These are the best ever gluten-free Brookies recipe. Fudgy brownie based topped with a chocolate chip cookie layer and these are made with all gluten-free and dairy-free ingredients.
I first had a “brookie” when I was in college. For those of you scratching your head questioning what that even means, not to worry – it is a name for a brownie and cookie layered bar. Think fudgey brownie bottom layer topped with a chocolate chip cookie. It is a double whammy of straight up dessert heaven.
These rookies are rich, fudgy, delicious and made with all gluten-free and dairy-free ingredients. Not to mention they are also refined sugar free and still taste just as damn good as a classic brookie.
I love how easy these are to make. They blend both of my favorite desserts into one and they’re what to make when you can’t decide between a rich and fudgy brownie recipe and a classic chocolate chip cookie.
These brownie and cookie bars are one of my favorite recipes of all time. And they are one of my first desserts I ever shared here on my website. They’re rich, made with just a few ingredients and they are a crowd pleasure for any occasion. Or for me just a random Wednesday night when I am craving something sweet and decadent tasting like this.
I cannot wait for you guys to try these gluten-free brookies. Even if you aren’t gluten-free, they are still SO good!!
These healthier “brookies” are absolutely life changing. Keep me posted if you make them.
What ingredients are in gluten-free brookies:
- Creamy nut butter or seed butter – needs to be creamy and oily! I love using peanut butter (duh) but really almond butter, tahini, anything creamy works
- Maple syrup – I haven’t tried another sub but honey would work too
- Coconut sugar – or do half cane sugar half brown sugar
- Egg – you can use flax egg if you prefer
- Cacao powder – I haven’t tried with cocoa powder, only cacao powder
- Avocado oil – or melted coconut oil, melted butter or even olive oil
- Almond flour – I haven’t tried another sub. Do not use coconut flour for this!
- Chocolate chips – can be dark chocolate, milk chocolate or semi-sweet
How to make these gluten-free brookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and grease well
- Mix together the nut butter, maple syrup, coconut sugar, egg and vanilla
- Mix in the cacao powder and baking soda until well combined (it will be thick!)
- Add batter to baking dish and spread across
- Begin making cookie layer but wiping out the large bowl from brownie batter and mix together the egg, oil, coconut sugar and vanilla extract
- Mix in the almond flour and baking soda then fold in dark chocolate chips
- Spread cookie dough on top of the brownie layer then bake in oven for 20 minutes or until the top of the chocolate chip cookie layer starts to golden a bit then cover with foil and bake for 5-10 more minutes
- Allow the bars to cool completely then slice and enjoy!
FAQs and tips on making brookie bars:
- Make sure to line and grease the baking dish so the brookies can be removed easily! You don’t want them to stick to the pan.
- Allow the brookies to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the dish. If you prefer to just slice from the baking dish while warm, that’s fine but they my fall apart.
- Feel free to switch up the mix-in’s here! Add chopped walnuts, white chocolate, sprinkles, anything else you are craving.
- I love warming these brookies up in the microwave and serving with a scoop of ice cream for a brownie a la mode type action.
- Please sub at your own risk. I cannot guarantee that these will turn out if you try substituting ingredients that aren’t listed.
- What is a brookie? A brownie base with a chocolate chip cookie layer on top!
A few other delicious gluten-free desserts to try:
5-ingredient Brownie Batter Bark (gluten-free)
The BEST Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies (gluten-free)
The Ultimate Brownie Trifle (gluten-free)
Gluten-free Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie with Caramel
PrintThe BEST Gluten-free Brookies
These are the best ever Brookies recipe. Fudgy brownie based topped with a chocolate chip cookie layer and these are made with all gluten-free and dairy-free ingredients.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
Yield: 9 bars 1x
Ingredients
Brownie Layer:
- 1 cup creamy nut butter or seed butter (needs to be creamy and oily!!)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer:
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup avocado oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and grease well
- Mix together the nut butter, maple syrup, coconut sugar, egg and vanilla
- Mix in the cacao powder and baking soda until well combined (it will be thick!)
- Add batter to baking dish and spread across
- Begin making cookie layer but wiping out the large bowl from brownie batter and mix together the egg, oil, coconut sugar and vanilla extract
- Mix in the almond flour and baking soda then fold in dark chocolate chips
- Spread cookie dough on top of the brownie layer then bake in oven for 20 minutes or until the top of the chocolate chip cookie layer starts to golden a bit then cover with foil and bake for 5-10 more minutes
- Allow the bars to cool completely then slice and enjoy!
Notes
*Store leftovers on container in airtight container or freeze for up to 2 months
Hannah
Hi Rachel, these look amazing! Do you have any idea what weight of choc chips is needed for the recipe? I don’t have access to choc chips so will have to cut up a chocolate bar and am worried that my 3/4 cup will be different to yours! Thank you
tiffani
hi! is the cookie part supposed to be 1 1/3 cup or 1/3 cup of almond flour?
Rachel
1 1/3 how it is listed above 🙂 xx
Doris
How much flour in the brownie layer. None listed above. Just a note if using oat flour substitute.
Rachel
there is no flour…
Alexa
These were soooo fire! Sometimes the recipes I try on this blog, to be honest, don’t come out as well as I hoped, but these brookies were fantastic. I’m definitely going to make them again, and I’ll be making double the cookie dough to compensate for how much I ate before baking it 🙂
Santina
I see the baking powder in both sets of ingredients yet only the cookie layer instructions mention the use of baking powder! Should I still add it to my finished brownie batter?
Rachel
yes!
Jo
Just made the brookies tonight. It was great! My husband (not on vegan/paleo diet) loved it too! Question: would this work with vegan butter instead of tahini and coconut oil?
Rachel
hi jo! happy to hear. i haven’t tried but i wouldn’t sub tahini with butter. *usually* you can sub melted butter for melted coconut oil (just let it cool)
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Nikki
Is there a substitute I could use for the unsweetened apple sauce? Or perhaps a recipe to make my own? Love the look of these and really want to make them but unsweetened applesauce is a difficult ingredient to find in the UK.
Rachel
mashed banana!
Sharon
How did you get the cookie layer to spread evenly over the uncooked brownie layer?
Rachel
it is super thick! so it’ll spread on great 🙂
Tas
Please please please can you add the ingredients in grams also. I’m from the UK and we don’t use cups. There are so many of your recipes I want to try out. Donald Skehan has an tap option for metric or imperial which is so handy for his recipes.
Rachel
hi tas! usually my readers will input my recipes into online calculator 🙂
Adi
My cookie dough batter wasn’t smooth any tips?
Rachel
hmmm add a bit more coconut oil and/or maple syrup! usually increasing the liquid ingredients slightly helps
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Michelle Kin
Is the coconut oil in the cookie layer supposed to be melted too?
Rachel
you, luquid form!
Rachel
yup! liquid form!
Sara
Can I use tapioca flour instead of coconut flour? I currently have tapioca, almond and all purpose flour on hand.
Rachel
aw i don’t think so but maybe just add more almond flour. it won’t be perfect but the amount isn’t crazy so you should be okay!!! and it’ll be tasty 🙂
Crystal
Do you ever have nutritional info for your recipes?
Rachel
i don’t but you can input into online calculator if needed 🙂
Alexandra Sufrin
Also I live in colorado…I wonder if I should have cut down on cook time?
Anamika Kundu
Hi!
What can I use instead of applesauce?
Thanks!
Rachel
hmm mashed banana ?!
Gayle
You make a note at the end for substituting oat flour. You recommend an amount to use in the brownie layer, but there is no flour to take out to put the oat flour in its place. Am I missing something?
Kristine
Hi, I see unsweetened applesauce listed in the above paragraph but not in the actual recipe. How much gets used? Help! Thanks! Can’t wait to try these. 🙂
K Stern
I don’t see vanilla in the Brownie Layer ingredient list, but you mention it in the Instructions. Is there a teaspoon of vanilla in each layer?
Rachel
yes thank you!