I love cookies – especially chocolate chip cookies. If you couldn’t tell 😉 I also like brownies! After seeing this amazing photo from Displaced Housewife on Instagram, I immediately became inspired to make them – albeit with a few changes that fit the lifestyle of student accommodations.
I have slowly begun to get into baking again. This is quite good but also quite bad. It’s good because I can stop spending money buying baked treats outside but it’s also bad because I end up eating everything I bake – and putting on weight! 🙁 So really it’s either save money and put on weight or… well there is no alternative. I love dessert! I guess that’s why I continue to go to the gym – to balance all the sugar and carbs I consume.
To be fair, I did modify this recipe to reflect my tastes and also the ingredients I had on hand. First and foremost I reduced the recipe by half. It’s only going to be me who is eating them (unless someone asks me really nicely to share). Second, I reduced the amount of bread flour which I believe works great in cookies but in this recipe, I felt it made them too dense and not as soft as I wanted them. Finally, I baked these at a lower temperature but for longer so that it could properly cook through!
BAKING DISASTERS
In all honesty making this was a disaster. The chocolate cookie bars photographed beautifully! And the edges of these cookie bars cooked perfectly and tasted amazing. However, the inner portion remained raw. That meant that I had to chuck these cookie bars back in the oven THREE SEPARATE TIMES to finally get them to cook. The reason is that I am working with a gas oven and the heat settings are so finicky compared to my oven at home. I wanted to cry because I felt like I wasted so many ingredients and was left with unsalvagable cookie bars.
In the end, I saved them! But they are nothing like the recipe from Displaced Housewife. Instead, they are denser (hence why in the updated recipe I have reduced the amount of bread flour), and they are not super sweet. They are a mix between a cookie and a brownie, but more dense and crumbly. Though it is nothing like a cake!
I would make these again! And serve them with chocolate sauce and a scoop of ice cream. I think they work great as a dessert! I can, however, take comfort knowing that these chocolate cookie bars photographed beautifully. And even though they did not taste how I expected, they still tasted great!
CHOCOLATE COOKIE BARS
chocolate chunks. like a cookie. baked in a brownie pan.
Dark Chocolate Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cane sugar 96 g granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (I think olive oil would impart a really rich and nutty flavour here!)
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup bread flour *
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder **
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda **
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate (roughly chopped)
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 375°F (180°C). Line a 9 x 3–inch casserole dish/brownie pan with parchment paper, letting the excess fall over the sides.
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Put the butter in a saucepan and melt over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter until it starts to brown and give off a toffee aroma. Take the butter off the heat and pour into a medium-sized bowl.
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When cooled slightly, whisk in the sugars, oil, egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla until thoroughly blended. I like to whisk this for about 3 minutes or so. You want the mixture looks smooth and shiny.
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Place a sieve over the bowl and sift in the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fold until barely mixed and then add the chocolate. Combine until the flour is gone and the chocolate is evenly dispersed.
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Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. It will be a bit thick so do your best to spread it evenly across the baking pan. Cook for 25-35 minutes. At the 20-minute mark check for doneness. Once the time is up, remove it from the oven and let the brookies cool completely in the pan. You can sprinkle some sea salt on top or leave it be!
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Cut the chocolate cookie bars into even squares and serve them with a cup of milk! 🙂
Recipe Notes
* If you do not have bread flour you can use all-purpose
** I did not have baking soda so I used 1 tsp total baking powder and it turned out fine. I am a student I barely have many ingredients! LOL
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I DON’T HAVE MUCH TO SAY ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT THESE CHOCOLATE COOKIE BARS REALLY PHOTOGRAPHED BEAUTIFULLY AND I FEEL THAT WITH MORE PRACTICE I WILL HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO BAKE PROPERLY WITH MY OVEN (THOUGH THIS IS BAD NEWS FOR MY WAISTLINE)
