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Part brownie, part chocolate chip cookie: BROOKIES are one of my favorite cookie bar recipes! They’re rich and decadent and a combination of two of my favorite desserts.
Don’t worry: it’s easy to make homemade Brookies from scratch. Thanks to the sponsorship of Challenge Dairy, I used their unsalted butter to marry two of my best ever recipes that I’ve been making for years so you know they have to be good!
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Why you’ll love this recipe: This is the perfect recipe for when you don’t want to have to choose your dessert! With cookies and brownies, you can’t go wrong.
What is a Brookie?
A brookie is a dessert mashup of epic proportions: it’s part brownie and part cookie. I’ve seen them made into actual cookie shape, but I like making them as bars because it’s way easier.
The best part: ANY COOKIE can go on top of the brownies to form the cookie bar. I’ve made other versions before:
This one is a CLASSIC: chocolate chip cookies on top. And not just any chocolate chip cookies: my BEST ever chocolate chip cookies!
The cookies are married to my favorite chewy fudgy brownie recipe that’s to-die-for. HEAVEN in a bite, that’s these!
Ingredients in Brookies
Basically, you have to make two different recipes and then put them together.
To make the brownie layer you need:
- Butter: Use unsalted butter for best results!
- Chocolate: Baking chocolate, the kind sold in the baking aisle
- Eggs: Be sure to buy large eggs
- Cocoa: Unsweetened cocoa powder – regular or Dutch process
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is what I use in my brownie recipes
- Flour: All Purpose Flour – be sure to measure it correctly.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla is the best!
To make the chocolate chip cookie layer you need:
- Butter: Use unsalted butter for best results!
- Sugar: A combination of brown and granulated sugar makes a soft cookie
- Egg: Be sure to buy large eggs
- Baking soda and salt: Typical for cookies
- Flour: All Purpose Flour – be sure to measure it correctly.
- Chocolate Chips: Use your favorite brand
How to make Brookies from scratch
First, make the brownies from scratch:
- Melt butter and chocolate in a large bowl on 50% power for about 2 minutes.
- Then stir in sugar, then eggs.
- Add eggs and mix until smooth.
- Stir in cocoa, salt and vanilla.
- Mix in flour.
- Spread in a 9×13-inch pan.
Then make the best chocolate chip cookies:
- Stir or mix the butter with sugar, then stir in egg.
- Mix in baking soda and salt, and flour.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Layer on top of brownies in the pan.
- Bake until set.
Now, you’ll notice that both of the recipes use BUTTER, which is one of my favorite ingredients. And, as usual, when a recipe calls for a lot of one ingredient, you want it to be the best version of that ingredient, which is why I use Challenge Butter.
What’s the best butter for cookie bars?
We all know my history with Challenge, right? That it’s the only butter my parents bought when I was a kid? Mention butter around my dad and you’ll hear about how Challenge is the best – and it is. You can taste the difference, whether it’s on bread or in baked goods.
Challenge is made right, from the freshest cows at family-owned dairies and it’s got no hormones, additives or fillers (they were the first brand to enforce raising cows without growth hormones). It’s a cooperative of more than 400 California owned dairies and is available nationwide.
AND! Challenge is award-winning! Cook’s Illustrated (aka Food Gods) selected Challenge’s Unsalted Butter as its favorite in a taste test among 7 top-selling brands!
Why do you use melted butter in your brownie and cookie recipes?
For brownies, melted butter and chocolate together make the brownie super fudgy and chewy with that dense center everyone loves. When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, melted butter is the way to go for me. I love the toffee-like flavor it gives when mixed with the brown sugar.
Tips and Tricks for making homemade Brookies:
- Put the brownies in the pan first, but make sure you’ve sprayed the pan with nonstick cooking spray first (and use foil if you want easy removal).
- Scoop balls of cookie dough and flatten with your hands before dropping them on the brownies. Press them together with your fingers (it won’t be a solid top).
- Because we’re baking it as a bar, there is no chill time!
How do you know when brookies are done?
The cookies will be nice and golden brown on top and you’ll see around the edges that the brownie looks done. The toothpick test doesn’t really work because the brownies stay fudgy, so don’t bother. Once the cookies are golden they’re done.
Let them cool completely before slicing for best results!
Can you freeze a leftover Brookie?
You can also freeze these bars! For instructions, read my guide on how to freeze desserts.
Some of my other favorite ways to use Challenge Dairy:
- No Bake Cherry Cheesecake Dessert
- Lime Butter Cake
- Chili Cheese Dip
- Cheesecake Apple Salad
- Chocolate Chip Caramel Butter Bars
Chocolate Chip Brookies
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- 4 ounces (113g) unsweetened baking chocolate coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted Challenge Butter
- 1 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup (124g) all-purpose flour
For the Cookies
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted Challenge Butter melted
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups (186g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (255g) chocolate chips semi-sweet or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9×13” pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Make the Brownies: Place the baking chocolate and butter in a large, microwave safe bowl. Heat on HIGH power for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and cocoa and stir well. Add flour and stir carefully.
- Make the Cookies: Cream together butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer. Mix in egg, extract, baking soda, and salt. Stir in flour, then stir in chocolate chips.
- Spread brownie batter in prepared pan. Scoop tablespoons of cookie dough, flatten slightly with your hands and then lay over the top of the brownies. It’ll be hard to spread because it’s thicker than the brownie batter, so it’s best to drop flattened tablespoons evenly over the batter and then press lightly with your fingers to adhere them to each other.
- Bake for 28-35 minutes until the tops are dark golden. If you test them with a toothpick in the center, the brownies won’t be totally done, so just take them out once the tops are dark golden in color.
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Recipe Nutrition
EASY Brookies – these homemade chocolate chip brookies recipe is part brownie and part chocolate chip cookie from scratch but they’re simple to make! You can make these bars from a box but making them homemade tastes SO MUCH BETTER!
I also use chocolate chips and it worked fine!
This recipe was soooooooo delicious! I tried it but the brownie did not cook very well so we went to costo and put some alluminum foil over so it would retain the heat; when we got back it was ready! Still the best brookie recipe ever!
Best Brookies recipe. I didn’t realize it was fudge like until it was time to eat. I thought they weren’t cook enough at first. However, I think they were better the next day.
No, you need to use the unsweetened baking chocolate. They do not substitute the same.
If I don’t have baking chocolate can I melt chocolate chips instead?
No, you need to use the unsweetened baking chocolate. They do not substitute the same.
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