Brookies

Brookies - made dough September 27, 2014 from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Despite the cutesy name, I do think this is a brilliant concept. Technically I suppose you can consider it a half chocolate/half chocolate chip cookie but it’s meant to be half brownie + half cookie = brookie so you can get the cutesy name. We’ll run with that.

These take a bit more time to prepare since you’re essentially making two cookie doughs but both are easy to make so don’t let that put you off. The key to a cookie like this is that both doughs should have similar textures so you don’t have one runny batter-like dough and one firm dough. Otherwise they’ll bake up wonky. Imagine the runny dough spreading like a puddle while the other kept its shape and yet they’re supposed to be one cookie.

Fortunately, this cookie didn’t have that problem with either dough. Not surprising since the ingredients were similar in proportion of wet to dry ingredients. I do advocate making the chocolate dough first and letting it chill while you do the chocolate chip dough just to make sure it firms up enough to handle. You don’t want your butter too soft either. I took mine directly from the fridge and just beat it into submission with my Kitchen Aid. If your butter is too soft, your cookie dough(s) will be too soft and greasy.

Once you have both doughs, scoop equal parts from each dough and squish together. Yes, that’s the technical term: squish. They’ll adhere pretty easily so no need to roll into a perfect ball once the two halves join. Just squish. Chill or freeze before you bake them or store in freezer bags for baking later on.

The only drawback is these did spread. Fortunately they spread about the same so they actually turned out looking the way they were supposed to, er, more or less. Unfortunately they spread a tad more than I like my cookies to spread. They weren’t super thin but they weren’t chubby chunkies either. A less picky person would be okay with that. (Deafening silence as we let that soak into the air.) But you know me (end silence). However, taste-wise these were good cookies. The chocolate “brownie” half was good pure chocolate and the chocolate chip cookie was a delicious chocolate chip cookie. Because of my tinkering ways however, you just know I’m going to take this brookie concept and apply it to a brownie-cookie and a chocolate chip cookie that aren’t going to spread as much. Because we want chubby brookies. 

Brownie Dough
10 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar (5 ounces)
2/3 cup granulated sugar (5 ounces)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour (7.25 ounces)
1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (1.5 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
10 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar (5 ounces)
2/3 cup light brown sugar (5 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (about 10.75 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips (mini size preferred)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with silpat liners or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. For the brownie cookie batter, in a medium bowl with a handheld electric mixer (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer), beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes. Add the egg, yolk and vanilla and beat the mixture for 2-3 minutes until light in color.
3. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until combined. Cover and refrigerate while making the chocolate chip cookie batter.
4. For the chocolate chip cookie batter, in the bowl of an electric stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth, 1-2 minutes.
5. Blend in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla, mixing for 2-3 minutes until the batter is very light in color. In a separate small bowl (you can use the same one as the brownie batter dry ingredients), whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter with the chocolate chips and mix until no dry streaks remain and the chocolate chips are evenly distributed.
6. Portion both sets of dough into about 4 dozen equal pieces; they will be small teaspoon or so sized balls (if you want to be super precise, I weigh about .5 ounce balls for the brownie batter and .65 ounce balls for the chocolate chip cookie batter).
7. Grabbing one chocolate chip cookie ball and one brownie batter ball, press them together and use your hands to gently form into a cookie shape, flattening and turning to smooth the edges and form a flattish but still thick cookie shape; they'll spread out while baking. See the simple picture tutorial below the recipe, if needed.
8. Bake the cookies on the prepared baking sheets for 8-10 minutes. Don't overbake or they will be dry and crunchy - underbake just slightly for a soft, chewy texture. It's ok if the chocolate side crackles just a bit. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes before scooping onto a cooling rack to cool completely.