Brookies
Brookies (pronounced brook-ees) are the best of both worlds, the ultimate mashup—a dessert bar that layers chewy cookie dough on top of fudgy brownie batter. If you’ve ever been torn between baking cookies or brownies, brookies are your answer. Simple to make and always a crowd-pleaser, they’re one of my all-time favorite cookie bars.
Who Invented Brookies?
The origin of brookies is a little debated, but many credit Jovon English. A sweets lover at heart, English first baked her brownie–cookie mash-up in cupcake form, calling it a “brookie.” Friends and family went crazy for them, and in 2014, she joined forces with Marques Brooks, Naimah Harris, and Tisa Smart-Washington to launch Milk and Brookies. Operating out of a commissary kitchen, they quickly built a loyal following through pop-up shops across Los Angeles.
Brookie Flavors
Classic brookies combine brownies and chocolate chip cookies, but you’ll find them in endless varieties. Popular flavors include:
- Peanut Butter Brookies
- Snickerdoodle Brookies
- Turtle Brookies
- Red Velvet Brookies
English even created adventurous flavors like maple caramel bacon brookies—still on my must-try list.
How to Make Perfect Brookies
Follow these simple tips for the best brookies every time:
- Use quality chocolate. Good chocolate makes a huge difference.
- Mix gently. Overmixing leads to tough batters—use a light hand.
- Watch your oven. All ovens bake differently. Brookies are ready when the edges turn golden, and the center is almost set. Tent with foil if the tops brown too fast.
- Let them cool. Cooling completely helps brookies set, enhances flavor, and makes clean slicing possible.
Why You’ll Love This Brookies Recipe
I’m usually decisive in the kitchen—but choosing between a cookie or a brownie? Impossible. Brookies solve that problem most deliciously. My boys adore them, and while I’ve baked them in cupcake tins before, I prefer brookies as bars. The brownie layer really gets its chance to shine that way.
Time-Saving Brookie Hacks
- Making both doughs from scratch isn’t hard, but it can feel like a lot if you don’t bake often. Try these shortcuts:
- Make ahead: Prepare both batters a day in advance and refrigerate (covered) for up to 24 hours.
- Use box mixes: While I usually prefer homemade, boxed brownie and cookie mixes can save time in a pinch.
Whether you stick with the classic or experiment with fun flavors, brookies are proof that sometimes you really can have it all. Once you try them, they just might become your new go-to dessert.
Brookies
Ingredients:
For the Brownie Batter:
- 5 ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 egg, plus one egg yolk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
- For the Brownie Dough: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and lightly grease the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan, add the chocolate and butter and place over low heat. Stir often until the butter is melted and the chocolate is smooth and shiny. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, such as a KitchenAid, fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg, egg yolk, both sugars, and vanilla extract and beat on high for about 3 minutes until the mixture is thick and pale in color.
- Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and add the cooled, melted chocolate mixture. Mix until just incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Set aside.
- For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: To the bowl of the kitchen mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and both sugars and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Again, do not overmix. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and use a spatula to fold in the chocolate chips.
- To Assemble the Brookies: Scoop the brownie mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and use a spatula to roughly smooth it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Drop generous tablespoons of chocolate chip cookie dough onto the brownie batter across the pan, making sure the brownie batter is also visible in between the dollops. Next, gently press the cookie dough down a little into the brownie batter with a spatula.
- Place the bookies in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. If the cookie dough begins to brown too quickly, place a piece of aluminum foil loosely across the top.
- Remove the brookies from the oven and cool completely before slicing.
