Last week’s visit to the Nestlé test kitchens definitely put me in the mood to bake cookies. I have been looking forward all week to share these with you, I was so pleased with how they came out. For these Brownie-Swirled Chocolate Chip Cookies, I combined two on-the-package Nestlé recipes – Mini Morsels Cookies and Dark Chocolate Brownies – to create one pretty cool-looking cookie that tastes, if I may say, even better than the sum of its parts.
If the idea of swirling brownie batter into cookie dough sounds to you like something Jenny from Picky Palate might have come up with, you’re right! My supremely creative friend Jenny is the reigning queen of combining treats to make exciting new ones (her Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies are all over the food blogs right now). When I got it in my head that I wanted to combine brownies and cookies I looked to the technique she shared several years ago that ensured big bold swirls without “muddying” the dough. It worked like an absolute charm.
Read on to learn the easy technique for swirling brownie batter into cookie dough…plus a fabulous baking giveaway from Nestlé!
To get nice, clean brownie swirls into your chocolate chip cookie dough, you first transfer your cookie dough to a baking pan.
Spread out the dough into a thin layer. You don’t have to fill up the pan or anything. All you’re doing here is spreading out the dough to make it easier to scoop out the cookies – with brownie swirls – later.
Drizzle about a half a cup of brownie batter over the cookie dough. Yes, you’ll have extra brownie batter. No, this isn’t a problem in the least (you’ll bake the rest in a separate pan).
Go in with a toothpick and gently swirl the brownie batter into the dough. Don’t go too crazy with the swirling – the less combining you do the more distinctly the swirls will appear.
Lastly, scoop out your cookies. Jenny recommends using a cookie scoop. Since this is the one kitchen utensil I don’t happen to own I used a regular ice cream scoop and it worked just fine. Do your best to keep the brownie batter on top, that way your swirls will appear on the top surface of the cookie rather than on the bottom (as I learned). I scooped out golf ball-sized amounts of dough.
And there they are! They kind of remind me of the planet earth. 🙂 You can taste the difference between the brownie and chocolate chip cookie parts, but the entire treat has the chewy-crisp consistency of a cookie. There’s enough brownie batter leftover for a 9″x9″ pan of incredible dark chocolate brownies. This is the recipe that keeps on giving!
And speaking of giving…
Nestlé Baking Gift Basket GIVEAWAY! [THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED]
The folks at Nestlé were kind enough to offer Cooking On the Side readers the chance to win a Nestlé Baking Gift Basket. It includes:
- A sampling of all of the Nestlé Toll House morsels
- Nestlé Toll House Baking Cocoa
- Nestlé Carnation milks
- Libby’s Pumpkin
- Wonka bars
- An apron
Here are four ways to enter, you can do any or all of them (please leave separate comments for each entry):
- Leave a comment on this post sharing your hands down, all time favorite cookie.
- “Like” Cooking on the Side on Facebook
- Subscribe to free updates from Cooking On the Side via e-mail or RSS
- Follow me @paninikathy on Twitter
The giveaway will close on Monday, April 4, 2011 at noon PDT [THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED]. I will use random.org to select one winner to receive the gift basket and announce the winner in this post. Apologies to my international readers, due to shipping constraints the prize can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.
**UPDATED 4/5/2011 – Congrats to the winner!
Congratulations to entry #94 – Dara from Cookin’ Canuck!
Brownie-Swirled Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from the Original Nestlé Toll House Mini Morsel Cookies (on the back of the Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Mini Morsels package) and Easy Dark Chocolate Brownies (on the back of the Nestlé Toll House Dark Chocolate Morsels package) recipes. Brownie swirling technique from Picky Palate.
Prep time: 30 min | Cook time: 1 hour | Total time: 1 hour 30 min
Yield: 36 cookies and 16 brownies
INGREDIENTS:
Cookie Dough
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (12-oz package) semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
Brownie Batter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 2/3 cups (10-oz package) dark chocolate chips
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Prepare the cookie dough:
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
- Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Gradually beat in flour mixture.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
Prepare the brownie batter:
- Heat sugar, butter and water in a medium saucepan just to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- Add chocolate chips; stir until melted.
- Stir in eggs, one at a time, until blended.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Add flour, baking soda and salt; stir well.
Assemble the cookies:
- Transfer the cookie dough to a baking pan.
- Spread out the dough into a thin layer (you don’t have to fill up the pan; you’re just spreading out the dough to make it easier to scoop out the cookies – with brownie swirls – later).
- Drizzle 1/2 cup of brownie batter over the cookie dough.
- With a toothpick gently swirl the brownie batter into the dough. Go lightly on this – the less combining you do the more distinctly the swirls will appear.
- Scoop out golf ball-sized amounts of dough with a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop. Do your best to keep the brownie batter on top so that your swirls will appear on the top surface of the cookie rather than on the bottom.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
- Transfer the remaining brownie batter (add in nuts, if desired) to a greased 9″ x 9″ pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out slightly sticky. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.
Wow, those cookies look so awesome! My all-time favorite cookie would have to be my mom’s iced sugar cookies that she makes every year for Christmas. They’re SO good! 🙂
My fav cookie is the traditional choc chip
I follow u on my Google RSS
Wow! these look pretty interesting, can’t wait to give it a shot 🙂
my all time favorite cookies are chocolate chunk cookies with nuts
I’m now following you on twitter 😀
I “like” your facebook page too! 🙂
I’m now an email subscriber of your blog 🙂
These cookies look delicious! My all time favorite cookies are white chocolate chip cookies. Simple, but SO good!
All time favorite cookie: Fruit and nut from the Lovin Oven in NJ. 🙂
Following you on twitter!
What a great idea for a cookie! My favorite has to be chocolate chip cookie with a tall glass of milk!
all time fave- hands down. warm gooey chocolate chip. mmmmmm.
I follow in google reader.
last one. I am friends on facebook.
fingers crossed I win! this is a fun giveaway. thanks!
Hidden Kisses! http://iwasborntocook.blogspot.com/2010/12/best-christmas-cookie-ever.html
I subscribe via RSS
My favorite cookie has got to be these awesome ones my mom makes. Oatmeal with craisins and cornflakes. Amazing!
I already follow you on twitter 🙂
I also like you on facebook…
AND I subscribe via email!
Sugar Cookie with A TON of frosting.
Follow you on twitter
Liked you on facebook..
Mmm, anything that gets extra chocolate into a cookie is fine by me! I love my mom’s oatmeal raisin cookies (with chocolate and walnuts, too).
Chocolate Chip or Chocolate Chunk cookies are the BEST!
I actually love my husband’s cookies the best. He makes a coconut oatmeal cookie that I didn’t even think I could swallow since it doesn’t have chocolate in it. I was wrong; they are delicious!
All time favorite cookie is a tie between Hershey’s Chocolate Chip with pecans & a deep chocolate shortbread cookie recipe I found in a magazine a few years back. I’d love to win the Nestle Gift Basket. The contents hit all my happy buttons!
A favorite cookie? Like just one kind? Impossible! Snickerdoodle, pumpkin butterscotch, chocolate chip, oatmeal, applesauce raisin…I’m an equal opportunity cookie lover. 😀
My all-time favorite cookies are pignoli cookies!
My absolute favorite cookies are butterscotch chocolate chip cookies. yummmm
Oatmeal Raisin…mmmm.
These look amazing…they’re definitely going on my to-bake list! My favorite cookie is one my great grandmother used to make called Lemon Whippersnappers. They contain ingredients that I no longer use (like CoolWhip and cake mixes), but they are delicious! I tried to recreate them using unprocessed ingredients this winter with little success. I guess I’ll keep trying!
I like you on Facebook!
I follow you on Twitter!
I subscribe to your feed. 🙂
Love your cooking!
My all time favorite cookies are white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies. mmmm.
My all-time favorite cookies are iced sugar cookies, with snickerdoodles a very close second. The brownie-swirled cookies sound fabulous – I may have to give them a try today!
I already like you on facebook!
And I “like” you on FB!
I subscribe to you on RSS
I also follow you on twitter : ]
My favorite cookies are monster cookies (aka kitchen sink cookies). The more crazy your mix-ins get, the better!
I can never resist a monster cookie. How can you go wrong with m&ms, chocolate chips, peanut butter AND oatmeal??
My favorite is probably snickerdoodle. Thanks.
Plain chocolate chip cookies are my all time favorite cookies!
I’ll never turn down a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. That’s my go-to treat when I need something sweet!
I have you in my Google Reader. PS: I love both of your blogs, and thanks for finding two niches that aren’t really taken by anyone else in the food blogsphere. Awesome!
Thanks, Becca! It’s fun to have my own little corners of the food blog world. 🙂
Have to pick just one? Gotta go with the classic…Choc Chip Cookie!