Stardust Brownie Cookies taste heavenly but are down to earth with a moist melt-in-your-mouth soft brownie cookie base. They are topped with a heavenly chocolate ganache, starry night sprinkles, and glitter. If you are a brownie lover, you might like my Red Velvet Cream Cheese Brownies or my Berries and Cream Brownie Cups.
Key Takeaways:
- Heavenly Flavor, Down-to-Earth Texture: These cookies feature a soft, moist brownie base topped with rich chocolate ganache and cosmic sprinkles.
- Secret Ingredient Boost: A touch of espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee.
- Corn Syrup Magic: Helps prevent graininess, resulting in smooth, chewy cookies.
- Ganache Made Easy: Just heat chocolate chips and cream in the microwave for a dreamy topping.
- Chill for Best Results: Refrigerating the dough and briefly freezing the cookies before baking enhances their texture.
- Decor Tip: Use galaxy or starry sprinkles for visual appeal—but skip hard sprinkles to keep that soft-bite experience.
Overview
Stardust Brownie Cookies are soft, fudgy brownie cookies topped with silky ganache, glitter, and galaxy sprinkles. They’re rich, dreamy, and melt-in-your-mouth good—perfect for brownie lovers who want a little extra sparkle in every bite.
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SIS Tip – Simple is Smart Melt chocolate chips or chocolate chunks for a chocolate glaze, frosting, or ganache in the microwave. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until the chocolate is smooth and melted.
Ingredients for Stardust Brownie Cookies
Brownie Cookie Dough
Butter – use either salted or unsalted but take the butter out and let it warm up before using.
Brown and granulated Sugar – keep the brownie cookie soft and sweet.
Egg – Holds the cookies together and gives them a little lift. Let the egg warm up to room temperature.
Corn Syrup – The corn syrup keeps the cookies from getting grainy by inhibiting the formation of large sugar crystals.
Vanilla – use pure vanilla extract
Flour – all-purpose flour
Espresso Powder – a little espresso powder enhances and intensifies the chocolate flavor of the cookie.
Corn Starch- Helps keep the cookies plump, soft, and tender.
Baking Soda – give the cookies some lift.
Dutch Process Cocoa Powder – this cocoa powder has been treated to make it less bitter than natural cocoa powder.
Chocolate Chips – extra chocolate flavor and the richness of cocoa butter
Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate Chips – rich, smooth chocolate topping
Heavy Cream – forms a silky smooth chocolaty mixture when heated with the chocolate.
Step by Step – How to make Stardust Brownie Cookies:
Make the Brownie Cookie Dough:
- Cream together the vanilla, eggs, and corn syrup with a stand or hand mixer.
- Add the espresso powder, corn starch, salt, and baking soda to the flour and mix.
- Add the flour mixture to the dough and mix on medium-low.
- Add the cocoa powder and mix.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Use a 2 tbsp—cookie scoop to form 18 cookies. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet about two inches apart.
- Slightly flatten with your fingers.
- Freeze the pan of cookies for 10 minutes and bake for 7-8 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool completely before adding the chocolate ganache.
Make the ganache and add the stardust.
Heat the chocolate chips with the heavy cream in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until the chocolate melts into a smooth and silky chocolate ganache.
Add a teaspoon of ganache to each cookie. Spread the ganache in a circle on top of the cookie. Sprinkle with stardust and let the cookies sit undisturbed until the chocolate is firm and hard. I purchase the galaxy sprinkles and don’t use the large or small balls as they are too crunchy for the soft cookies.
FAQ:
Q: Can I skip the espresso powder?
A: Yes! It’s optional but recommended—just a bit enhances the chocolate without making the cookies taste like coffee.
Q: Why chill the dough before baking?
A: Chilling firms up the dough, prevents spreading, and gives you thicker, fudgier cookies.
Q: Can I use natural cocoa instead of Dutch process?
A: Dutch process is preferred for a milder, less acidic flavor, but you can substitute if needed—just expect a slightly different taste.
Q: Do I need a stand mixer?
A: Not at all! A hand mixer works great for this recipe, especially if you’re making a small batch.
Q: How long does the ganache take to set?
A: Usually 20–30 minutes at room temperature. You can speed it up by refrigerating the cookies for 10–15 minutes.
Q: Can these be made ahead of time?
A: Absolutely! Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or refrigerate for up to a week.
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Stardust Brownie Cookie
Equipment
- To see the ingredient amounts in metric units, click the blue "METRIC:" button between the ingredients and the instructions for this recipe.
- This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click a link, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you
Ingredients
- To see the ingredient amounts in metric units, click the blue "METRIC:" button between the ingredients and the instructions for this recipe.
Cookie Dough
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp corn syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups flour
- ½ tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup dutch process cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- glitter sprinkles with stars.
Ganache Topping
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
Make the Cookie Dough
- Cream together with a hand mixer or stand mixer, butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.
- Add the vanilla, egg, and corn syrup. Mix in.
- Add the espresso powder, corn starch, salt, and baking soda to the flour and mix to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the dough and mix on med-low until incorporated.
- Add the cocoa powder and mix in.
- Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F 170°C
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a 2 Tbsp. cookie scoop to form the cookies into balls.
- Flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers and put the pan in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- Bake the cookies for 7 - 8 minutes. Rotate the front to back halfway through baking.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Make the Ganache
- Add the dark chocolate chips to the heavy cream.
- Microwave for 30 seconds and stir to combine. If the chips aren't fully melted, microwave another 20 seconds.
- Spread a small spoonful of ganache on top of each cookie and decorate with Galaxy Sprinkles and Blue Diamond Dust.
- To see the ingredient amounts in metric units, click the blue "METRIC:" button between the ingredients and the instructions for this recipe.
- See notes for storing.
