Brookies
Picture it: Fudgy brownies topped with rich, chocolate chip cookies. Need I say more? This decadent, chocolate-y dessert is so worth the effort. On the bottom of these brookies is a brownie base that’s dense and not cakey whatsoever. I am not a cakey brownie kinda gal! Then, on top are thick chocolate chip cookies that bake just enough to form a crispy, caramelized exterior. Combine this with the crackly topping of the brownies, and you’ve got the perfect dessert.
Ingredients for the brownie base
1 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (55 g) light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temp.
1/4 cup (60 g) water
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
4 oz. (113 g) unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1 ¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. (8.5 g) espresso powder
1/2 tsp. (3 g) table salt
Ingredients for the cookie top
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (110 g) packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. (2.1 g) vanilla extract
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, both room temp.
1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. (4 g) baking soda
1 tbsp. (8 g) cornstarch
1/2 tsp. (3 g) table salt
1/2 cup (80 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt for topping, for topping after baking
Directions
Use parchment paper to line an 8x8 baking pan. Leave enough parchment paper hanging over the edges (about 2 inches). This will make it easier to remove the brookies after baking.
Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl in the microwave, microwaving in 30 second increments. After every 30 seconds, remove the bowl from the microwave and stir. Repeat until chocolate and butter are melted - this takes about 90 seconds. Set bowl aside to slightly cool.
With a hand or stand mixer on medium to medium high speed, combine eggs, both sugars, and water. Beat for about 5 minutes so that the sugars can dissolve. The volume of the mixture will increase and turn a paler color.
With the mixer turned back down to low, Slowly pour in butter/chocolate mixture. Once all of the mixture is added, turn the mixer speed back up to medium to fully combine. When everything is combined, turn off the mixer and remove the bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. This can be done with a sifter, whisk, or fork.
With a silicone spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients until just combined, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop brownie mixture into pan. The batter will be thick, so I use a knife to spread it to the edges of the pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
With a hand or stand mixer on medium speed, mix butter and sugars together for about 3 minutes.
Turn the speed of the mixer down to low speed, and gradually add the vanilla extract and eggs. Add each egg one at a time.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt with either a fork, sifter, or whisk.
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, and stir until almost all of the dry ingredients are absorbed by the wet ingredients.
Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips. This prevents you from overworking the dough.
Form dough into thick patties with your hands, and then place each cookie dough patty on top of the brownie mixture. Space each patty about an inch apart, leaving some of the brownie topping exposed. For this size pan, I formed about six large cookies. If you end up with leftover dough, save it for later to make a single-serve cookie!
Bake brookies for 35 to 40 minutes. If the cookies start to brown too much on top, loosely cover the brookies with some aluminum foil and continue baking until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center of the brownie component comes out with some moist crumbs still attached.
Let brookies rest in baking pan for at least 20 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks. Lift the brookies out of the pan with the parchment paper and transfer to a cutting board to cool for an additional 10 to 20 minutes. Top with flaky sea salt. Cut into squares. If you have a plastic knife, use that. You will get cleaner lines!
Makes 9 large brookies, or 16 smaller ones.
Enjoy!
