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I finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and turn my favorite brownie recipe into cookies. But, hold up. Let’s kick it up a notch with some awesome rye flour. Behold. I give you Rye Brownie Cookies!

These cookies have a dappled, crackly, flaky, perfect brownie top that hides the fudgiest brownie of a cookie inside. And the best part? You’re getting a little bit of whole grain rye in each bite. But why rye?

stack of rye cookies on a wire rack with a cup of chocolate chips

Before we get into that, let’s talk about how you make brownies into cookies. How does that even work? Won’t they spread a whole lot? How do you get that great brownie crust on a little cookie? Let’s get started!

Brownies vs. Cookies

First off, let’s talk about the dynamic of turning brownie batter into a cookie. It’s actually very simple, and you’ll be ready to test this theory out with every brownie recipe you have. Heck, you might even want to try it with a box mix!

Brownie batter, unlike cookie dough, is spreadable and kind of thin. This allows for the batter to fill a cake pan corner-to-corner. Another difference is that you usually don’t add baking soda to brownies. What little lift you get comes from beaten eggs, but mostly you want them to stay fudgy and dense.

So, how then, do you turn a thin batter without leavener into cookie dough? This is actually pretty simple. You refrigerate it! That’s it. That’s the secret. Crazy, right?

How to Prevent Spreading Brownie Cookies

Refrigerating your brownie batter is not only the secret to turning batter into cookie dough, it’s also the secret to preventing spread-out cookies.

How does this work? Well, you’ve got melted butter in there. So, when you refrigerate it just long enough, it solidifies without getting hard. This is key.

You want the butter to get just cold enough that the batter itself holds its shape when scooped. If it’s too cold, it’s hard to scoop, but it also won’t spread enough. There’s a balance to be struck.

The other key is using a scoop. For the sake of quality control and ease of distribution, I highly recommend scooping the dough. This prevents over or under packed dough.

Under packed dough is going to have a lot of air pockets that will collapse and lead to weird cookies. Over packed dough (that’s cold) won’t spread as well.

rye brownie cookie leaning on a cup of chocolate chips

The Secret to a Great Brownie Crust

So, now you know that you need to chill your batter to get it dough-like, and you need to use a scoop to get perfect portions for every rye brownie cookie. But, how do you get that all-important, iconic, class brownie crust?

Let’s talk about eggs! The secret to wispy, crispy, classic brownie crust is how well you beat your eggs. Remember, we’re not using baking soda? Well, that’s because we’re beating the eggs until they are thick, pale, and the whisk leaves trails in it. This is referred to as the “ribbon stage.”

You’ll beat together the eggs and sugar until they nearly triple in volume. This is our leavener, of course. BUT it’s also the secret to that gorgeous crust.

Similar to how a meringue bakes up with a stunningly crisp crust, well beaten whole eggs in brownies bake up with a crackly top.

Why You Should Bake with Rye Flour

So, now to the true secret ingredient to my favorite version of brownie cookies: rye flour. I bet you’re wondering why in the world you’d use a whole grain flour in brownies. Let me tell you.

Have you ever tried to knead a high-hydration rye bread dough by hand? It takes absolutely FOREVER to build a gluten network. AHA! Do you see where I’m going?

When you bake with rye, it doesn’t want to get glutenous like all purpose flour does. While there’s nothing wrong with that, you may notice that some brownies leave a gluey, sticky feeling in your mouth. Maybe you like that; maybe you don’t.

With rye flour, you eliminate that. Instead of a gluey, thick, heavy, texture, you are greeted by a gentle, moist crumb. It’s still dense and fudgy, but it also melts in your mouth. It’s subtly delicate, and that, in my opinion, is a perfect textural compliment to that crackly crust we worked hard to achieve.

rye brownie cookie broken in half with chocolate chips

Does the Rye Flavor Shine Through?

In all honesty, you may not be able to taste the rye through the chocolate. That is especially true if you’re using high quality chocolate. Really, the point of it is that reduced gluten structure more than its flavor.

Yes, I did try adding another quarter cup of rye flour to see if I could get that flavor through, but you know what? All it did was mess up the perfect texture and prevent them from spreading at all. I don’t recommend that.

So, I hope that’s not disappointing, but no, you probably aren’t going to taste the rye flour like you would in a good deli sandwich bread. But, for me, that wasn’t a deal-breaker. Again, it’s so much about the texture that rye flour helps create. These are so perfect and lovely.

The Tools You’ll Need for Rye Brownie Cookies

So, now you’re ready to make your rye brownie cookies. Here are the tools you’ll need. I recommend what I personally use because I know these products are solid. However, I also want you to use tools you love.

And that, my dear readers, is everything you need to know to get started on your new baking endeavor: Rye Brownie Cookies. Enjoy!

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