There is something a bit obvious about combining two of my favorite foods into one dish. But being obvious doesn’t make it any less delicious.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Hybrid
When I look for a dessert or sweet snack, I tend to fixate on the chocolate chip cookie. When a cookie is not available (alas), I am generally quite content with a rich, chocolaty brownie. I go for the chewy edge pieces, especially the corner ones. Those just seem to have more concentrated flavors and there is something about the extra chew and crunchiness that heightens my enjoyment of the snack. But I digress–
This is about the combination of the cookie and the brownie. I always hesitate before doing something like this. Each is amazing separately, combined should be better, right? It turns out that you can’t apply that logic to everything. Fortunately, this dessert does come together perfectly (unlike garlic butter and first dates…).
It really was almost the best of both worlds. The intense chocolate flavor of the brownie was present throughout the dish. You even had the texture change lots of brownies exhibit where the center was softer and fudgier than the edges. I know that some people live for those dense, fudge-like center pieces. The parts of the cookies that were exposed on the surface browned nicely and cooked up like a chewy cookie. The cookie batter used was perfect as it was moist enough to withstand the longer cooking time needed for brownies, but still just dry enough to get the texture difference you would expect. The parts of the cookie that were buried in the center or under the brownie batter still cooked correctly, but the crispy exterior was obviously compromised.
Getting a piece of cookie hidden in the brownie was like finding a tiny buried treasure. I will absolutely make these again.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Hybrid
I prefer tall, dense brownies, so I used a 9×9 square baking pan. If you like shorter brownies, use a 9×13 pan.
Cookie Batter
2 1/8 cups bleached all-purpose flour (10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup light brown sugar (7 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet)
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 350F with the rack on the lower-mid level.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda.
3. In another bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown and granulated sugars together. Then add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in chips and refrigerate dough while making the brownie batter.
Alternatively, you can bake cookie bars in a 9×9 pan for 25-30 minutes at 325F.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Hybrid
Fudgy Brownies
5 ounces semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate , chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into quarters
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Instructions
1. In a double boiler (aka a small skillet on top of a small pot), melt the chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally with a silicone spatula to combine. Whisk in the cocoa and remove from heat once combined.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt.
3. Whisk together the chocolate and egg mixtures. Add the four and stir with a mixing spoon until just combined. Do not overmix.
If you want to just make the brownies, you can bake this in a 9×9 pan for 35-40 minutes at 350F.
When your powers combine!
1. Pour the brownie mixture into a 9×9 pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge. Using your hands, break the dough into chunks, balls, or logs (any shapes you want). Press the cookie dough into the brownie batter at various depths. Press some all the way to the bottom, leave others resting near the surface. I used only about 3/4 of the cookie dough. The rest of the dough can be refrigerated/frozen for making cookies another time. Since when is having ready-made cookie dough a bad thing?
3. Bake the combined doughs at 350F for about 40 minutes in a 9×9 pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
Tip: A plastic knife cuts through brownie batter without the brownies clinging to the knife.
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