Saturday, December 8, 2007

Chocolate Chip Cookie Topped Brownies


This will be very brief as I'm in the middle of my finals. I really wish I could spend hours reading food blogs instead. I'll be done on Friday though! Yaey. And I will celebrate by baking eggnog bars and chocolate pots de creme!

After I saw this recipe for chocolate chip cookie topped brownies, I couldn't stop thinking about making them. They did take quite a bit of time to make as you're basically making 2 recipes and putting them together, but are well worth it.


As for the finished product, I wasn't sure what to think at first. I love the idea of a cookie on a brownie, but I couldn't really taste the cookie so that was disappointing. Everybody who tried them really liked them. They freeze really well (which is good because this recipe makes a huge amount), and the brownie texture is pretty much perfect (dense and moist, maybe slightly fudge-y but not ganache-y). I will definitely make these again! My second successful Dorie Greenspan recipe. I can't wait to make practically everything else in Baking From My Home To Yours.


Chipster-Topped Brownies
slightly modified from Baking From My Home To Yours (Dorie Greenspan

Brownie layer:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped*

Cookie layer:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chips

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line it with wax or parchment paper. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the brownie batter: Put both chocolates and the butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stirring occasionally, heat just until the ingredients are melted, shiny and smooth. If the mixture gets too hot, the butter will separate from the chocolates. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale, thick and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter; mixing only until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula then, still on low speed, add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the batter. Using the spatula, fold in the walnuts, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.

To make the cookie dough: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Working with the stand mixer in the cleaned bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Still on low, mix in the chopped chocolate. Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter and, using a spatula and a light touch, spread it evenly over the batter.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the cookie top is deep golden brown and firm and a thin knife inserted into the brownie layer comes out with only faint streaks of moist chocolate. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

When the brownies are completely cool**, carefully run a knife between the sides of the pan and the brownies, then invert them onto another rack, remove the paper and turn right side up onto a cutting board. Cut into bars about 2 inches x 1 inches.

*Original recipe calls for 1 cup walnuts but that would be too walnut-y for me in a brownie so I put less and it was just perfect.
**If you don't wait until they're cool, you will end up with ugly gooey brownies. While ugly doesn't really matter unless you're serving them to other people that might care, I found that it just made for a bit of a mess between the cookie and brownie layers.

43 comments:

Katie Zeller said...

These are so strange...and so incredible good -looking and sounding! Good luck on the finals...so to speak!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I too will be done with final-examination period this coming Friday - whoo hoo!! good luck with the rest of YOUR final-examinations :0)

wow, those chocolate chip cookie topped brownies sound incredible!! two delicious baked goods in one!! sorry that you couldn't distinguish the cookie taste from the brownie taste, but hey, as long as they taste good PERIOD, then that's what counts :0)

Gretchen Noelle said...

I made something like these once and LOVED them! They are so good and yet I know they are oh so bad! Yum!

tytty said...

what an awesome idea, to have two favourites as one. perhaps the cookie layer should be doubled?

Unknown said...

I've seen these and thought about making them. I've made a similar recipe except the topping was cookie DOUGH and wasnt baked. Yours look great!

Amy said...

Okay, it's official. Your blog is going to make me really fat! :P

Patricia Scarpin said...

This looks sinfully good - how on earth am I gonna lose the 10 pounds I desperately need to?? :)

That book is pretty addictive.

Carla said...

I remember baking these, although it wasn't Dorie's recipe. And yes, you must wait until they are cool. I was a little impatient LOL

Deborah said...

You can never go wrong with Dorie!! They look delicious!

Good luck on Finals!!

Carla said...

(in response to your comment)

I tried adding another 1/8 tsp ginger to the last few pancakes, but that was too much. I don't have crystallized ginger. Maybe if I get gift cards for Christmas, I'll pick some up (yes, I seriously asked for gift cards. Hey, a college kid has to buy groceries lol) I don't have cloves, so I'm thinking that might be why it wasn't what I wanted. I want to pick up some ground cloves and try the pancakes again over break.

As always, thanks for stopping by my blog!!

p.s. I put a hold on Dorie's book at the library because it's currently out. Hopefully it'll be returned next week. If only I wasn't too cheap to buy it LOL

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Chocolate chip cookies + brownies? What's not to like here? These look awesome!

Cakespy said...

I thought I was going to die when you posted the scones. I survived. But chocolate chip cookie topped brownies...it's time for the final rites.

*chokes*
*dies*

Kristen - Dine & Dish said...

I made something similar once, but the cookie dough was dropped within the brownie dough in little blobs.
This looks really tasty :)

eatme_delicious said...

katiez: Thanks. :)

veggiegirl: Hope your finals went well! And yes as long as they taste good in the end that's all that matters.

gretchen: Haha yes not something I should make often.

tytty: Yea I think that's a really good idea.

claire: Hmm unbaked cookie dough on top. I wonder what that would be like.

vegetation: Haha sorry!

patricia: Yes it's a great great book! :)

carla: I was impatient too. I always want to try things when they're warm and then again at room temperature or cold. Good luck tweaking the pancakes to get them gingerbread-y enough!

cookie baker lynn: Thanks!

cakespy: Hahaha. :)

kristen: Oh that sounds good too. Now I want to try that.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I received this book from the library. I think I'll have to buy it because I want to make everything from it. Your pictures are really good.

eatme_delicious said...

helene: You're right, there are so many delicious sounding things in that cookbook! Thanks. :)

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of an old-fashioned recipe for Revel Bars, which were rich fudgy brownies topped with an oatmeal-cookie layer. Same idea!

Anonymous said...

Ooh, YUM! I've had this recipe in BFMHTY bookmarked to try; yours look great!

Anonymous said...

Those look incredible.

I have to get this cookbook!!!

Brilynn said...

I loved these bars when I made them and I seriously need to do so again!

Anonymous said...

These look great! I make something sort of similar to them, but instead of a cookie layer, it's a cheesecake layer. :)

Anonymous said...

These look great! I'm going to have to try them soon. The tip that they freeze well was very useful - it means I can make them sooner than I thought!

eatme_delicious said...

anonymous: Hm I haven't heard of revel bars but they sound good!

amy: Thanks. :)

kimberleyblue: Yes you should - it's awesome. :)

Brilynn: I should too!

nica: Mmm cheesecake layer sounds delicious.

Fearless Kitchen: Hope they turn out well for you. :)

Anonymous said...

These brownies look very interesting. The pic looks great! I am going to have to give them a try and if we like them in my house I am going to pick up the book. This looks like a perfect dessert to bake with my daughter or serve with a great cup of coffee!

Anonymous said...

just wanted to say, these look deliscious,caught my eye! mmm mmm :)

eatme_delicious said...

christine: It's a great book! :) Thanks.

marie: Thanks!

jheiyd said...

hi! thanks for posting the recipe. looks delicious! i gotta try them hehe ;p

Anonymous said...

I came across your page the other day and actually made these that afternoon... they were great!
A word of warning, to those of you who may be mentally napping and making these at the same time - make sure that you're not putting your tester through a chocolate chip because then you bake everything for wayyyy too long.
Great stuff! Awesome blog :)

eatme_delicious said...

jheiyd: Thanks. :)

Erin: Thanks! And yes great tip.

Anonymous said...

I guess two things bother me about this- One the best part of the brownie is the top and the edge- so no top texture- And the other thing that bothers me is the lack of browning on the cookie- I like some color on the edge- at least when you get to eat them warm.

eatme_delicious said...

experiment666: Fair enough. :) Everyone likes their baked goods differently.

Unknown said...

After reading the recipe, I printed it out and made a request from one of the resident bakers in our office. I was not expecting to get them the following morning.

GOOD LAWD!! I was speechless after the first bite and asked everyone to be silent in reverence to the bars. They are EXCELLENT and she even brought the 2nd batch that was kept at home the following day.

Lifechanging, thats the only way to describe them.

Yes, I find joy in food. This body didn't happen by accident, only by enjoying the delicious things in life.

giz said...

Totally armed and dangerous - reverence for real.

www.ifoods.tv said...

Hi there,

I just stumbled accross your blog by using stumbleupon and love the design of the whole thing! I normally skip straight past food blogs as I have over 20 in my RSS and dont even have enough time to read the ones that I have! I am started out as a blogger myself and always tried to keep the design simple like yours as I think it is crucial, especially if you can back it up with some nice food pics like yours! Keep up the good work and if you feel like sharing some of the photos with other foodies pop over to www.ifoods.tv which is my new site for foodies! Cheers!

eatme_delicious said...

Karen: Haha how lucky that you have someone to bake for you! :) Glad that you loved these brownie/cookies.

giz: Haha thanks.

Private Chef: Thanks. :)

Anonymous said...

What a cool idea. Never would have thought of that!

Anonymous said...

SHEESH those look awesome!

Anonymous said...

Double delight!

Anonymous said...

Hi! I stumbled across this recipe and I decided to make them for my holiday cookie plate. They are amazing! Everyone just gobbled them up! I will definetly make them again. But not too soon because I ate WAY too many. haha.

eatme_delicious said...

Lola: Yaey glad you and everyone else enjoyed them! =)

choccycake said...

They look so moist and tasty - I want some now!!!!!

Alan said...

i've made these numerous times and they are AMAZING.
the only thing i do differently is that i swirl the cookie dough through the batter so it's not layers.
the reason for this is, i was making them on christmas day, was in a rush and just swirled the batter through because i didnt have time to carefully spread it out or anything.

i have yet to meet a person who does not love these brownies

eatme_delicious said...

Alan: Swirling the batter sounds like a brilliant idea!