The possibilities are endless with your favorite brownie flavors in an easy to work with gluten free cookie cut-out dough!
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Friday nights, little girls, Valentine’s Day excitement…and chocolate!
It’s just a match made in heaven right?! I decided to start working on this little brownie cookie concept the week before we had a house full of girls over to play after school, and the timing was just perfect! You just can’t do Valentine’s Day with a gaggle of girls without chocolate, and these cookies were just so fun!
A cookie dough you actually want to work with!
I’m all about fuss-free when it comes to sweet treat baking. I know it can be fun to get all fancy with 100 different steps and a really cool finish, but most of the time, I prefer an easy to deal with dessert, and this cookie dough is so lovely. You can knead it and roll it out multiple times without getting dense or crumbly, and the cut-outs don’t break. Just 8 ingredients is definitely my kind of recipe too!
The perfect texture!
Ok, so I know people can be really (really!) funny about their brownie textures! There’s those cake texture people, fudgy texture, and there’s just something about that brownie “chew!” These cookies are definitely more of a “cookie” feel, but you can tailor your finish the way you like! Less cook time and they will be nice and soft – it still feels like a cookie, but if you like a cake-like brownie, this one is for you. And if you go a bit longer on the cook time, you will get this amazing light crisp to the outside with a great “chew” to the inside. SO good!
Fun topping ideas!
Because it’s Valentine’s day right?! While the cookies are seriously amazing and perfect as is, you could certainly give the tops a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Just put some powdered sugar in a sift, and dust the tops. You could also make an icing if you prefer. Leave it plain white, or you can see how we dyed these great Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies with naturally dyed pink frosting here.
Freezer friendly!
YES these have been freezing great, dear momma! You know what that means? Oh yes…make that second batch while you have the kitchen counter a mess, and freeze that extra set just for your afternoon coffee 😉 They are super yummy right out of the freezer. It also means you can make these up way ahead of time and be ready for that Valentine’s Day school party!
Cookie Cutter options!
We typically use a medium sized heart cut-out for my aged girls. I have this set of heart cut-outs, and you can even make the cookies “sandwich” style by cutting out smaller ones inside the bigger ones to make them like “Linzer” style cookies with frosting in the middle. When my girls were smaller, more toddler ages, I had these fantastic small cookie cutters. That way they still feel like they are getting a WHOLE cookie, or even 2, versus you cuttting a big one in half, and they are smaller so they aren’t getting a portion that isn’t appropriate for their size. The smaller cutters are also perfect for classroom parties where there are going to be multiple treats and the kids don’t need a huge cookie.
Swaps and tips
- I am pretty sure organic palm shortening will swap for the butter if you are dairy free
- I have a feeling coconut sugar will swap for the organic cane sugar if you want to try keeping the glycemic index lower. Coconut sugar will darken the cookie a bit more, and will change the flavor a bit – coconut sugar has a warmer, molasses flavor. I would not lower the sugar amount anymore than it is, or the texture will be off. These are cookies, after all, and it is a once a year treat. The recipe makes at least 2 dozen cookies so it’s pretty spread out – and you can always make them smaller for your little guys! See the above section for ideas on how to make that happen.
- I’m sure other GF flour blends will swap for the Namaste. I am not sure how to swap a whole wheat or Einkorn as we cannot have gluten. If you give that a try, let us know in the comments how you swapped for it, so others who can have gluten can know how to do it!
Valentine’s Day Brownie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened (I think organic palm shortening would work here if you are dairy free)
- 1 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup Namaste GF Flour Blend
- 2/3 cup raw cacao powder
- ½ tsp aluminum free baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer, and then add the eggs and vanilla. Blend until creamy and well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, and blend to combine the dough. Scrape the bowl down, turn the dough out and form into a disk. Wrap the dough or cover it in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
- When you are ready to cut out your cookies, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Toss some of the GF flour blend onto a clean surface, and roll out your dough – just like sugar cookies, only I made mine just slightly thicker – you can see in the pictures above. Put the cut-out cookies onto a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, depending on how thick you made your cookies, and how you want the texture to be. I’ve done about 6 batches with varying times – if you go lower time, they will be softer but still hold together well like a cookie, and if you go a little longer, they will be slightly crisp/firmer on the outside with some “chew” to the brownie inside – they are still soft this way, but it is a different feel. The cookies do firm up once they cool a bit. Cool on the tray for a couple minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool. You can leave the cookies as is, dust powdered sugar over the top, or frost with icing when they are cooled completely.
These sound amazing! I’m so with you on simple — love the short ingredient list!
My kids would love these! They look perfect. 🙂
These are simply beautiful cookies!
These are amazing!! I’m not sure I wouldn’t be able to eat all of them LOL (or at least eat some and freezer the rest of them for later. Such an awesome recipe and so easy too!
My kids would devour these! It would be a fun project to make together!!
Ok yum! I need to make these with my GF 3 year old.
These are so cute! Can’t wait to make these for Valentine’s Day.
Love these!! My kids always go crazy for cut out cookies, and chocolate makes everything better!
Friday night + chocolate? I’m in!
Omg I ned to make these ASAP! So easy cute and chocolatey!!
I also like to make things that don’t require much fuss. The heart shape makes these special, and what more embellishment does a chocolate cookie need anyway?
I can not imagine a better Valentine’s day baking project with my littles. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Thank you for all the details. I definitely like mine crispy with the cookie feel! Freezing is a good idea, I need to try it.
Renee, these look so special! They’re just lovely, and I bet that texture is supreme! MMM!!! 😉 What a fun thing to make with my kids!
I love brownies and cookies and you had me not only at these wonderful flavors but also the cut heart shape!
Simple and perfect!
Perfectly wonderful idea!! Love it all! Bet that these are TASTY!
These are super adorable for Valentine’s day! The model is adorable too!
What a fun idea!! They look so yummy.
These are fantastic, and as always I just love the photos including your girls!
These look so fun and tasty! I love getting kids involved in Valentines fun too!
These are so cute! And I just love the pics with the little hands holding the hearts. They look delicious too!
These look great! Do you think Bob’s red mill 1-1 flour would work as well?
Hi Mira! Someone on my FB post last week commented that they used the Bobs 1-1 and it worked but they needed to add a bit more flour 🙂
thanks for sharing your post with us it is very helpful for us
Do you think the consistency of these cookies would work if you make an ice cream sandwich with them?
These taste great straight from the freezer. It’s nice to have these on hand for my gluten free child. Easy to enjoy right out of the freezer
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Jenalee!
I just made these with regular wheat flour and they turned out perfectly! So cute and delicious!
So glad to hear that – thanks for the tip! I’m glad you enjoyed them!