Bready or Not: Brownie Cookies
If ever you are experiencing a chocolate emergency (need chocolate NOW, don’t want to leave the house, don’t want to spend a long time making something), these Brownie Cookies will satisfy nicely.
These cookies mix up fast. They bake fast. They cool fast. They enter your stomach fast.
Plus, they are imbued with brownie goodness. The dough includes melted chocolate and chopped walnuts. Yes, you can replace the walnuts with a different nut–or leave out the nuts entirely, if you so choose. I really love the texture of a chewy cookie with a crunchy nut, though.
Actually, you could even replace the nuts with something like M&Ms. That’d make these easy to modify for holidays, too–green and red candies in December, the Valentine’s mix in February. Have fun with this recipe!
Bready or Not: Brownie Cookies
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- tablespoon scoop or spoon
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Add the corn syrup and egg. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually mix this into the wet ingredients, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is combined. Fold in the walnuts.
- Use a tablespoon scoop or spoon to dollop rounds of dough, spaced out, on baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, then let rest on sheet a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Dulce de Leche Brownies Redux
Do you need a brownie recipe that will really impress people this holiday season? Try these Dulce de Leche Brownies!
This is a resurrected recipe that was originally shared on the Holy Taco Church, which I then reposted here on my site in 2015. It was a big hit back then–I had several people reach out to say they tried it and loved it.
Now, one big warning: This is a dangerous recipe, and I’m not just talking calories. Sweetened condensed milk becomes lava after mere minutes in the microwave. Make this recipe with care. I originally advised using 10-12 minutes total time to make the dulce de leche in the microwave, but when I remade it this year, I did shorter bursts and spent more like 15 minutes, and there were no scalding-hot overflows.
So, take care with this recipe, and know that the reward for your risk is sweet indeed.
Bready or Not: Dulce de Leche Brownies Redux
Equipment
- microwave
- large bowl
- 9×13 pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick spray
- uneven spatula
Ingredients
Dulce de Leche
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk can
- 1 Tablespoon corn syrup
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Brownies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (2 sticks)
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional but awesome
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
To make Dulce de Leche
- (Note that you can buy canned Dulce de Leche on the Hispanic foods aisle in many grocery stores and skip this step! You can also make it in a crock pot or stove–look up these other methods online. Microwave is faster, but has some danger involved.)
- Combine sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup in a LARGE microwave safe bowl. You need the bowl large because the stuff may start to boil like an erupting volcano.
- Microwave on 50% power, stopping and stirring every 2 minutes. Start watching VERY CAREFULLY about the 5 minute point. It can start to boil over very quickly. Start doing 1 minute increments, stirring well in between. Somewhere from 10 to 15 minutes, it will thicken and look caramel-colored rather than white, at which point it is ready. It might look curdled but that goes away when you stir. Add in the butter and stir until it’s melted. Set aside.
To Make the Brownies
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and butter it or apply nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, espresso powder (if using), cocoa, and salt. Add dry ingredients into creamed mixture; mix until well blended.
- Spread about 1/2 of mixture in the prepared pan. This will just cover the bottom. Drop spoonfuls of Dulce de Leche evenly over this layer and smooth out with an uneven spatula. Sprinkle chocolate chips all over. Cover with remaining brownie batter using clean uneven spatula.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Cool and cut into squares.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Half and Half Cookies
You don’t have to choose between chewy chocolate cookies and brownies with this delectable recipe for Half and Half Cookies. You can enjoy both, and in the same bite, if you want!
This recipe is wonderfully straightforward. The dough doesn’t even need to be chilled. You mix, bake, and enjoy.
Recipes like this are when a teaspoon scoop comes in handy for creating even portions of dough. The resulting cookie is fairly large because it’s essentially two mini cookies merged like Voltron to create something even more awesome.
Bready or Not: Half and Half Cookies
Equipment
- parchment paper
- food scale
- teaspoon scoop or spoon
Ingredients
Main dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 11 ounces white chocolate chips 1 bag
Cocoa dough
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth, scraping the bottom of the bowl a few times to ensure everything is combined. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour mixture.
- Use a food scale to divine dough in half between two bowls. To one dough, add the extra sugar and cocoa, stirring until the color is consistent. Divide the white chocolate chips in half between the two doughs and fold in to incorporate.
- Use the teaspoon scoop to dole out one scoop of white dough, one scoop of cocoa dough and press together. Flatten slightly so that the half-and-half dough is visible. Set each combined dough ball spaced out on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until cookies look set. Let them rest on the sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: “Coal” Double Chocolate Cookies
For about a decade, I had it in my head that I wanted to surprise my husband’s co-workers at the nuclear plant with coal cookies as a holiday surprise. I wasn’t sure how to go about it until I saw a brownie-style cookie recipe and decided evolve it with some modifications and a coating of sparkly black sugar. The result: “Coal” Double Chocolate Cookies.
These still taste like crunchy-chewy brownies. The black sugar adds a sweetly crisp outer layer… and in my case, it also turned tongues blue! I didn’t expect that, and it made the gag cookies even funnier to me. I don’t know if all black sugar brands will do that, so if you actually want that effect, you may need to do some testing.
These cookies were a hit at the nuclear plant, a delicious joke that everyone got. Do note that if you want to stick these in stockings, use small baggies–most of the sugar stays put, but some will come off. That’s the way the (coal) cookies crumble.
Bready or Not Original: “Coal” Double Chocolate Cookies
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- teaspoon scoop or spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1/3 cup baking cocoa sifted
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional, for deeper chocolate flavor
- 2 Tablespoons milk or half & half
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup black sugar crystals for topping
Instructions
- Cream together butter, sugars, and vanilla. Beat in the egg. Add the cocoa, espresso powder (if using), and milk. Gradually add in the flour and baking powder, scraping the bottom of the bowl to incorporate everything. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and set in fridge to firm up for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place black sugar in a small bowl.
- Use a teaspoon scoop or spoon to create a lump of dough. Roll it in black sugar to coat. Place spaced out on cookie sheet.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Watch for the cookies to look set; it will otherwise be difficult to gauge doneness because of the cookies’ dark color. Let sit on sheet a few minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Pack cooled cookies in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM
Bready or Not Original: Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars
These Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars are thick and luscious with just the right balance of chocolate and cookie dough flavors.
If you’re one of those people who had just to discover the joys of cookie butter–you’re in for a treat! Think cookies blended with oil to create a spreadable mass just like peanut butter. There is nothing healthy about it, but it tastes like cookie dough. You can find it at Trader Joe’s as Speculoos and at other stores as Biscoff or as a generic.
Cookie butter can pretty much replace peanut butter in any recipe, or even on something as simple as a sandwich. Here, it’s great swirled in with brownie batter. Chocolate and cookie dough, ever the perfect combination.
Since the swirl-in includes cream cheese, be sure to refrigerate these after they’ve baked and cooled. They are divine straight from the fridge!
Bready or Not Original: Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars
Equipment
- 13×9 pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick spray
- uneven spatula
- cutting board
Ingredients
Brownie base
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup baking cocoa sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Cookie butter swirl-in
- 2 boxes cream cheese (8 ounces each) softened
- 1/2 cup creamy cookie butter
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a big bowl, beat together eggs, butter, and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the brownie dry ingredients and gradually add them to the egg mix. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside 1 cup of the brownie batter for the topping. Scoop the rest into the prepared pan and use an uneven spatula to even it out.
- In another bowl, beat together the cream cheese blocks, cookie butter, and sugar. Once that is blended, add the egg and milk. Use an uneven spatula to spread the mixture in a thin layer across the top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the reserved brownie batter on top. Use the tip of the uneven spatula or a butter knife to create swirls.
- Bake pan for 35 to 40 minutes, until the very middle passes the toothpick test. Cool on a wire rack for an hour, then place in fridge to completely chill. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice up and store in a sealed container in the fridge. Keeps for at least 3 days.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Ultimate Double Chocolate Brownies
Brownies. There are probably infinite recipes for them. I probably have over a dozen on Bready or Not. These Ultimate Double Chocolate Brownies have all the classic elements, plus a little more.
That “little more” is Oreos. I suppose I could upgrade these to Triple Chocolate, but I suppose someone might debate if Oreos count as chocolate or just chocolate flavor. So let’s keep things simple.
The important thing is that these brownies are bursting with chocolate flavor. To increase that burst, add in some espresso powder (that enhances chocolate) and/or make these a day ahead of when they need to be served. Chocolate cakes and brownies often develop a deeper flavor after a day.
I used classic Oreos in this recipe, but add any kind you want, even those seasonal flavors. Heck, use minty ones and add mint extract. Use this recipe as a base for new deliciousness!
Bready or Not Original: Ultimate Double Chocolate Brownies
Equipment
- 13×9 pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick spray
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup baking cocoa sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter room temperature and divided
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 10 Oreos coarsely chopped
- 2 cups chocolate chips semisweet, milk, or dark, or a mix
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a big bowl, combine the cocoa and baking soda with 1/3 cup of butter. Add the boiling water and stir to combine. Add the sugar, eggs, and remaining butter. Once that is consistent in color, add the flour, vanilla, salt, and espresso powder, if using.
- Fold in the Oreos and chocolate chips until they are distributed throughout.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are pulling away from the sides of the pan and the middle passes the toothpick test.
- Cool at room temperature, speeding the process in the fridge, if desired. Brownies will be denser and easier to cut if chilled. Use the foil to lift the brownies onto a cutting board to slice. Store in a sealed container at room temperature or in fridge.