Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

My roommate and I want to visit our room-to-be before the year's over so we can scope it out and start planning what to bring and how to arrange, etc. We thought that the awkwardness of showing up out of the blue asking to poke around someone's room might be softened somewhat if we brought baked goods. Especially since our floor is a boy's floor this year.

Whenever you're bringing baked goods to someone whose palate and tastes you are not familiar with, the two safest bets are probably brownies and chocolate chip cookies, because they're just, well, classic. So it only makes sense that a combination of the two would be a doubly safe bet.

You may be asking yourself, "Chocolate chip cookies and brownies? Is anyone really that gluttonous and indecisive?"

You betcha.

And good thing, too. Because these beauties are delicious! (No surprise.) They consist of a brownie base layer...

(I topped mine with mini chocolate chips, because... why not? Also, I was trying to use them up. It's that time of year, with only a few days left of school!)

... followed by chocolate chip cookie dough ...

... dropped in chunks across the top of the brownie batter.

In case you're wondering (I know I would be), yes, that batter is as finger lickin' scrumptious as it looks.

The chocolate chip cookie brownies turned out as the best of both worlds - moist and chewy chocolate chip cookie on top, with thick, fudgy brownies beneath. Mmm...

Cue Theme Song: "You get the beeeeest of both worlds, a yummy cookie on top, then a brownie below..."


Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies*

Brownies:

½ + 1/3 c. sugar
½ c. cocoa powder
1/3 c. + 2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. strong coffee or water
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ c. + 1 tbsp. flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
chocolate chips to taste

Combine butter and cocoa powder in a small bowl, and place over a pot of simmering water.  Make sure that the simmering water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.  Add the coffee or water and stir to melt the ingredients.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs and the sugar.  Add the vanilla extract.  When the butter and chocolate have melted and come together, slowly stir the chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir to combine.

Cookies:

1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/3 c. + 2 tbsp. butter, melted
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
chocolate chips to taste

1. Sift together dry ingredients excluding sugar, set aside
2. Cream together butter and sugars.
3. Beat in eggs and vanilla
4. Slowly stir in dry mixture, then add chocolate chips.

Pour the brownie mix into the bottom of a 8 x 8 pan. After pouring the brownie batter, drop spoonfuls of cookie dough across the top. It really doesn’t matter if you’re neat about this. It should cover most of the top. Put brownies in oven preheated to 325 degrees and then bake for 50-60 minutes.

*My measurements are really awkward because I halved the recipes. You should probably double them back up.