I have birds.
Living in Los Angeles is like living in a jungle. Instead of dense tropical trees and dangerous pumas, Los Angeles has obnoxious cars and… actors. There is very little visible animal life besides dogs on leashes, squirrels rummaging through the trash bins and pigeons just walking around being pretty gross.
But I have birds. I call them my Midnight Song Birds. They live in the tree outside my bedroom window and sing to one another all night long. All night! Sometimes I’ll be up until 1 in the morning and the birds are still going at it. They keep up the chatter all night long.
I’ve come to love sound of these birds chirping as I fall asleep. It helps erase the occasional helicopter or paramedic siren. My birds sound beautiful. And though they sound completely out of place at 1 in the morning, they remind me to be thankful for the little things- like the simple joy of chirping birds, or chewy chocolate cookies.
How about some cookie adventures? Follow me.
I’m convinced that these cookies are actually brownies in disguise. They’re super soft, full of chocolate, and my favorite part- they have that brownie crackled skin on top. I think it’s the slightly flaky chocolate top and soft center that won my heart.
Topped with darling chocolate covered sunflower seeds, these cookies are perfect to snack on with a glass of cold milk sitting in front of the TV watching dvds of Big Love… or maybe that’s just me.
Chocolate Brownie Cookies
recipe from King Arthur Flour
yields 26 cookies without chips, 30 cookies with chips
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped or in chips)
3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
In a double boiler, or in the microwave, gently melt together the chocolate and butter. To avoid heating the chocolate too much and possibly burning it, the best method is to heat till the butter is melted and the chocolate has partially melted, then remove from the heat. Stir till all the chocolate melts.
In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs till they’re thoroughly combined. You don’t need a mixer, just do it in a medium sized bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the hot melted chocolate, then stir in the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, if you’re using them. Refrigerate the batter like dough for 1 hour, to make it easier to handle.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, three if you have them.
Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoonfuls (about the size of a small ping pong ball) onto the prepared baking sheets. A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this task extremely simple. Leave about 2″ between the dough balls, as they’ll spread as they bake.
Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked. They won’t crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they’re cracked all the way across the top surface, they’re done. The point is, you want these baked all the way through, but just barely; additional baking makes them more crisp rather than chewy. Remove the cookies from the oven, and top each with a kiss-shaped chocolate, a bittersweet chocolate wafer, or a chocolate covered sunflower seed. Wait 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
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These look so good and easy to make! I sure hope I don’t screw it up, but thank you for the recipe!
oh my goodness. these look absolutely amazing!!!!!
They look soooooo good!! I have to try them…:)
I love your site…!!! I can tell that I’m a new fan of your place…thanks a lot for everything you share with us…:) I’m from Mazatlan, Sinaloa in Mexico.
XOX
Hello there! My name is Sarah–I was looking for a good chocolate cookie recipe and this cookie meets ll the criteria. If you don’t mind, have you any recipes for native Mazatlan dishes–my Father was from Colima, Colima…thanks so much!
Hey there, I was wondering if it would be wise to not include the expresso into the mixture?
Oh my! I’ve had chocolate on my mind for a couple of days…brownies, sheet cake, the choices are so many and I couldn’t decide what to make. But these look scrumptious! I think I’ll try. Thanks for sharing.
cannot wait to bake!!!
Joy, hello from Minnesota! Just a note to tell you these cookies are probably the best chocolate thing I’ve had in about a million years. I made a batch this morning for my husband and his hunting pals to take on their 8 hour drive to South Dakota. They (the cookies) lasted 20 minutes. They barely made it out of St. Paul! Thanks for the great recipe and the cool blog. You’re a sweetie.
These just look so good I really have to bake them this weekend.
I am afraid to though, as I know I will eat them all on my own!….
This look AH-Mazing, Joy. Gonna make them tommorow morning to possibly impress a boy :)
Made these cookies and they were a big hit with all the family, even my husband who doesn’t care for brownies. I did have a spacing problem and ended up with some twin cookies, but they were still delicious. They really spread while baking so be careful.
I’m baking these up this weekend and shipping these puppies to Iraq for my cousin. Global brownie cookie goodness!
Oh my gosh you are killin me here! lol These sound soooo good :)
I went to bed last night and thought about this recipe.
It sent me gleefully to slumber land. I will cook them up and let you know if they were as sensational as their pictures!!!
I’m making these today with my sister to sell my parents house. They have a showing today. :)
Sup, brah?
I just made these, since I’m showing up at my cousin’s house today. I used white whole wheat flour, and 2 eggs and 1/4 cup egg white instead of 3 eggs. I drizzled white chocolate on some, and topped with dried cranberries on a few. I even did both on a couple, but I left some plain. Very sexy cookies, I must say.
Sorry for double posting! But, on another note, I drizzled some with dark chocolate and sprinkled on some toasted coconut! Very hot. >:D
Wow, these look AMAZING!
Can’t wait to make some!
Would omitting the espresso powder make a huge different in taste/texture?
leaving out the espresso powder will make no difference in the texture and only a small flavor difference. Leave it out if you’d like… no biggie.
Oooh, one of my coworkers brought in a batch of brownie cookies to work the other day, and they were gone in minutes!
I was dying to get the recipe, but it seems I’ve found one by myself! Seeing it’s by you, I have no doubts… can’t wait to get to baking.
But do you think semisweet chocolate would be okay, instead of bittersweet?
My cookies didn’t come out flat like that for some reason. They remained little mounds that didn’t really crack at the top. They still tasted great though.
Yum. In Love.
I omitted the espresso powder, used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of bittersweet chocolate, used part whole-wheat flour, and part flax seed meal instead of butter–and they were still AMAZING. It was a little too much chocolate (if that’s possible . . .) with the “optional” chocolate chips, so the second time (can I admit I’ve already made two batches?) I left them out. What I really want to do is put in white chocolate chips–mmm, mmm!
Salted brownies are a thing now, so I gave it a try and sprinkled some on top before baking. That made them even more addicting–you choose if that’s good or bad! :D
I baked up a batch of these day with white chocolate chips – it was AMAZING.
Do it.
:D
Oh, and I also refrigerated some extra dough (a tiny bit of self-control–aren’t you proud?) and it kept really well and baked perfectly a week or more later.
I made this today and they were a mess :(
I love the look of these, they look beautiful.
Sooo gonna make these when i get the chance (which is now….)
I am from australia, so the decoration on top is not avalible here :(
They will look good anyway…
Thanks xx
Wow! I just made these and they were delicious! I’m planning to make them for my boyfriend’s birthday, and I just made a half batch to test them out… they definitely passed. I used semi-sweet chocolate instead of bittersweet and topped them with chopped walnuts. Though they didn’t spread out as much as yours and I took them out a bit prematurely, I am SO glad I made them… yum :)
-Liv
My cookies aren’t spreading for some reason…
What a great excuse to buy chocolate covered sunflower seeds!
I just took a batch of these out of the oven – they’re beautiful! (and delicious!)
I was just wondering, how long would these last, and how should we store them?
Thanks!
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