Cupcake Brookies

After a request for Brookies from my daughter for her birthday, I went in search of a good recipe.  There are a lot out there from very basic, using premade cookie dough and a brownie mix to recipes totally from scratch.  I settled on a recipe from My Recipe Magic and then turned it into cupcake form.  I did, however, use the Toll House cookie recipe instead of the one from Recipe Magic.  Because it is a larger recipe, I had some cookie batter left over which I refrigerated and made into cookies a couple of days later. The recipe is pretty straightforward but requires a bit of time.  The key is to chill both parts, the cookie and the brownie batter separately.  This allows the cupcakes to cook evenly.

 Brookies

Cookie Recipe:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

 

Combine flour, backing soda & salt in a small bowl.  In a mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter with the white & brown sugar and vanilla until creamy.  Add eggs one at a time.  Gradually beat in the flour mixture by 1 cups additions until fully incorporated.  Gently stir in the morsels and nuts, if using.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Proceed to the brownie recipe.

Brownie Recipe:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon dark chocolate cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Add flour, salt and cocoa powder to a medium bowl, whisking to combine. Set aside.

In a double boiler, bring 2-3 inches of water to a steady simmer.  In the top pan, add butter and chocolate, stirring until melted and combined. Turn off the heat. Whisk white sugar and light brown sugar into the chocolate mixture. Remove the pot from the heat and separate the top pot, allowing the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. 

Add eggs to the chocolate mixture, whisking until just combined.  Using a spatula,
add vanilla and stir until just combined. Gently fold flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until just incorporated.  ** You want to avoid adding extra air to the batter, so use the spatula carefully.

Pour the brownie batter into greased muffin tins (or use the cupcake liners) and transfer to the refrigerator.  Chill for at least 1 hour. 

Brookie Assembly:

After chilling, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Remove the muffin tin from the refrigerator.  Using a small spoon, scoop out a small amount of cookie dough.  Roll a ball in your hands and flatten it out into a disk shape.  Gently press a disk into the center of each brownie batter cup.  Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until the outside edge is a bit brown & the cookie center is set.  Use a toothpick to test the center.

These are delicious served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.  Yummy!