Brookster or Brookie...whatever!

Thinking back, I've been baking for TEN years!!! Oh my! hehe...now I feel so old.

During my early years of baking, I started out though box mixes, not just any box mixes it has to be the toaster kind box mixes. Meaning they are 'baked' using an oven toaster. Yup I had many pitfalls with my toaster. The one incident that comes into mind was when the wax paper caught on fire!!! I know what you are going to say why the h... am I using a WAX PAPER??? Well, in my defense back then I had no idea what parchment paper is and I don't believe that they are. Watching local food shows they always said wax paper, it was just until few years back when parchment paper became readily available. Though a roll of it is quite expensive, nothing sticks to it! NOTHING! :D I usually reuse mine 3-4 times when I used it for baking cookies. In this economy there is nothing wrong with being thrifty. But every now and then I splurge! Just like this brownie - cookies combo aka Brookies!
Brookies are brownies with cookie in the middle. Not just any cookie though it has to be a chocolate chip cookie. More chocolate mixed into the mix the merrier. I can't take credit for these though, I was doing my weekly online window shopping at Williams-Sonoma, lucky me I stumbled upon Brookster pan and mix. I haven't made anything from a mix for such a long time every since I learned how to bake from scratch but these got me thinking :D They just look so yummy! Though quite expensive but looks worth it. As I was plotting how to get my hands on these, I seem to remember watching a Martha show where she and her guest made something like this. Like a little kid on christmas morning, I quickly did my search and viola! I saw it again! and guess who was her guess? none other than Matt Lewis from the uber popular Baked, Brooklyn NYC. 
The instructions for making these are a bit long and precise however its so easy you don't have to bring out the heavy KA mixer out, but if you want to its ok but be sure not to over mix these or else the cookies will be chewy like bread and brownies would be cakey. Definitely not the best texture when we say brownies and cookies. If you have time, don't forget to watch the video, its nice to see for yourself how they did these. Instead of using 4" pie dishes I used my muffin pan and lined them with muffin lines for less cleaning and better handling when its time to gobble them up. :)

  • BROOKIES
  • Adapted from Martha
Brownie Layer:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, plus more for pie tins
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72 percent cacao), coarsely chopped
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup light-brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cookie Layer:

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chunks or chips

  1. Butter bottom and sides of six 4-inch-round pie tins; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and cocoa powder; set aside.
  3. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water. Turn off heat but keep bowl over water; whisk both sugars into chocolate mixture. Remove bowl from water and let cool to room temperature.
  4. Add eggs to chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Add vanilla and stir just to combine; do not overmix. Sprinkle flour mixture over chocolate mixture. Using a spatula, gently fold flour mixture into chocolate mixture until just a trace amount of the flour mixture is visible.
  5. Fill each prepared pie tin halfway with batter. Place pie tins on a large baking sheet and transfer to refrigerator; let chill for at least 1 hour.
  6. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside.
  7. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and both sugars until smooth and creamy. Using a spatula, scrape down side of bowl; add egg and beat until well combined. Mixture should be light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat just to incorporate, about 5 seconds.
  8. Add half of the flour mixture and beat until just combined, about 15 seconds. Add remaining flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
  9. Cover bowl and refrigerate at least 3 hours before using.
  10. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  11. Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop with a mechanical release, scoop chilled cookie dough into six balls. Using your hands, shape dough to form perfect balls and gently form into a round disk that is slightly domed at the top; disks should be slightly smaller than the top of the pie tins.
  12. Remove pie tins from refrigerator and gently press 1 disk of cookie dough into each tin of batter. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until cookie is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through cooking time. Serve warm with ice cream or at room temperature.

nikcreate

I'm a nine to five pencil pusher who loves to play with flour and paper during my free time. Dreams of going to Europe and eat croissants and make pastries all day long!

5 comments:

  1. BROOKIES OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE THESE EXIST!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous1:03 AM

    Did the brownies have any problems in muffin cups? Did they stick?

    ReplyDelete
  3. luckily the brookies didn't stick to the muffin cups

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  4. Anonymous1:44 AM

    Hi! Can I also have templates of the recipes from Heny Sison?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1:46 AM

    I am from Laguna and I rarely have time to enroll in seminars which are usually done in QC or in Manila aside from the fact that it's costly.... By the way, I enjoyed reading your post about the Castle. I attended two seminars there and I was turned off with how the Chef treated my friend who was also a participant in the seminar.

    ReplyDelete