A heavenly combination...

It started many months ago with an innocent google search. You see, I was hungry, very hungry. But not for just any old run of the mill recipe. I wanted some baked, chocolately concoction. Into the search engine the terms went and bam! The world of food blogs appeared before my eyes. Before long, my "favorites" included a list of about forty blogs that I checked almost daily (and sometimes more, when my sweet tooth went into overactive mode).

I have always had a passion for baking, and reading these wonderful blogs inspired me to translate this passion into a blog of my own. And thus, the culinary adventure begins.

Chocolate chip cookies. Brownies. Choosing a favorite would be akin to my mom picking my sister or brother as her favorite child. Why do something so hurtful when there is so much love to go around? Thus, the ultimate dilemma lies in choosing which delectable goodie to bake. This process can be an excrutiatingly time-consuming decision and remains a true testament to my indecisive nature. Solution? Combine the two! (Bakerella recently blogged about this Betty Crocker combination, and her pictures got my mouth watering!)

Because I felt like spending some time in the kitchen, I decided to make both the brownie batter and cookie dough from scratch. These brownies were delicious! However, I can't say that the cookie dough really stands out against the chocolately goodness of the brownie. However, even though the cookie dough does not loudly declare its presence, it adds a nice texture and flavor to the brownie. Mmm mmm good!

Cookie Dough Brownies (makes 24 big brownies)

recipes adapted from Baked!

*preheat oven to 350 F

Step #1: make the brownie batter

1 1/4 cups AP flour

1 tsp salt

2 TBS unsweeteed cocoa powder

1 12-oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

5 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

Butter sides and bottom of 9X13 pan.

Whisk flour, salt, cocoa powder together.
Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler until smooth.
Turn off heat and add sugars, whisking until completely combined.
Add eggs and vanilla, whisking until combined.
Fold the flour mixture into chocolate (do not overmix).
Pour into prepared pan and set aside.

Step #2: make the cookie dough

1 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Whisk flour, salt, baking soda together and set aside.

Beat butter and sugars until smooth and pale in color.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.

Add flour mixture in two parts, being careful not to overbeat the mixture.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Step #3: drop spoonfuls of cookie dough on top of the brownie batter

Step #4: bake until brownie is set (toothpick comes out with crumbs), approximately 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy!