So waaaaaay back when- in a time when we could still hug each other; be in public without looking like random members of GI Joe or when Lysol still stocked grocery store shelves, I baked brownies. A LOT of brownies. The quantity of brownies baked in my kitchen was only just outdone by the amount of experimental cupcake flavors I would try tempt people with (Vanilla genoise w/ white truffle buttercream frosting, topped with strawberry, black pepper and a balsamic drizzle anyone?) Brownies satiated my passion for baking and my love of chocolate. In fact so much so was this the case that I ended up winning the title of Observer Food Monthly Best Reader’s Recipe 2014. The victorious recipe was my Smokin’ Pig Licker Brownies and can be found here if you interested.
Anyway I digress, as so often seems to be the case when I write these days! The current abundance of time indoors led me to wonder if this basic brownie recipe could be tweaked and applied to cookie format. And I was not to be the first. I’ll be perfectly honest and admit I was utterly coerced by the glut of crinkle cookie images that seemed to be flooding my feed along with those of the omnipresent sourdough. The cookie recipe here follows pretty much the base template of brownies – melted choc/ butter combo; dry ingredients stash and sugar/egg volume. A dash of baking powder adds some leavening power to the cookie “dough balls” and stops them becoming a singular cookie en masse on the baking tray.
Overall I gotta admit to them being a tasty success, if thinner than I expected. I guess the word “brownies” in my head is synonymous with thick and chunky (applies to me in all walks of life!) so I was a little perturbed when these cookies baked to be a bit thinner. Nonetheless they still had the fudgy texture that I love of brownies and the crinkle topping certainly provided a certain visual ASMR.
So add these the long ever-growing list of what I should start calling “Quarantine Cookies”. Little morsels of baked goodness that have become my tasty alternative to crossing days off a calendar. The only downside being that whilst my repertoire is expanding so too, it would seem, is my waistline!
Stay safe!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa (if you can’t get this standard cocoa is fine as long as it’s unsweetened)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coffee extract
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup fine sugar
- 2 eggs, large
- Optional: Flaky sea salt, to finish (I use Maldon)
Method
- Heat oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and Kosher salt until combined. Set aside until needed later
- Combine the butter and chocolate pieces in a bowl over a pan of water. Gently heat over medium-low heat until melted, stirring occasionally to combine. When fully melted remove the bowl from the hot water/ heat, add in the coffee extract and give one final stir to combine. Set aside until needed
- While the butter/chocolate mixture is melting, combine the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until pale and increased in volume
- Slow and steadily add the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and fold them together until uniform in color and it is just combined
- Sift in the dry mixture, again fold it in until just combined
- Set aside for 5 minutes and the mixture will thicken
- Using a large (3 tablespoon measurement) scoop drop batter balls onto your prepared baking sheet, spaced at least two inches apart. The batter will be runny and will spread as the cookies bake. (Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of flaky sea salt, if using)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are crinkled and slightly domed. Remove cookies from the oven and transfer the pan to a wire baking rack to cool. Leave the cookies to cool completely on the pan before removing. The cookies will flatten and crinkle even further as they firm up and cool down
*These cookies will keep in a sealed container for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months
Crumbs In My Beard 