Brookies...When A Regular Brownie Just Isn't Enough

I seriously embrace opportunities to cook for others.  Class parties (before everything had to be store-bought and pre-packaged), my husband's co-workers, church events, whatever.

You need food for something?  You've got my attention...and I've got an Allrecipes recipe box and Pinterest board full of contenders I've been meaning to try.

One of the neat things about Girl Scouts is the bridging ceremony they perform each year as the girls get older and move up to the next levels of membership.  After the ceremony there's food.

And really, that's the important part, right?

I jest...sort of.

Last year I took the bridging ceremony as an opportunity to try out Apple Slab Pie, which totally proved to be a winner.  It's been pinned about a billion times on Pinterest since then and is the fourth most viewed post on my blog of all time.

The bar was set high :-)

This year I decided to go the chocolate route since I've been eyeing a recipe for a bar cookie called a "Brookie" for awhile.  They start with a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough and end with a layer of brownie batter.

Ummm...kind of hard to go wrong with a combination like that, right?

Right.

They did NOT disappoint.  By the time my son and I made our way to the serving line there was only one little corner piece of Brookie left- though I did nibble on a little of the Brookie sitting on my daughter's plate.  Just for review purposes, of course ;-)

Decadent.  Delicious.  Destined for Christmas cookie plates this year.

Definitely worth repeating!

Brookies

From Allrecipes.com

Cookie Layer:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Brownie Layer:

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

2. Beat softened butter, light brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract together in a large bowl until creamy. Add 1 egg; beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.

3. Whisk 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and baking soda together in a bowl. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture until dough is combined. Stir chocolate chips into dough. Spread dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish to cover completely.

4. Stir 1 cup white sugar, melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract together in a bowl; add 2 eggs and beat well. Mix cocoa powder into butter mixture until well-combined. Stir 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt into cocoa mixture until batter is combined. Pour brownie batter over cookie dough and spread to cover completely.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brookies comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes (It took 40-45 minutes for my Brookies to reach this point). Cool completely before cutting into bars.