or 1:1 gluten free flour)
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ⅔ c applesauce
- ½ c granulated sugar
- ¼ c light brown sugar
- 4 tbsp vegan margarine
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 c vegan dark chocolate bar, chopped or vegan dark chocolate chips
- ⅓ c vegan chocolate chips (optional)
- flaked sea salt (optional topping)
Instructions
- Preheat over to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment.
- In a large bowl, add in the flour, cocoa powder, espresso, baking powder and sea salt. Mix and set aside until ready to use.
- Chop the vegan dark chocolate bar into bite sized pieces and place into saucepan or place vegan dark chocolate chips directly into the pan. Add the vegan margarine and melt together on medium heat until smooth. Stir often. Add the vanilla and remove from heat.
- While the melted chocolate is cooling, in another medium sized bowl, stir together both sugars and applesauce. Immediately add the melted chocolate mixture and combined until blended.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture in to the dry ingredients and blend until just mixed. Fold in the dairy-free chocolate chips (optional).
- Use a large cookie scoop for large cookies or a regular scoop for medium-sized cookies and quickly scoop on to prepared cookie sheets. Do not let dough firm up.
- Place in the oven and bake cookies for 10 minutes and then rotate and cook another 5-6 minutes. Remove and let cool on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
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