Brownie-Swirled Chocolate Chip Cookies + Baking Giveaway!

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!

Transfer the cookie dough to a baking pan
To get nice, clean brownie swirls into your chocolate chip cookie dough, you first transfer your cookie dough to a baking pan.

Spread the dough out across the 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 on the brownie batter
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).

Give the brownie batter a little swirl with the cookie dough

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.

Scoop out the cookies!

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.

Brownie-Swirled Chocolate Chip Cookies

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…

Win a Nestle Baking Gift Basket!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!

Congrats to entry #94 - Dara!

Congratulations to entry #94 – Dara from Cookin’ Canuck!

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125 Comments

  1. Vivian wrote:

    Interesting technique! I did mine a much harder way but they ended up looking the same!

    http://collegebakergirl.blogspot.com/2011/03/week-12-peanut-butter-marble-cookies.html

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
    • Kathy wrote:

      Wow, they did come out looking exactly the same! I love the peanut butter-chocolate combo. 🙂

      Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  2. kaitlin wrote:

    my favorite cookie has to be a simple sugar cookie with hardened icing 🙂

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  3. kaitlin wrote:

    I subscribed to free updates from Cooking On the Side via my email.

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  4. Melinda wrote:

    My absolute favorite cookie would have to be pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I scarf so many of those down during the holidays!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  5. Melinda wrote:

    I subscribed by RSS!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  6. Susan wrote:

    These look awesome & I will definitely be trying these.

    It’s so hard to pick an ‘all-time’ favorite cookie—who doesn’t love all the special cookies at Christmas time? I have a couple favorites that we make just at that time of year–coconut macaroons, and apricot ‘roshky’ cookies.

    I also love chewy oatmeal raisin cookies, and double chocolate chocolate chip cookies!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  7. Angela Han wrote:

    My favoritee is gingerbread cookies!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  8. Claire wrote:

    I’ll go with shortbread but ginger snaps and snickerdoodles aren’t far behind!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  9. My favorite cookies are my mom’s snickerdoodles. I have the recipe and all, but they taste so much better when she makes them!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  10. Danielle wrote:

    Great recipe! My favorite cookie is a salty oat cookie from Teaism in Washington, DC. The recipe is top-secret, but there is a decent copy cat recipe that can be found on Smitten Kitchen’s blog.

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  11. Pat R wrote:

    I love me the mountain cookie and coconut macaroons and rugelash and snickerdoodles and……..OK, I love me ANY kind of cookie!!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  12. Hmm, my all-time favorite is probably a Chewy Salted Hazelnut cookie. Great giveaway!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  13. I’m now a facebook friend!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  14. kirbie wrote:

    What an interesting idea. I never thought of swirling brownies with cookies and I wouldn’t know to use the technique you provided. Thanks for the step by steps!
    My favorite cookie is soft chocolate chip cookies

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  15. And a twitter follower

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  16. linda wrote:

    love the “swirl” & chocolate chip cookies with tons of chips is my all time favorite!
    thanks for including me!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  17. linda wrote:

    subscribe via google reader!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  18. Rande wrote:

    Yummy! Two favorites together in one cookie. My favorite is chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Too easy, made with a box of devil’s food cake mix, 1/2 cup oil, 2 eggs and chocolate chips. Very good if you don’t overcook them.

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  19. Cheryl Ross wrote:

    Mine have to be the chocolate brownie crinkles.

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  20. Victoria Wheeler wrote:

    My favorite cookies I ever had were a delicious cross between oatmeal raisins and macadamia nuts. I’m not sure what the person did, but they mixed it all together and they tasted glorious!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  21. MelodyJ wrote:

    This is hard because I love them all. If I pick one it will be Chocolate Chip Cookies.

    melodyj(at)gmail(dot)com

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  22. Meryl wrote:

    Chocolate Espresso Chews and Thomas Keller’s Chocolate Chip Cookies!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  23. Louis wrote:

    Coconut Macaroons dipped in bittersweet chocolate.

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  24. sharon clifton wrote:

    My all time favorite cookies are the Butterscotch Cookies with Burnt Butter Icing that my grandma used to make.

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  25. Diana wrote:

    My all-time favorite cookie is Bobby Flay’s chocolate chip cookie. A high-ranking cookie is the chocolate ginger cookie from Ben’s Cookies in Oxford, UK

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  26. Julie wrote:

    Those triple chocolate cookies that are like fudge with a touch of flour. 🙂 Oh, and pumpkin with butterscotch chips. Yum!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  27. Julie wrote:

    I like cooking on the side on facebook!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  28. Julie wrote:

    I am a subscriber to the blog. 🙂

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  29. Tim Wong wrote:

    Best cookies are either the chocolate chip cookies served on board Midwest airlines (now Frontier Airlines) or chocolate chip cookies made by Sodexho Dining Services when they are fresh out of the oven.

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  30. Catharine wrote:

    Very cool! My favorite cookie is the classic chocolate chip cookies!

    Posted 4.1.11 Reply
  31. Oh boy, my favorite cookies and brownies in one! I think I’m in heaven. Yup the good ole chocolate chip cookie is my favorite kind.

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  32. Karen wrote:

    My hands down favorite cookie? Is there just one? But right now it would have to be this cranberry, white chocolate chip, walnut cookie my friend made over the holidays….oh was it good!

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  33. Karen wrote:

    I follow you on Twitter.

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  34. Karen wrote:

    I like Cooking on the Side on Facebook

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  35. Karen wrote:

    I subscribe to your blog via email.

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  36. Wendryn wrote:

    My favorite cookie is an eggless molasses cookie I found a recipe for in a cookbook that’s over 100 years old. 🙂

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  37. Reagan Foy wrote:

    Years ago I was so excited to find a recipe for cream cheese sugar cookies that reminded me of a cookie I would get at a bakery until they closed.

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  38. Amanda Thompson wrote:

    My all-time favorite cookie is Chocolate Chip but Snickerdoodle is a close second!

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  39. Amanda Thompson wrote:

    I subscribe via email 🙂

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  40. MaryBe wrote:

    My favorite cookie right now is a vegan-ized Snickerdoodle. So good!

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  41. MaryBe wrote:

    I ‘like’ you on Facebook

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  42. MaryBe wrote:

    I get your updates in my Google Reader!

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  43. These cookies are so pretty, Kathy. They would be perfect dunked into a glass of milk. I highly recommend buying a cookie scoop – it will pay off in no time.

    Posted 4.2.11 Reply
  44. My favorite cookie is a chocolate chip malt cookie from Pioneer Woman

    Posted 4.3.11 Reply
  45. LB wrote:

    The oatmeal raisin cookie from Rocky Mountain Candy Factory! Soooo good!

    Posted 4.3.11 Reply
  46. LB wrote:

    email subscriber

    Posted 4.3.11 Reply
  47. LB wrote:

    twitter follower – lbandj

    Posted 4.3.11 Reply
  48. LB wrote:

    Facebook Fan (don’t see this comment in the to be moderated comments – if it is a dupe please delete 🙂 )

    Posted 4.3.11 Reply
  49. Megan wrote:

    Favorite cookie? That is one hard question. I guess I would have to say the World Peace Cookie.

    Posted 4.3.11 Reply
  50. Megan wrote:

    I like you on Facebook.

    Posted 4.3.11 Reply