Brownie Cookies (Dairy Free)
Rich chocolatey brownie cookies made with oil (no butter!). Crispy edges and a thick chewy center. This easy recipe comes together in one bowl and only requires a quick 15 minute rest.
Originally, I was thinking let’s do a chocolate version of these chewy olive oil cookies. But after a first try with olive oil I found the oil took prominence in the flavor over the cocoa and I didn’t love it. I switched to avocado oil and ah, they are wonderful even if they’re quite different than my basic olive oil cookies which are flatter and chewier. These are thick and rather than crinkles they have ‘cracks’. The chocolate/cocoa flavor comes through nicely, and you get this wonderful brownie-like cookie with crispy edges but a thick center.
That said – if you are a big fan of chocolate and a good olive oil flavor combination, go ahead and use that. If not, opt for something flavorless.
Recipe Ingredients
Oil: I like avocado here because it’s buttery (without the dairy!) and doesn’t impart a ton of ‘oil’ flavor (I use the “Chosen” brand). You can use another oil if you prefer, I’d go for something flavorless like grapeseed.
Sugar: Light brown sugar and a bit of granulated. You can leave out the granulated but the cookies won’t spread as well.
Cocoa: Dutch process. This will give the best ‘chocolate’ flavor! Other cocoas can also mess with the chemistry of the cookie and will lead to more or less spreading (black = more spread, natural = less spread).
Cornstarch: or tapioca starch if you have it. I use this to help the cookie dough bind better since oil has more water in it than butter.
Egg: Just one egg. Set it in a bowl of warm water to come to room temperature so it’s easier to incorporate.
Flour: All purpose flour. I use KAF which has a protein content of 11.7%, a lower protein will likely lead to more spread.
Flavorings: Vanilla and fine sea salt. Fine salt will dissolve better into your batter. Vanilla can be pure extract or a vanilla bean extract. If you’re using table salt, halve the amount or the cookies will be overly ‘salty’.
Leavenings: Both baking powder and baking soda. The former helps the cookies rise up and puff, the latter helps them spread and crack.
Chocolate chips: This is optional! I did like it but I’m a chocoholic on a regular day. I’d add up to ¾ cup chocolate chips or a chopped up chocolate bar but you can add more if you like! Bear in mind, more chocolate = more spread (as the chocolate melts it pushes the dough out, this only applies to chocolate chunks not chips which are designed to not melt).
Flaky sea salt: Optional, adds a lovely flavor to the top of the cookies. Put it on right before baking!
How to make brownie cookies, without butter
Mix the oil and sugars together. The sugar won’t melt and you can’t beat any air into this but just whisk it until it’s combined.
Add the flavorings and whisk.
Add the egg and whisk well (egg should be at room temperature so it incorporates easily).
Sift in the cocoa (if it’s lumpy) and whisk well.
Add the remaining dry ingredients and stir: this is when I’ll switch to a rubber spatula (or the dough will get stuck in the whisk). Stop mixing as soon as the flour is mixed in.
If you’d like, add chocolate chips or chunks now
Cover the dough with a bowl cover or plastic wrap and set aside for a bit while the oven preheats
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (I grease mine first so the parchment doesn’t slide around)
Portion the cookies: I use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop. Leave enough space for them to spread just a bit.
If you want, sprinkle on some flaky sea salt now
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until they dome and crack.
Make ahead & storage info
If you would like to make the brownie cookies and not immediately bake them, make the dough and portion the cookies onto a parchment lined pan or plate. Set them in the freezer until they are solid then transfer to an airtight container. These might stick together so you may want to separate them in the container or set some parchment paper between the cookies.
When you are ready to bake, set the cookies on a parchment lined baking tray. Let the cookie dough come to a cool room temperature then bake as directed.
To store after baking: keep them in an airtight container for overnight storage. They’ll be good for a few days. If you’d like to keep them longer, freeze them.
Can I make bigger brownie cookies?
You can! Bake them a bit longer, probably 12-15 minutes depending on the size.
Dairy Free Brownie Cookies Recipe
Brownie Cookies (no butter, dairy free)
Ingredients
- 100 g or ½ cup avocado oil or something flavorless, olive oil works too if you like the flavor with chocolate
- 155 g or ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fine granulated sugar
- 50 g or ½ cup dutch process cocoa
- 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 125 g or 1 cup all purpose flour
Method
- Set the olive oil in a large bowl, add the sugars and whisk the mixture very well, for a full minute.
- Add the vanilla and sea salt and whisk to combine.
- Add the egg and whisk vigorously for a full minute.
- Add the cocoa (if it’s lumpy, sift it in) and whisk to combine. Add the cornstarch, flour, baking powder and soda and stir to combine.
- Optional: stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (no more than ¾ cup).
- Let the dough rest on the counter, covered, for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a 1.5 scoop to portion the dough, leaving about a 1 inch border around the dough so the cookies won’t stick together.
- Optional: sprinkle with flaky sea salt before baking.
- Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies are done when they have puffed up and cracked all over.
- Once cool, remove from the pan. For overnight storage: store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Did you make this recipe?
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I can’t have dairy right now since my breastfed baby is sensitive to dairy, and these cookies hit the spot perfectly!! I subbed avocado oil for the olive oil and added DF chocolate chips and they are so good! I think I’ve made them 4-5 times in the last month, and my husband loves them too!
sooo yummy and so tasty, turned out crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. probably the best recipe i’ve tried
Absolutely would make again these are so delish
So yummy – chewy and chocolatey- did not add chocolate chips to ensure they were totally dairy free. Turned out exactly as photo. A definite keeper!
I’m excited to try these cookies after reading most of the comments. I would like to know if I can substitute all purpose flour with gluten free flour. Thank you. Cannot wait to try it☺️
Hi Maya, I think it will work with a 1 to 1 gluten free flour swap.
have made this a couple of times and it’s just sooo goood!
I followed everything to a T except I used veggie oil and these cookies didn’t spread out in the oven 🙁
fabulous !
Oh my god thank you!!!
This is such an easy recipe – and it tastes so fudgey .. absolutely delicious
you are so welcome Holly!!
This this the best chocolate cookie recipe I have ever tried. Soft and flavorful. And the only homemade cookie my picky daughter will eat! Thanks for sharing
aw wow, i’m so happy to hear it beatrice!
I come back to this recipe over and over again! I’m obsessed with these cookies and so is my boyfriend. Highly recommend adding chocolate chips.
Delicious!!
Can you use almond flour instead of regular flour?
Not for this recipe, almond flour is simply ground nuts and has not gluten in it so the cookie dough won’t properly bind together without making other adjustments.
I was going to make this but I don’t understand the third ingredient, 2 tablespoons granulated what?!
sugar! fixed 😀
My cookies came out very dry and slightly bitter. Any idea what would have caused this?
I’ve tried these with both coconut and rapeseed oil respectively and they’ve been delicious! I also stuffed mine with roasted peanut butter and dark chocolate, the dough held together really well and nothing melted out. The flavour is spot on (I’m usually a little heavy handed with the vanilla and salt) and the texture was exactly what I was looking for. So quick and easy to make, these have become my go-to recipe. Our household goes through soooo much butter so I wanted a cheaper alternative and these do just that!
Excellent recipe which turned out beautifully. Detailed instructions and So tasty! The only change I made was adding chopped pecans instead of chocolate chips to keep it fully dairy- free.
Thank you so much! Over and over again!
Hi, again, Sam. Thanks for the reply about the coconut. Just one more question: I use a rounded half cup of chips already in the batter, so how much unsweetened shredded coconut should I add so that it doesn’t overwhelm the rest? 1/4 c.? 1/2 c.? BTW, we all LOVE this recipe!
Hi Jane, hmm I might start with a third of a cup, see the distribution in the batter, and add more as needed. Since it’s not something I’ve tried I can’t say with certainty how much you’ll need (and likely it will be something you measure by how much you want in each cookie).
Oh dear. I just saw that my question asked about unsweetened shredded chocolate and I meant coconut! Now it might be easier for you to answer??? My bad. I’m sorry.
Hi Jane! I knew you meant coconut! I have just had a busy few days and haven’t been able to respond to comments. But yes, I think you can add it and it should be fine and pretty tasty.
These are great! My dairy-free DIL loved them as did my son! Question: if I use 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips, can I also add unsweetened shredded chocolate? They would taste like a Mounds bar! If that is the case, how much should I add because I don’t want it to overwhelm with too much “stuff” and spoil that decadent chocolate taste!
OH. MY. GOODNESS. These cookies were SO easy to make and came out perfectly!!!! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves chocolate! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, Sam. My life will never truly be the same again (in a good way!). God bless you!!
Ah, you are SO welcome!! I’m so happy you liked them so much =)
These are INCREDIBLE! I can’t have butter anymore, and now I DON’T CARE! These are all this chocoholic needs.
I was hungry for something sweet tonight. I was out of butter so I got on FB and saw this recipe for Brownie Cookies. I went to the kitchen and used this recipe. It came out so delicious, and was so simple to do. The only thing I did different was add Reese’s peanut chips instead of chocolate. They made them delicious. Thanks for having this recipe on here to share with us. I’m saving this site to try other recipes.
have made these twice now and they came out great with times! immediately devoured by my family. I added white chocolate chips
so they are scrumptious like I mentioned however I did find myself fighting a crumbly dough with minor oil separations and choc chips. Does anyone know a way to make sure everything stays together when trying to roll the balls? Oil also separates from the dough in the fridge a bit. Or is that just the nature of using oil in a chocolate cookie recipe? It all bakes up relatively fine but definitely doesnt come together like a butter dough.
Hi Ayla, I’m wondering if the mix wasn’t ‘vigorously’ as I like to say, whisked. This is an important step, especially once the egg is added, so that the emulsion happens between the oil and the egg. With this particular dough, I don’t find it visibly different from a butter-based dough if it is correctly mixed.
These are scrumptious and alsoooo do yourself a favor and add some peppermint chips if you have access or cut up some andies choc mints. 🙂
Just made these, very easy recipe and taste delicious. I added approx 1/2cup chopped dark chocolate. I also subbed out the flour & cornstarch for a GF flour blend. My scoop is a 2 Tablespoon one, so I got 12 cookies from the mix and baked for an extra 2 mins. Will make again.
I tried many dairy free recipes and this is the best!
Great, simple recipe and they taste like brownies
We were out of butter and these saved the day! The perfect texture and absolutely delicious, will be making again!
These were delicious!! can you make and freeze them?
I suppose so, once baked just store them in an airtight container, they should keep for a month at least.
Very yummy and easy to make. Definitely recommend adding the chocolate chips and flaky sea salt, adds an extra layer of delicious to it.
very good for no butter! very happy with the results!
Came out perfect! I used canola oil and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Definitely gonna save this to make again 🙂
Man, these turned out way better than expected. The batter was foul tasting but once baked totally passable (using olive oil). Very easy to make and will definitely make again
There is no oven temperature listed?
350 F, it’s in step 6
Made these for my dairy-free son and they came out great! Delicious and fudgy. Subbed regular/natural cocoa; gluten free flour (for flour and cornstarch); omitted the 2T granulated sugar; and used 1/2 C 72% choc chips. I also made the cookies bite-sized by using a 1 in melon-baller. The recipe made 40 cookies this way. I cut baking time down to 8 min for the smaller cookies which was perfect. Definitely going into my “make often” recipe file – perfect small accompaniment to ice cream or sorbet for dessert.
Will Canola oil work for this recipe?
It would!
These cookies are delicious! Really fudgy. I added 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks. Thanks for the recipe!
I do love the chunks in there too, thank you for the review Ana!
Dairy Free means No Dairy. Eggs are dairy.
Dairy free means no milk products (cow, sheep, goat). Eggs don’t have milk.
How long should you bake this if you want a cookie cake,
I don’t see where you add the flour in the directions. I’m assuming you add it at the end with the soda, powder and corn starch. Yes? Also, I used a hand mixer which I think was a wise choice.
I want to try this recipe but am concerned about the amount of flour. Generally one cup of flour weighs around 125 grams but the alternative measurement is 2 cups. Is 125 grams correct?
oop, a typo! It is one cup = 125g =)