Of all our cooking over the holidays, this is the new thing we tried we liked best. Who doesn’t love the edge of the brownie best? And this is the easiest one bowl and drop cookie recipe imaginable. It doesn’t even have any flour, so you can make it for all your gluten free friends. Plus, they are small, so one is just a nip or a morsel, not over stuffing you, nor making you feel guilty if you want another one.

We made all the dough but only baked off what we wanted for the next while, keeping the rest of the dough in the refrigerator, until the desire surfaced for these again. They are great hot, but also just as welcome out of your sealed container the next day. They can be baked up to 2 days ahead, wrapped tightly, and stored at room temperature. Perfect for when you want a little something but don’t want to go overboard.

I love them with a bit of salt on top, but they are good without as well; we do them both ways.

This recipe come from Alison Roman, with gratitude.

This recipe makes 24 small cookies.

Brownie Edge Chocolate Cookie Recipe

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (¾ stick)
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (it’s worth investing in high-quality cocoa powder, since that’s mostly what you’ll be tasting here)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (at least 67 percent cacao), chopped
½ cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon or Jacobsen

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat, swirling, until it’s starting to foam and brown, 3 to 4 minutes. (Whisk the butter from time to time so that the solids don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.) Let cool.

Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl, ridding it of as many lumps as possible. (If you really want to, feel free to sift everything.)

Using a spatula, mix in the egg whites, whole egg and browned butter, stirring until you’ve got a good, smoothish mixture (any small lumps will take care of themselves), followed by the chocolate and any nuts you may want to add.Using a spoon, drop quarter-size blobs of dough (the texture is really somewhere between a dough and a batter) onto the baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart (they spread a lot). Sprinkle with flaky salt and bake until the cookies have flattened considerably and look baked through and a little wrinkled, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool before eating so they can firm up.

Yum! Enjoy!