Brownie-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brownie-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough November 26, 2017 from The Food Charlatan

You know I can't resist trying out new recipes for chocolate chip cookies but I've made so many of them that I tend to be a little jaded. Only something truly different piques my interest. Such as this concept of "stuffing" a brownie inside of a chocolate chip cookie.

Now I've stuffed nutella inside of a chocolate chip cookie, I've stuffed Hershey kisses in there, and I've layered chocolate chip cookie dough with Nutella, all for something a little different. But for this one, you baked a brownie inside the cookie. First you bake the brownies separately and let them cool completely. Second, you cut them into small-ish squares, wrap the cookie dough around the brownie, encasing it completely, freeze (I always freeze the dough first) then bake. Wow. That's just genius.

The original recipe used a boxed brownie mix. You know my eyes glazed at that point. This baking snob does not do brownie mixes. Fortunately, I had also recently made the Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies and I knew, with such little flour in the recipe, this would be a good brownie to use. You don't want one that could easily be overbaked since you're baking these twice; the first as the actual brownies and the second inside the cookies. This baked up moist and fudgy enough that I wasn't too concerned about overbaking them or the brownies becoming dry inside.

I recommend using mini chocolate chips for these. The brownie center is creamy-fudgy and I think the mini chocolate chips work better than the regular size or big hulking chocolate chunks. But that's a texture thing with me.

Make the brownie-stuffed chocolate chip cookie dough balls as compact and round as possible. The cookies don't spread much but you still want them to be domed, like little mounds of chocolate chip and brownie goodness. This ended up being one of the biggest hits at my holiday dessert party and I've put it on the permanent roster to make again.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Brownies - make the brownies only, not the frosting, and underbake slightly.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour, spooned and leveled
2 cups mini chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Beat for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla and eggs; beat to combine.
2. Whisk together baking soda, salt and flour. Add to creamed mixture in 3 additions, beating until just combined after each addition. Do not overmix. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
3. To assemble: scoop out 2 separate balls of cookie dough, about 1 1/2 tablespoons each. Flatten each ball into a thin disk with your hands. 
4. Place a small brownie square on top of one piece of cookie dough and top with the other cookie dough disc. Pinch the dough together around the brownie square, sealing the ends to enclose the brownie completely. Repeat with all dough and brownie squares. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space cookies. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown at the edges. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.