I hope you’re not tired of chocolate yet. I’m fully aware that Easter was this past weekend, and that some of you ate your weight in chocolate bunnies, eggs, chicks, etc. Hear me out, though.
Because brownie cookies.
So, what do you do when you have the worst impulse to bake a chocolate something after you scoured the seasonal aisle at the drugstore the day after Easter; only to find the crappy candy no one ever buys on sale? You don’t buy any of it, go to the supermarket instead, get a bar of semisweet baking chocolate, and make these.
This year’s candy haul was nonexistent. I avoided the seasonal aisle this year like the plague. Sure, I’d pass by and see this year’s offerings (basically the same as last, with the exception of weird flavored Peeps) but I didn’t buy any of it. I usually always go for Peeps, which are an all-time favorite; despite its bad reputation, or mini robin’s eggs. They need to be mini or I won’t eat them at all. Anyway, I’d pass by both these items and basically keep it moving. I wasn’t interested for whatever reason until Easter was actually over.
Much to my disappointment, neither of these items were available for purchase at a steep discount the day after. I had an intense craving for chocolate (with reason!) and needed a fix. I slept on the craving for days, and attempted to kill it with other chocolatey candy to no avail. Sugared out from alternatives, I decided to bake something instead. Enter the brownie cookie.
Okay, so I didn’t plan this one out at all. I made these on impulse, which is both good and bad. Good in the sense that I’ll get cookies at the end of it, but bad because I usually plan these things ahead. First of all, before anyone sane even bakes any cookies, you need soft butter. Guess what I didn’t have? Softened butter. I copped out and cubed the crap out of two sticks, separated each cube on a plate, and let it hang out on my kitchen table. Secondly, these things require semisweet baking chocolate. I never have this around, as I don’t use baking chocolate at all. Once upon a time, I’d have unsweetened baking squares at the ready for brownies but not anymore. So after cubing the butter, I had to make a supermarket run for the chocolate.
By the time I got back, the butter was ready to go and so was I. Let me just say that the smell alone that comes from melting the chocolate, and mixing it with the creamed butter and sugar was enough to float me on into heaven. It smelled absolutely amazing! It smelled even better after I threw in the dry ingredients; which included my fave cocoa powder: Hershey’s Special Dark. Now, I know what you’re thinking “omg she uses Hershey’s” but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m basic as hell and this is about as good as it gets for me (for now anyway). I love this stuff because it makes everything taste a little fancier; even if it is regular ol’ Hershey’s.
Not only was this impulsive baking decision short notice, I was also short on time. I had to go to work (because I work nights) later that evening, and needed ample time for my commute. To speed things up, I called in all my reinforcements. By that, I mean I used all available baking sheets. I have two regular cookie sheets that I line with parchment, and two half sheets that I line with silicone liners. I took this opportunity to find out which one of the two kinds of sheets work best with cookies. I confirmed my suspicions and declared my regular sheets with parchment the clear winners. The cookies came out puffier, cooled quicker, and came off the pan easier than the ones on the silicone lined half sheets. I guess the sheet pans’ thickness played a part in that. I love them but for anything other than cookies.
Alright, so not only did the batter of these cookies taste amazing (salmonella be damned!), the cookies themselves were out of this world. THEY WERE SO GOOD. Like, unbelievable. I had, ahem, a few for quality control. They were chocolatey and a little “in your face” about it, but not in a super intense way. The edges were slightly crunchy, with soft and tender middles. These cookies kind of just melted upon first bite, which then made me melt. They were better than brownies, and that’s saying a lot considering my favorite recipe is pretty bomb.
I’m kind of glad I missed the clearance Easter candy. These cookies are way better.
- 2 ounces, by weight of bittersweet baking chocolate
- 2 sticks softened butter, unsalted
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 whole large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2-1/4 cups flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon (additional) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Gently melt the chocolate in the microwave, in 30 second increments; stir to evenly distribute the heat, and let it cool slightly.
- Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until totally combined. Pour in the melted and cooled chocolate into the creamed butter, and mix to incorporate; scraping the bowl as you mix. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Scrape the bowl once more and mix.
- Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk it together, and then add it in batches to the mixing bowl, making sure each addition is completely incorporated. Scrape the bowl once and mix one final time until all combined.
- Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, scoop dough onto the prepped baking sheets. Bake them for 11 minutes until puffy and set.
- Remove them from the oven, let them sit on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove them to a baking rack to cool completely.
Recipe barely adapted from Pioneer Woman
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