Birthdays Bite! Eat a Brownie.

Trust me...you want to make these cookies. 

Alright, tomorrow is M's birthday. We're having a remarkable 4 layer gelato cake delivered to the office. Actually, I have the honor of being the delivery service,(very exciting stuff since Orchard is one of my favorite streets in Manhattan. BABYCAKES! need I say more)so the safety of our frozen treat is entirely in my hands. JJ protect us. 

The point is yes we already have dessert to celebrate her day of birth, however when do I ever skimp on the opportunity to bake? By now I hope you all understand that the answer is always never.

These brownie-like sandwich cookies are a concoction of my own, rather they're a product of my intense chocolate craving this evening. This is how it worked out:

1. Since I'm on a tight budget I looked for what I had the most of and could easily spare...the Price Club sized bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips Katherine brought in for my baking arsenal. 

2. I reviewed my kitchen and decided what items I'd need to skimp on since I was running low and not looking to restock my baking supplies this week...Butter and Flour were running low. 

3. The equation began. What could one make with a lot of chocolate, a little butter, a tiny bit of flour, some sugar, an egg or two, and vanilla? Brownies? Nah, too easy for someone to assume they came from a box. A brownie like cookie? Indeed. 

 

Berry's Brownie Cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 

3 tablespoons butter 

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup sugar 

scant 1/2 cup flour 

scant 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 

Melt 1 1/2 cups of the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals. Make sure to stir the chips in between so that they melt more evenly. 

Once melted, place the butter on top of the hot chocolate and stir until the butter melts and is completely combined with the chocolate. 

Crack two eggs into the butter and chocolate mixture. With a wooden spoon stir until smooth. 

Add the vanilla, sugar and flour. Stir to combine. 

Finally, stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips. 

1 tablespoon at a time, drop the dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave about an inch in between each cookie. You don't want them touching each other in the hot oven...naughty brownie cookies. 

Bake for 10 mins. Remove the tray from the oven and use a spatula to transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack.  

But wait..."what happened to the sandwich" you ask? Ha ha! Get ready for it...

So plain delicious fudgey cookies were not enough. This is me we're talking about. Clearly they needed an embellishment. Let us see, what else did I have in my cabinets? Peanut butter, shredded coconut, cinnamon, all kinds of nuts, Nutella, more chocolate. There was sour cream, jam, neufchatel, kefir and soy milk. Decisions, decisions. I grabbed the nutella and neufchatel with hopes for the best. 

Hazelnut-Cream Filling

Ingredients:

4 oz low-fat neufental cheese

14oz jar Nutella

Plop it all in a microwave safe bowl. Cook it on Medium-High for about 20 seconds. Stir it up with a spoon until everything is mixed together!

Oh. My. God. It's heavenly. Think hazelnut mousse that's not too sweet and with a beautiful texture. 

I spread the cream on the flat side of one cookie and sandwiched on a partner of the appropriate size. I'm telling you, naughty brownie cookies. They're out of control. 

Strangely, once assembled these cookies are similar to the oversized chocolate macaroons I used to snack on on my way two and from class in Paris. The Boulangerie on the way to the metro always had them sitting in the window. What else could you buy in Paris from 2 euro that was that delicious? You'll just have to make these to find out for yourself.Ils sont délicieux. Bon appetite tout le monde! Bonne nuit.