Chocolate Chip Brownie Swirled Cookies (Brookies!)
Well hello there! Remember me? I’ve been gone a while this time, I know. Still haven’t managed to hit the perfect balance with time management, and as usually happens, blog land quiets down quite a bit when I feel the overwhelm coming on. Throw trying to launch a new business into the usual mix of a busy life, and free time becomes a thing of the past. I attended an awesome conference last week with 1,000 Boston Business Women, and one of the major takeaways for me was you can’t really have it all. Sure, you can have most of it, but trying to have everything only leaves you stressed, overwhelmed, and sleep deprived.
So instead of trying to have it all, I’m trying to prioritize the important things. It still feels nearly impossible, but at the end of the day we’re each just a work in progress, right? So I’m going to go with that for now.
Today I participated in a focus group with a few other bloggers — some ladies who aren’t frequent in the blogger scene around the city, so totally new faces to me, and a welcome breath of fresh air. After an hour of chatting and sharing ideas, I remembered why I was there — for my blog – my baby – a piece of me I don’t give enough attention to. We had a great conversation about what inspires us, why we write, and how we make our stories powerful, unique, and compelling. It reminded me why I started this blog in the first place, and also reminded me that I desperately need to take back the quiet moments I can put aside to write, to take pictures, and to indulge in a cookie or two. In the midst of so much chaos and uncertainty and confusion, the moments I get to spend here are special and calm and all mine.
So I’m bringing you cookies today. Beautiful, delicious, incredible cookies. I’ve made “brookies” before, but those were in brownie form — this time, I’ve gone the cookie route, and I have to say, these cookies are killer. The pictures should convey a good measure of their deliciousness, but you can’t possibly begin to fathom the delight of eating one of these without making them yourself. While they dirty a good number of dishes, the recipe is simple and straight forward, and truly such a delight. Crunchy edges, chewy interior, goodness all around.
In fact, I owe my team at work a delicious treat for making it through a tough stretch these last few weeks, and these cookies might be just the thing. I find that they cure (or help to ease) many ailments… especially the kind with emotional roots 🙂
If I can manage to convince myself that baking is more important than new business research or watering the new grass seed or seeing my far away boyfriend — then I will be back soon with some rhubarb creation, because those darn plants are positively overwhelming my garden right now! Until then…
<3
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt (regular salt also works just fine)
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
- Make the chocolate chip cookie dough first -- it needs to chill for a bit while you make the brownie cookie dough.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and both sugars, and beat with an electric handheld mixer or paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg, and continue mixing until well incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients, and beat on low speed just until combined -- be careful not to overmix! Fold in the chocolate chips, and then cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 45 minutes. You can make the brownie dough while you're waiting!
- Place the butter and chocolate in a small sauce pan over low-medium heat, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the butter and chocolate are completely melted. Remove from heat and whisk until completely smooth.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the sugars and the vanilla to the chocolate mixture and whisk until well combined (this works best with a hand mixer or stand mixer). Add in the egg and egg yolk, and beat well to combine.
- Gently fold in the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula, stirring just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Place a piece of parchment on your counter or another flat surface. Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, portion your chocolate chip cookie dough into tablespoon-sized rounds, and rest them on your parchment-covered workspace. Repeat the same with the brownie cookie dough.
- When ready to combine, gentle push together one scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough and one scoop of brownie cookie dough, and gently pinch the seams together. Place two inches apart on your prepared baking sheets, and bake in your preheated over for about 12 minutes. The edges and tops should be set, but the centers may look slightly underdone.
- Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
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