
Brownie Mix Cookies
These easy brownie mix cookies are made from boxed mix with just 3 ingredients. Recipes don’t get easier than this, and the results are chewy, chocolate cookies with a fudge brownie texture.

Why I love this brownie mix cookie recipe
Normally, I like to bake things from scratch, and brownies are one of these easiest baked goods to make. Olive oil brownies are my go-to recipe, and I’ve built on that recipe with brownie sundaes and Halloween brownies. I even use it as a base to make these Dr. Pepper brownies.
But, not I realize that not everyone has the time to bake things from scratch. Thankfully, there’s a surprising amount of baking mixes that are dairy free, and there are so many delicious things you can do with a box of brownie mix, like these brownie cookies and my s’mores brownie cupcakes.
But the best thing about these cookies is the chewy, brownie texture. They’re unbelievably soft and full of rich chocolate flavor. I promise you’re going to love them.
If you love cookies as much as we do, make sure you try my vegan oatmeal cookies or dairy free sugar cookies. I also love making a batch of chocolate chip cookie bars (they make great bite sized treats if you cut them small enough) or even these pineapple cookies if you’re looking for something a little bit fruity.

Ingredients & substitutions
- Brownie mix – Make sure you buy a baking mix that works for you. If you need a dairy free mix, be sure to read the nutrition label, and contact the company if you’re worried about cross contamination. The mix needs to be 18.4-ounces for this recipe to work.
- Eggs – I haven’t tried an egg replacement for this recipe yet, so I cannot recommend one right now.
- Oil – Use a neutral flavored oil such as canola, avocado, or even a light olive oil. Melted butter would work too, but I don’t recommend using melted dairy free butter since the fat/water ratio might not be correct for this recipe.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make brownie mix cookies
Mise en place. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure your ingredients and make sure you have everything you need before starting.
Mix the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until the brownie batter is nice and smooth. Let the cookie dough rest for about 15 minutes to let dry ingredients hydrate. This will help prevent your cookies from spreading too thin.
Scoop the dough. Using a cookie scoop (if you have one), scoop 2-tablespoon balls of dough about 2 inches apart on cookies sheet.
Bake the cookies. Pop your cookies into the oven for about 9-10 minutes. The cookies won’t seem completely set when you take them out. The tops should look done, but the cookies might be slightly wobbly. That’s ok!
You want them to be “undercooked” for that fudgy brownie texture. They’ll set as they’re cooling. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the hot cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Cookies too thin?
Some readers have commented that their cookies turned out thin and flat. While I haven’t had this happen to me, I recommend letting the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before scooping your cookies to prevent them from spreading.


Ingredients
- 1 18.4- ounce brownie mix (dry mix only)
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients until combined.
- Let the cookie dough rest for about 15 minutes to let dry ingredients hydrate. This will help prevent your cookies from spreading too thin.
- Using a cookie scoop or spoon, drop two-tablespoon balls of dough about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool for about two minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
I haven’t tried this yet. I have a question: I’ve been using unsweetened apple sauce instead of oil in baking for quite some time. If I were to use half a cup in this recipe, would you recommend that I reduce the water?
I really don’t know. I’m sorry! You will have to try it out to see.
I don’t think you would add any water at all.
Applesauce measures the same as the oil. 1:1
No need to change the measurements of any ingredients.
I changed from the 1/2 oil to 1/3 cup soften butter and put in fridge for 30 min before cooking.
They came out much better than the first batch that was with oil
Absolutely delicious! Be sure to follow the directions about spacing cookies 2 inches apart. They will spread, but come out crunchy, soft, and absolutely perfect. We added a cup of mini semi sweet chocolate chips and it was divine! Thanks for the recipe!
I added some white chocolate chips about a half a cup, and a little over a quarter cup of oatmeal and a third of a cup of flour to make the it more like a do as opposed to a batter and made the cookies and they were really really good drizzled caramel across the tops of them yum
I added a cup of chocolate chips to this cookie. Next time I would refrigerate the dough for a few hours to keep them from spreading so much.
And I frosted them with chocolate frosting-melted a stick of butter, 2TBL cocoa, and 3TBL milk in a medium saucepan until melted and well blended-add in 2 1/2 cups of 10X sugar and beat by hand for several minutes with a whisk. Poured about a TBL over each cookie. The frosting will harden after a bit as it cools. So good-will make these again!
These spread a LOT while baking and came out really thin. The second half of the dough I made in mini muffin tins.
These cookies spread A LOT while baking and came out really thin. I used mini muffin tins for the second half of the batter.
I used Betty Crockers triple chocolate fudge brownie mix with 20 oz, they did spread but they also RISED beautifully, no changes to the recipe. I’m in awe watching them puff up and can’t wait to try them 🙂
Nope. Way too thin! Followed exact recipe. A waste of a good brownie mix box. Guess I’ll do chocolate cookies from scratch.
I thought is was too thin also. I shouldn’t have added the water. I added 1/2 cup extra of flour to thicken it.
I wonder if the box of brownie mix was not a large 18 oz box is why they weren’t thick enough? Mine were perfect with nuts and chips too! Thanks
My cookies turned out perfect! I followed your recipe, thank you!
I used the family size box of brownie mix it was the exact size I added candy bar pieces and pecans and I let it rest in the fridge uncovered for 30 min then baked them! They were awesome! Everyone loved them, they where chewy and the edges were crispy! I baked them 12 minutes and left them on the hot pan for 5 minutes before I moved them! I will use this recipe again soon!
This was pretty much a disaster. They are so thin that they are very tough to bake. My first batch was gooey so I added a minute to the next batch. They burned. The third batch I watched carefully. Still didn’t cook right. I may try them again with no water added or I’ll just make the brownies.
This was terrible! I followed the recipe perfectly. It was soupy and spread like crazy.
I took it out at 8 minutes and they were burns at the edges and soupy in the middle. Never again! I’d past a picture of it but It won’t let me
These are so delicious! Soft and chewy, with a crust on the outside. I don’t need to eat a brownie ever again! You absolutely must use the 18.4 ounce box. I am 99% sure the unsatisfied reviews are coming from people that used the smaller boxes accidentally. You can add the water or leave it; both worked for me. Thank you for the recipe!
….when you follow the directions exactly and have perfect cookies… but reading all these negative comments. Lol
My cookies aren’t to thin. They are literally just like the picture love the recipient thanks.
Nope, too runny.
My cookies turned out perfect! I was looking for last minute idea for coworkers birthday tomorrow! We are going to make ice cream sandwiches with them!!! 😍
Ok, I stand here corrected and with egg on my face! The cookies were a little thin so I upped the oven temp by a few degrees, and I think chilling the batter helped too. I especially like how few ingredients are required. Very tasty. Thanks!
I’ve made these several times (minus the water) and they are delicious !! They remind me of the outside layer of a pan of brownies. Chewy but a little crunchy !
Will make again but will reduce the oil to 1/4 to 1/3 cup.added chopped walnuts Used smaller portions They were done in 10 min. Made a nice cookie.
I will try again with a little less oil and chill before baking
Mine came out thin and chewy, just how I like them. I added marshmallows and sliced almonds for crunch and they were delicious.
I chose your recipe because it seemed the simplest, but I think you were missing the extra flour. Luckily I had some. Most of the brownie mix to cookies conversions I’ve seen involved adding more flour.
I went with a cup, could have gone with more, but I also added butterscotch chips!
A cup of flour saved the day! I was able to handle the mixture like actual cookie dough, it wasn’t running all over the place like brownie batter. The cookies came out fudgy on the inside, slightly crispy around the edges, and completely delicious,
It pays to read a lot of recipes, I guess
These were so runny. They formed one big huge blob on my tray
I veganized this recipe using 2 flax eggs, 1/4 cup oil and 1 tbsp water, I baked one batch right after mixing, for 8 minutes, and they came out a little crispy, kinda greasy and gooey, slightly spread but once cooled, really good. The next day, I made the rest of the cookies after refridging overnight. These baked for 8 minutes also and didnt spread at all, didnt leave a greasy crisp edge and cooled to perfection. I know this is far off the original posted recipe but it worked out really well for me with the subs I used. No issues with oily spreading, or turning into that greasy crunchy brownie goo that no one wants to eat. I think those who had issues might not have used “family size” boxes of brownie mix, because even with the liquid from the flax eggs and oil, it made a stiff dough. Anyway, Thanks for such an easy recipe that was even easy to veganize!
We agree that the batter was too thin and we didn’t have any flour to thicken! So we substituted 1/2 cup pancake mix!! And also followed the recommendation of putting the batter in the refrigerator for a little while before baking. They turned out perfect! We also only made six cookies per pan, and doubled the scoop of batter so that we got a bigger cookie. Might try putting the scooped batter in the freezer to bake from frozen and see if that works even better. 😉
The first batch turned out really thin, and with the second half of the recipe I added about 1/3 cup of flour. It should work out better this time.
I made these tonight but only put about 2 tsp of water instead of the Tbls. I chilled them before scooping and baked them in my toaster oven and they were perfect! They tasted just like a brownie. This is my new go to recipe. Thanks
Looks good to me! Not sure how so many wound up with runny batter, I did not. It was fully spoonable, and then, while it did spread, I followed the directions in the recipe and they didn’t all spread into one baking sheet size cookie. I do think it might not be bad to out it in the fridge, but I also don’t think it would do much good using a liquid oil–and I really like the ease of the oil in the recipe. Now to frost with peppermint vanilla frosting! I’m happy!
Way too flat and watery. I added a couple tablespoons of flour and it seemed to improve it.
I should have read the comments first. Followed the recipe, cookies came out just like thin brownies. Compared box instructions to this recipe, and the only difference was the water. The person who commented about softened butter is probably onto something.
I did refrigerate before scooping.
I’ve made these once before and am currently making them now. They’re amazing! I see many people in the comments saying it’s too runny but following the recipe, my batter comes out perfect every time. Chill your batter in between baking to make sure the cookies stay consistent.
I used the sugar free brownie mix . Pillsbury I think. Followed recipe exact. Turned out perfect.
Next time I will lightly drizzle w/ sugar free carmel before baking.
Great recipe
I WANTED my cookies thin and crispy, so I followed this recipe, using a box of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix, which was 18 oz and I added an extra tablespoon of water. They were PERFECT. One box made 4 dozen cookies. There were 30 batches of brownies on the table, and my 48 cookies were ALL EATEN! Less messy than brownies, same taste. And although they were seemed runny on the parchment paper, they turned out 3/8 inch thick, the edges were a little crisp, and the center was still just a bit browny-chewy. Truly exactly what I wanted.
Can I use vegetable oil instead
Canola oils is actually a vegetable oil.
This is what I’ve always wanted my brownies to taste like! I made some changes based on comments:
– I used a 21oz brownie mix from Bob’s Red Mill and went with the softened butter instead of canola oil; I started with 1/3 cup butter and added an extra ounce since it was more than an 18oz package.
– I also added some peanut butter chips into the mix.
– I chilled it for at least an hour, and due to the high afternoon heat today I put it back in the fridge between each tray of cookies.
– I baked them in my Ninja Foodie digital oven at 350 for 7 minutes, then let them cool for 2 minutes before moving to a rack, and they came out great; I ended up with 42 cookies.
I love them, my husband loves them, and I am so glad to have figured out a better way to make brownies. Thanks for this recipe idea!
This recipe calls for an 18.4 oz pkg of brownie mix( 521 grams) I have a pkg measuring 400 grams or 14 oz. Which ingredient should I scale back on to make the correct formula? sz
I would really recommend purchasing a mix with the correct proportions. I would assume all ingredients would have to be scaled back but I would not know the exact measurements to tell you.
Check out https://samsungfood.com/recipe-converter/
Just paste in the link for your recipe and convert.
Batter too thin for cookies. Spreads all over and you are left with a huge flat cookie. I added flour and that helped some but I would never use this recipe again.
I just made these and they are perfect!!
Perfectly delicious! I didn’t change a thing. After 3 days they were still chewy and as fresh tasting as day one. I am sharing this recipe with everyone!
Sadly mine were like 75% of commenters , on the thin side prior to baking I took someones suggestion on using pancake mix , and chilling for 30 mins . Hopefully it turns out ok. I don’t mind making a recipe more my own , plus some times altitudes can very baking , or placement in the oven . Thank you for the recipe !
I have two Duncan Hines brownie mixes.
One is Dark Chocolate Fudge, the other is Chewy Fudge. Both have different amounts of water and oil to add.
My point is, maybe the different mixes you are using is the difference when adding the liquids when it comes to being too runny, even though you are using this recipe. One box says to use 1/3 water and 1/2 cup vegetable oil.
The other says 3 tbs water and 2/3 cup oil.
Also I have a box of Betty Crocker supreme frosted brownie mix, it asks for 1/4 cup of water and 1/3 cup of oil.
I keep these on hand for my grandkids.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet. Though I intend to later today. I was looking at the recipe when I saw the comments.
Maybe you need to adjust for the different box mix you are using. Just a thought. I’ll let you know how mine turn out.