Friday 12 July 2013

(Frosty) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

So dudes and dudettes I have been mentally prepping myself to make these babies all year. I came across the recipe on Joanne's blog Eats Well With Others at some point in September and felt like I needed more experience before I attempt at making them.

Now the end of the academic year and my university studies altogether have arrived and so has the time to pick out that recipe from my delicious account. (At the time of its creation in 2005 little did I know I will end up using it mainly for food - fitting much? Its methuselahian age is also the reason why I won't share my profile with you - who knows what atrocities saved by my fourteen-year-old self you would find? *shudder*)

THE NUDGE
Indeed, we still have leftover food from our housemates who had moved out circa two weeks ago. Housemate Anthony suggested the other day for me to bake something in order to use up the available baking ingredients. By that time he had already made Madeira cake and flapjacks so I could not fall behind too much!
We had everything we needed for Chocolate Chip Brownies in the house apart from chocolate (obvs doesn't last long in my possession) and butter. I would have preferred to alter some ingredients of the original recipe (such as spelt flour for wheat as in my oatmeal pancakes), but the working conditions were clear: Use what the house gives you! (to paraphrase the Czech idiom co dům dal)

MEASUREMENTS
I will not bother rewriting the full instructions as you can easily check them out on the original post (with insanely delicious photography, might I add). However, I will point out a couple of things.
As a European born and bred I am easily confused by cups and ounces (happens often). For people like me I posted the converted measurements below. (I find The Metric Kitchen as probably the most useful website for these situations. Do you know any other good conversion websites? Or perhaps a tool, mnemonic device, to remember the system?)

DOUGH
I was surprised to learn that chocolate chip cookie dough does not require any eggs. All you need is a bit of milk to achieve the sticky texture.
Has my whole life been a lie? I've always made my CCC with eggs which prevented me from licking my hands because (in my eyes) raw eggs equals salmonellosis. I know some people do it anyway, but that goes against my upbringing. So, my dear reader, note that this was the first time in my life I actually tasted CCC dough. I guess there's a first time for everything...

CHILLY DESSERT
If you're familiar with Joanne's recipe, you will notice a small change in the title - chilled. 
The brownies ended up being surprisingly heavy. I ate one half of my first brownie and had to take a break before getting back to the other. I certainly wasn't expecting this outcome! I started questioning my one-brownie-a-day eating plan. In order to preserve their freshness, I froze the rest of the batch in a food container. And that's when the magic happened.
Of course the next day I got my usual sugar cravings. Instead of turning to my usual grapes, raisins or white yogurt I took out a frozen brownie. I could not wait for too long though and nibbled at it still cold. *drum roll* It was wonderful! Kinda crunchy, less sticky on the fingers in the current British heat, and it reminded me of ice cream!

Therefore I recommend to all of you to serve the brownies chilled, approximately five minutes after taking it out of the freezer. It is so worth the wait.

Ha! I did not forget to include anything this time!







(Frosty) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

BROWNIE DOUGH
70g flour
120g brown sugar
80g unsalted butter
100g chocolate
2 eggs
1tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp salt

@ 180 ºC

COOKIE DOUGH
90g flour
90g brown sugar
50g caster sugar
120g unsalted butter
80g chocolate chips
2 tbs hemp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt (Do people actually measure this? Or do you use your instinct like me?)

CHOCOLATE GLAZE
2 tbs unsalted butter
100g chocolate

SOME OBLIGATORY PHOTOGRAPHY


Mixing flour with cocoa and salt.

I love how easy it is to measure butter due to the design of the packing! Also note how hot it was during the day. 

I first melted the butter and then added blocks of chocolate. 

Flour + cocoa + salt followed by butter + chocolate + eggs + vanilla extract in one bowl. Brown sugar in the other.

Brownie dough ready for the oven! I used an aluminium pan for its shape and easy brownie removal. 

Mixing chocolate chip cookie dough with hands as tradition. I was getting worried there is not enough to fill the pan, but it worked out well. 

Making chocolate chips. I don't buy manufactured ones as it takes away from the homemade feel. This method is also cheaper and presents a good practice in patience. I recommend to warm up the chocolate a little (takes place naturally in hot weather or bring close to the stove) and tilt the bar sideways (as pictured) for easy cutting. 

Brownie base is done!

Layers from bottom to top: brownies, chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate glaze.

Refrigerated sufficiently :)

Om nom nom nom nom!


No comments:

Post a Comment