Chewy, brown buttery chocolate chip cookies baked into rich and fudgy brownies! Two delicious treats in one!
Well, it’s the LAST day of 2018, guys.
Can you believe how quickly this year flew by?? Just when I was finally getting used to saying 2018 instead of 2017, I now have to adjust to saying/writing 2019.
I’ve never been big on partying when it came to New Year’s Eve. I feel like this holiday was much more exciting as a child since it was the one night of the year when we were allowed to stay up past midnight. We also got to celebrate by drinking kid champagne (aka, Sparkling Apple Cider), eating junk food and candy, and tossing homemade confetti all over the house. However, now that my normal bedtime has shifted past 2am, and I’ve celebrated enough New Years, the excitement of the holiday has worn off.
So while most of you will probably be ringing in the New Year with champagne-filled glasses, New Years Eve kisses, and fireworks, I’ll most likely be stuffing myself silly with these heavenly Brown Butter Brookies.
Not that I’m complaining…
The ONLY thing wrong with these Brookies is that there isn’t MORE of them.
Surprisingly, not only is this my first time making Brookies, but it’s my first time eating them as well. Can you believe it?? How is it that I’ve baked up so many different desserts and sweets over the years, yet I haven’t combined two of the most popular treats in the world? It should be a no-brainer that this marriage would taste nothing but extraordinary.
While the combination of Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies is magical in itself, I decided to take things a step further by enhancing the experience with browned butter. Because browned butter makes everything taste better. Duh.
Despite the fact that you have to make up two separate doughs/batters, this recipe really doesn’t take long to make. Not to mention, everything can be done in just ONE pot/saucepan. No heavy mixers or beaters needed, which means less clean-up and fewer things to wash. Yay!
The cookie dough is pretty much your standard chocolate chip cookie recipe. First, the butter is browned in a saucepan. I prefer to brown SALTED butter over unsalted since I find that it lends a stronger, butterscotchy flavor than unsalted butter. Thus, no added salt is needed in the dough. Once browned, the sugars are added, followed by the egg, vanilla, and dry ingredients. Of course, you can’t forget the chocolate chips!
This dough is then transferred to another bowl. The same pan is returned to the stove to make the brownie batter by melting some butter and stirring in the cocoa powder until shiny and glossy. Add the sugar, egg, vanilla, and dry ingredients along with MORE chocolate chips. Instead of having two separate layers, I went for the marbled look by alternating between large and small blobs of cookie dough and brownie batter.
As you can probably tell, these Brookies are thick and fudgy all throughout. The density of the brownies is very similar to the chocolate chip cookies, making for the most perfect bite.
The browned butter lends a divinely nutty, caramelized flavor, which truly takes these Brookies over the top.
So forget the sappy kisses and those loud fireworks. Just make up a batch of these. In my opinion, there’s really no better way to start off the New Year than with these Brown Butter Brookies.
Brown Butter Brookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- ½ cup salted butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Brownie Batter:
- 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 7 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF degrees and line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper; set aside.
Make the Cookie Dough:
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, it’ll start to foam, then turn a clear golden color. Continue to stir the butter, scraping up any browned specks from the bottom of the pan as it starts to brown. It should have a nutty aroma.
- Once browned and nutty, turn off the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Whisk in both sugars, the egg, and vanilla until smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon, add the flour and baking powder and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Transfer dough to another bowl and return the pan to the stove.
Make the Brownie Batter:
- In the same saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then stir in the cocoa powder until smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, stirring until fully incorporated. Stir in the flour and salt, followed by the chocolate chips.
- Alternate spooning the brownie batter and cookie dough into the pan, smoothing out the top. Bake for about 30-33 minutes, or until edges are firm and golden. Cool in pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting.