Best Brookies Recipe
While brookies might sound as if they'd be the official cookie of preppies, and something the country club set would be snacking on, the word is actually another portmanteau like cronut or turducken. As recipe developer Catherine Brookes describes them, brookies are "half chocolate chip cookie and half chocolate brownie, in two distinct layers," so brookie = brownie + cookie.
So who created brookies? No one knows for sure when or how it came to be. In 2015 this "invention" was presented on Shark Tank by a team of bakers who wanted to promote an L.A.-based chain called Milk and Brookies, but the Sharks shot them down (while happily scarfing the free treats). As one Shark Tank blog pointed out, the only new thing about these made-for-TV brookies was their cupcake shape, as the blogger's grandma had baked a similar version in bar form. Here Brookes is sticking with the tried-and-true bar shape, too, pairing the chocolate chip cookie bottom with a fudgy brownie top for something she calls "the ultimate indulgent treat."
Gather the ingredients for brookies
To make the cookie layer, you'll be using chocolate chips, butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and cornstarch. While cornstarch isn't something you see in too many cookie recipes, Brookes assures us that this ingredient "helps to keep the cookie layer a little more soft and tender so it matches the texture of the brownie a bit more closely."
For the brownie layer, you'll be using some of the same things, plus a few more ingredients: semi-sweet baking chocolate, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder.
Make the cookie dough
Prepare an 8-inch square pan by greasing it and lining it with parchment paper.
Beat ½ cup (1 stick) of butter with the brown sugar until it's smooth and fairly fluffy, a process that should take about 4 minutes if you're using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer. Beat in 1 egg along with the vanilla, then add the flour, cornstarch, and baking soda.
Stir in ½ cup chocolate chips, then spread the cookie dough over the bottom of the prepared pan. Stick the pan in the freezer to chill for a few minutes as you make the brownie batter.
Make the brownie batter
At this point, you can go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 F. Melt the baking chocolate with the remaining butter in the microwave. Beat the remaining eggs with the granulated sugar until frothy, which may take up to 4 minutes with an electric beater. Mix the melted chocolate and butter into the sugar and eggs, then fold in the cocoa powder along with the remaining flour and chocolate chips.
Bake the brookies
Pour the brownie batter over the semi-frozen cookie layer. Put the pan in the oven and bake the brookies for 40-45 minutes, until they are crackly on top. You can test to see if they are done by sticking a toothpick or skewer in the middle to see if it comes out clean.
Let the brookies cool for about 2-3 hours before you cut them into bars. Brookes tells us "I personally store them at room [temperature, but you can put them] in the fridge, if preferred." She does suggest, though, that you keep them in an airtight container to keep them from going stale too quickly.
- 1 cup butter, divided
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup + ⅔ cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 4.5 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, broken into pieces
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- Grease and line an 8x8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Beat ½ cup butter with the brown sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes if you're using an electrical appliance.
- Add 1 egg and the vanilla extract and beat again until combined.
- Mix in 1 ¾ cup flour, cornstarch, and baking soda until just combined.
- Stir in ½ cup chocolate chips.
- Spread the dough in the base of the pan and put it in the freezer.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Melt the dark chocolate with the butter in the microwave in 30 second bursts until smooth.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk the white sugar and remaining 2 eggs on a medium speed until frothy, about 4 minutes.
- Pour in the chocolate mixture and mix on a low speed until just combined.
- Add the cocoa powder and remaining ⅔ cup flour. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold through by hand with a wooden spoon until just combined.
- Add the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips and fold these through.
- Take the pan out of the freezer and pour the brownie mixture on top of the cookie layer. Smooth it into an even layer.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until crackly on top and a skewer poked into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
- Leave the brookies in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool. Leave them to cool completely before slicing, about 2-3 hours.
| Calories per Serving | 320 |
| Total Fat | 17.8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10.8 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.4 g |
| Cholesterol | 53.9 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 38.2 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2.5 g |
| Total Sugars | 21.7 g |
| Sodium | 51.5 mg |
| Protein | 4.3 g |
