You’ll notice something’s different around here. I moved my blog! It has been a long process, but I’m finally here! Granted, I’m still learning a ton on how to navigate owning my own domain, and how to make this blog look the way I want it to but that comes with the territory. Things will continue to change for a while, until I get the hang of it, but this is where Lucy the Baker will reside! Let’s celebrate this move with some brownies!
Not only am I celebrating my new site with amazing brownies, I actually took these to a party last Friday. We were celebrating the completion of a super intense digital marketing boot camp. My day job (on weekdays, anyway) is program manager for this awesome startup/non-profit called CO*OP. I’ve mentioned them several times before, and actually completed the program several months ago. We have another amazing group of grads this time around, and they just got through six weeks of intense learning and practice. That obviously calls for a celebration.
Since we like to celebrate, and I like to bake for others; bringing dessert was a no brainer. It definitely wasn’t my first time doing so. Every chance I get to bring them something homemade, I take it and use it as an opportunity to make something different and sort of challenging to me. Enter the slutty brownie.
I’ll be honest, the name of these brownies kind of bug me. I feel like we’re in this stage in life/the world where we shouldn’t judge a brownie’s sexual life/liberation. Wait, that implies brownies have that. Well, that’s just weird now. Point is, I almost want to rename them but then they’d lose their character. Either way, I’m not judging these brownies.
I’m assuming these brownies got their name because of the epic layers going on in there. First, there’s a chocolate chip cookie base. Great! The middle layer: Oreos (or Springtime Oreos in my case). Two thumbs up. The top and final layer: brownie. I may faint. All these three together make the sweetest, most awesomest, crowd pleasing cookie conglomerate. Because brownies are cookies, ya know? You could make it super easy on yourself and use tube cookie dough and a box brownie but I like making things extra special. Both top and bottom layers here were actual recipes. And since I planned on serving a crowd, I made 1.5 of the original recipe; enough to make a glorious 9×13″ pan. What can I say? I’m an overachiever *insert hair flip here*
Once baked, all three layers are distinct but they merge together to create a taste explosion in your mouth. The Oreos get all soft and awesome, sandwiched between that chocolate chip cookie bottom and brownie top. Then, I purposely underbaked the whole thing, to produce a super gooey brownie. Not very pretty looking when cut but OMG was it awesome. There were people who didn’t even know what a slutty brownie was. I bet I changed their life that day. My friend’s boyfriend professed his love to me (not really) which was sweet; that’s how much these brownies were loved.
Despite the fact that these brownies literally got around, everyone loved them; which says more about them and their character than their name. Goes to show you that even though things get called names, they know their worth based on who they are and not what others call them. Can you believe I got this from eating a brownie?
- Cookie Base:
- 3/4 cup (1 stick and a half) of unsalted butter, room temp
- 3/8 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp white sugar
- 2 large eggs (or 1 extra large)
- 1 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 packages of Oreo cookies
- Brownie layer:
- 4.5oz (127.5g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs (or 2 extra large eggs)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Cookie Base:
- Butter and line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper, too. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and two sugars until light, fluffy, and combined. Add the egg(s), and the vanilla and mix until well incorporated.
- Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until just combined. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a bench scraper or a spatula, spread the cookie dough into the prepared pan. Make sure the layer is even.
- Top the chocolate chip cookie layer with Oreos. They don’t need to overlap; just line them up until covered. Set aside.
- Brownie layer:
- In a large heatproof bowl, melt the butter and chocolate chips over a double boiler, stirring occasionally until completely melted.
- Whisk in the sugar, followed by the eggs (one at a time), vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Stir in the flour.
- Pour the brownie mixture onto the Oreo layer, making sure to cover all the cookies and crevices in the pan. Use a spatula to evenly spread out the layer.
- Bake the brownies for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the deepest part of the pan comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
Adapted from What’s Gaby Cooking (including the chocolate chip cookie base), brownie layer adapted from Smitten Kitchen (previously blogged about here)
