These Copycat Cosmic Brownie Cookies are seriously the BEST ever and easily one of the best cookies I’ve tasted – period! Soft and chewy with crisp outer edges and addictive crackly tops, then coated in a rich ganache frosting and sprinkled with candy-coated chocolate sprinkles mimicked after the childhood favorite cosmic brownies. You don’t want to miss this recipe!
So I know this was candy week buttttt, I could not wait to post these. They are out of this world. You could say they are… cosmic. I’ll let myself out.
No, but seriously, these cookies are insanely good. If you grew up eating Little Debbie cosmic brownies like I did, you’re going to want to make these. Even if you didn’t grow up eating cosmic brownies, you’re going to want to make these. They are seriously one of the best cookies I’ve ever had – full stop.
I think we can all collectively agree one of the best parts of a fudgy brownie is the crackly top. I love the addictive crispiness and crackly sugared crunch it gives when you bite into it, yielding to a soft and chewy fudge brownie underneath. These cookies have that SAME element and it is so irresistible and to-die for.
The Cookies
These cookies have your standard ingredients in them, with a key ingredient that sounds random, but gives them a chewy texture:
- Unsalted butter
- Milk Chocolate Chips
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Eggs
- Light corn syrup, for that undeniable chewy brownie texture!
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
The cookie dough is very wet and almost batter-like, similar to a brownie batter. Don’t fret! You’re still going to scoop it with a cookie dough scoop, but we’re just going to space the cookie dough mounds further apart due to spreading and due to the batter being looser than a standard cookie dough. Here’s a photo of what the batter looks like scooped onto the baking sheets:
The Topping
Cosmic brownies have a delicious chocolate ganache frosting and those signature candy-coated chocolate pieces on top, so these do, too! The ganache is simply milk chocolate chips melted with some heavy cream and whisked into luscious, smooth perfection. You can find the candy-coated chocolate pieces at Jo-Ann craft store, some Hobby Lobby’s, and on Amazon. (Linked with an affiliate link). They’re by Wilton brand or Baker’s Square. In a pinch, rainbow sprinkles or miniature M&M’s candies can be used, too.
The result? Supremely chocolaty cookies with a soft and chewy fudge brownie texture, a crispy outer edge and crackly crust, a rich ganache topping and addictive crunchy candy sprinkle. These Copycat Cosmic Brownie Cookies cannot be beat!
The Best Copycat Cosmic Brownie Cookies
These Copycat Cosmic Brownie Cookies are like Crumbl Cookies but BETTER. Super fudgy like a brownie but soft and chewy with crisp outer edges and an addictive crackly top, finished off with an insanely rich chocolate ganache topping and candy-coated chocolate sprinkles. Like the Cosmic Brownies of our childhood but SO MUCH BETTER!!
Servings: 20 cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder I used Dutch process, but unsweetened works
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup +2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Topping:
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup candy-coated chocolate sprinkles like by Wilton brand, can substitute mini M&M’s
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, add the butter and milk chocolate chips and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder to combine. Let cool about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla extract with the paddle attachment until frothy and combined, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the melted chocolate mixture to combine. Lastly, add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined. The cookie “dough” will be more like a batter – quite looser than your standard dough. This is normal! If you’re really freaked out about it being so loose, let it stand slightly for about 15 minutes and it should thicken up some more. Otherwise, it’s perfectly fine to start scooping the loose batter right away.
Using a large cookie dough scoop (about 1.5-2 Tablespoon size) drop heaping mounds of batter 3″ apart on the baking sheets. I got about 5 mounds per sheet (2 rows of 2 plus 1 in the middle). It’s important to give them space as this dough is looser and spreads some. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking time to ensure even cooking. Immediately upon pulling them from the oven, take a large biscuit cutter (larger than the cookies) and twirl the biscuit cutter around the cookie to reshape it into a circular shape. Likewise, you can take an offset spatula or butter knife to tuck in the hot edges to reshape. This just makes them look more rounded and even. Cool on the baking sheets about 15 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
For the ganache: In a microwave safe bowl, add the heavy cream and microwave on HIGH power for 45 seconds or until hot. Add the milk chocolate chips to the bowl and stir briefly to coat the chocolate chips with the hot heavy cream. Let stand about 3 minutes, then use a whisk or rubber spatula to stir until melted and smooth.
Using a Tablespoon, drop Tablespoonfuls of the ganache onto each cooled cookie and spread out like a frosting. Top with the candy-coated chocolate sprinkles. Allow ganache to set before storing, or you may serve straight away.
Notes
You can find candy-coated chocolate sprinkles at Jo-Ann craft store, some grocery stores, most places that sell Wilton brand products, and Amazon. In a pinch, miniature M&M’s work great!
These cookies are mind-blowingly delicious, and I know you’ll think so, too!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Disclaimer: this post contains an Amazon affiliate link. If a purchase is made using my link, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for keeping my business alive!
