Brownie Cookies

Brownie Cookies.  Brownie goodness baked in a cookie?  Umm…yes please!  This recipe had me at hello the title.  And it wasn’t just love at first bite.  Bite 13, 26 and 42 were also chewy, yummy and cookie-licious.

And at only 105 calories per cookie, you can eat more than one and not even have to skip lunch.

Ingredient List:
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare for deliciousness.  Finely chop the chocolate.

I use a serrated knife.  It makes chopping faster, easier and more dangerous-sounding.

While admiring your knife-wielding skills be certain to fling bits of the dark loveliness on your cookbook pages.

To prevent yourself from diving head first into this pile and eating your way out repeat, “The chocolate is bittersweet.  The chocolate is bittersweet.”  But it smells so yummy.  “The chocolate is bittersweet.  The chocolate is bittersweet.”

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water.  You could also use a double broiler if you have one.  I do, but I thought I would show off some of my mad MacGyver skillz.

Stir until melted.

I used Ghirardelli chocolate and it was worth every extra penny.  Every single one.

Once melted, remove bowl from heat and let cool.

In a small bowl, combine flour,

baking powder,

and salt.  Note to self.  Make a manicure appointment immediately.  Who am I kidding?  I have a manicure like once a year.  Remove nail polish myself and pretend my living room is a nail shop.

Whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter,

granulated sugar,

and brown sugar.

Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy.

Add eggs…

…and vanilla and beat until combined.

With mixer on low speed, add chocolate

and flour mixture in alternating batches.

Enlist your young son to add the flour mixture and then turn the mixer on high and blow it everywhere.  Wait.  Don’t do that.

Mix just until combined after each batch.  Do not over mix.  The consistency will be more like brownie batter than stiffer cookie dough.  Oh yeah!

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, about 2 inches apart, onto cookie sheet.  I use an ice cream scoop so my cookies will all be the same size and bake at the same time.  I love synchronized baking action.

I tried one batch on a Silpat-lined baking sheet.

And one batch on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  I wanted to see which I would prefer.

In this head-to-head battle, I think the Silpat edged out the parchment for ultimate baking glory.  The Silpat helped the cookies spread and thus bake evenly.  They were also so easy to remove.  Silpat mats are amazing.  They turn any pan into a non-stick surface just by showing up.

The parchment held its own.  Clean up was as easy as removing the cookies, picking up the paper, crumpling it and tossing it in the trash.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cookie comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.  4 days?  No way they are lasting that long around this joint.

Enjoy.  Then try to hide the smell of newly baked cookies from other family members by opening kitchen windows.  And then realize that baked cookie air has seeped into all areas of the home and share a half of one cookie.  Just kidding.  You can share one.  And only one.

This recipe is supposed to yield 34 cookies.  My batch had 32.  I still think the recipe is accurate.  I easily ate 2 cookies worth of dough.  Easily.

Find the original recipe here.  Bake these today and bask in brownie cookie glory!