Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

July 27, 2020

A certain someone (who I happen to be married to) noted that I don’t bake a lot of chocolate desserts. To be honest, I’m not a huge chocolate person. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely enjoy chocolate, but it’s not my go to. Citrus? YES. Fruit? YES. Cinnamon? YES.

But I have to say, these brownies will definitely be in regular rotation from now on! You get a 2-for-1 with this recipe, which features both brownies and chocolate chip cookies coming together for a PERFECT union. It’s a little extra work - you’re basically making two different recipes at once - but it’s well worth it.

I made these in a special Pampered Chef pan, which is great if you love the texture of brownie edges like I do! If you plan to use an 8x8 or 9x9 pan, then double the recipes below. Otherwise you’ll end up with very thin brownies and nobody wants that.

recipe

Brownie recipe adapted from Cloudy Kitchen’s Peanut Butter Caramel Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

Cookie recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction’s Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Quantity: 12 brownie squares (can easily be doubled to fit in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan)

Time: ~2.5 hours

Ingredients:

Brownie Batter

57g (4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick) butter

125g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped or break into large chunks

25g (1/4 cup + 1/2 tablespoon) cocoa powder

70g (1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon) all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

60g (a little less than 1/3 cup) vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)

150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar

50g (1/4 cup, packed) light or dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

57g (4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick) butter, for browning 

50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar

100g (1/2 cup, packed) light or dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoons vanilla 

156g (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

14g (1 tablespoon) milk

135g (3/4 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips, (I like to roughly chop about 1/4 cup of the chips, and set aside a tablespoon to place on top)

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans

Flaky salt for sprinkling on top

Process:

Brown Butter

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. The butter will start to bubble and separate, but keep going until you’ve reached a nice caramel color and the butter smells nice and nutty. Watch carefully to avoid burning! Once browned, remove from heat and pour into a separate bowl to chill. You can pop it in the fridge or freezer, but make sure to bring back to room temp before starting on the cookie dough. 

Brownie Batter

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Melt butter and chocolate (you can use a double boiler set up or just melt directly in a sauce pan). Remove from heat and add granulate and brown sugar. Mix to combine. Add oil and vanilla and mix. Add the eggs last, once the chocolate mixture has cooled sufficiently. Mix to combine.  Finally, incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Set the brownie batter aside while you work on your cookie dough.  

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

In a bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Whisk until combined. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, cream together the cooled browned butter with the granulated and brown sugars. Mix until combined. Add egg, vanilla and milk and mix until combined. 

Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add chocolate chips and walnuts (optional), mix until just combined. 

Assemble

Grease your pan. If you are using a loaf pan, line it with parchment paper. 

If you are using a special pan like mine or muffin tins, scoop a small amount of cookie dough into the center of each opening, then divide brownie batter evenly among the openings. 

If you are using an 8x8 or 9x9 pan, scoop small amounts of cookie dough in the pan leaving plenty of space between. Then pour the brownie batter into the loaf pan covering the cookie dough. 

Take small bits of cookie dough and drop over the top of the batter, even distributing the cookie dough. It doesn’t need to be perfect, and you still want to see the brownie batter poking through. You will likely have extra cookie dough, which you can scoop into balls and either freeze for later or bake separately at 350 for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. 

Bake the brownies for 18 minutes (40-50 minutes for an 8x8 or 9x9 pan). Let cool to allow the brownies to set. 

Tips:

• If you plan to use an 8x8 or 9x9 pan, then double the recipes. Otherwise you’ll end up with very thin brownies and nobody wants that.

• Feel free to omit the nuts or replace with your favorite nut (I alternate between walnuts and pecans).

• I like to make big batches of browned butter at a time. That way I always have some ready to go.

• Everyone has their favorite brownie texture. I like to under bake these so that they are nice and fudge-y in the middle, but chewy on the outside.

• You will likely have extra cookie dough, which you can scoop into balls and either freeze for later or bake separately at 350 for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. 

• Cookie dough can be made 1-2 days in advance.