Chocolate Chip Cookie-Topped Brownies (yes, you read that right)

How would you answer this question, my fellow dessert lovers?

If you had to choose between a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie, what would you choose?

1. Chocolate chip cookie, all the way.
2. Do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side: dark, fudgy brownies, that is.
3. Why choose? If two desserts are good by themselves, they are (almost always) better when combined together, right????*

If you answered (3), then — ding ding ding! — you’re RIGHT! At least as far as this dessert goes. 🙂 These doubly-decadent bars are another case of Dorie outdoing herself in BFMHTY: dark chocolatey brownies topped with a layer of chocolate chip cookie. How could they not be good??!?

It was my brother’s birthday yesterday (happy birthday, bro!) and I packaged some of these up to send to him along with some other gifts…knowing how much he loves both chocolate chip cookies and brownies, I was hoping it would be dessert overload (in a good way) for him!

*I think this principle really does apply, at least when chocolate is involved. I can’t at the moment think of any dessert that wouldn’t be good paired with chocolate…can you??

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Chocolate Chip Cookie-Topped Brownies

Printable Recipe

From Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, where they are called “Chipster-Topped Brownies.”

These end up being pretty thick in the pan, and I found I needed to keep watching them as they got close to being done, so that I didn’t overbake them (I actually think I did overbake them just a bit.) And, as with most brownies, these are really so much easier to cut into clean squares when they’re cold, so if you can restrain yourself, it helps to let them cool down on a rack, then finish chilling in the fridge before you cut into them.

Ingredients

For the brownie layer
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the cookie layer
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cups (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup storebought chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment (use enough so that it comes up and over the sides), and butter the foil/parchment.

To make the brownie batter, melt both chocolates and the butter together in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Melt and stir just until the mixture is shiny and smooth, then remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, beat the sugar and eggs together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) on medium high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale, thick and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla, then reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter, mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the flour, mixing on low speed just until it disappears into the batter. Turn off the mixer and fold in the chopped walnuts by hand with a spatula, then scrape the batter out into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Set aside.

To make the cookie dough, first whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl, and set aside. Wash the bowl of your stand mixer (that you used to make the brownie batter), and then beat the butter and both sugars together using the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the egg yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low, mix in the chopped chocolate.

Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls onto the brownie batter, then use a spatula to gently smooth out the cookie dough layer evenly over the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the cookie top is deep golden brown and a sharp knife inserted into the pan comes out with only faint streaks of moist chocolate.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack to cool, then when you’re ready to cut them, just lift them out using the foil/parchment that you lined the pan with. It’s easiest to cut these when they’re cool/cold, if you can wait that long. 🙂

Makes 24 bars.