Brownie Cookies

This recipe combines all that is great about cookies and brownies.

 You may be asking, like my older brother who loves brownies and whose favorite birthday cake is (or at least was) brownie-ice cream cake, what possible improvement cookies have over brownies.  I know it is hard to imagine but it is the edges.  At least in my opinion the best brownies are the edges which have a little bit of crispness but are still chewy and soft in the middle.  Given the option, I would basically just eat the edges of a pan of brownies and leave the rest.  But with brownie cookies each cookie has a perfect edge and the chewy fudginess of brownies.

Fudginess may not be a word, but if not it should be so I am hearby inventing it.  I hear if you have a blog you're allowed to invent words.  Also, since it goes on the internet, everything I say is true.  That will be useful in future romantic relationships, I think.  But I digress. . . look! I am posting another picture of my gorgeous copper double boiler.  This is probably my most photogenic piece of cookware.  I love it, as you've probably noticed since I post pictures of it whenever I can.

The big difference between brownies and cookies is that brownies have a more liquid batter (less butter and flour, more eggs).  Cookies need to have a firmer batter so they don't spread into a single very large cookie (although my brownie cookies tried to).

The brownie cookies are somewhere in-between, thicker than brownie batter but much more liquid than cookie dough.

 The way you get separate cookies out of it is you chill it until it is firm so you can shape cookies out of it.

 You should still give them plenty of room on the pan as they do spread a lot. As you can see from the first picture, this was not enough space.  Not that there is anything particularly wrong with having merged cookies, but I'm serious about the edges and you should try to preserve them with their crispness as the perfect contrast to the chewy brownies.

Brownie Cookies

12 ounces (2 cups) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (or a combination)
1.  Melt bittersweet chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler.  Allow to cool.
2. Beat eggs and vanilla in electric mixer until frothy.  Add the sugar slowly and continue beating until the mixture ribbons off the beaters.  Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir to combine.
3. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir to combine.  Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
4. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is well-chilled.  It will start more like cake batter and should chill until it is more like cookie dough.
5. Role dough into balls about the size of a walnut.  Place cookies on baking sheets lined with baking parchement about 1 1/2 inches apart.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes.

Recipe from the Food Network
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