I fell in Love

Yes, it is true. I have fallen in love. I saw this recipe on a blog (http://www.bakerella.com/pillow-cookies/), and it sounded interesting, so I had to try it out! I made it and found I was in heaven. I like to call them brookies, because you make a brownie inside of a chocolate chip cookie. I made a few changes to the recipe from the scource I had found it at, but here it is:



Brookies:
1 package brownie mix
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 oz. bag miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

My own honey pecan mixture to add:
1/3 cup pecans, completely crushed (you can do this by pouring the pecans into a freezer ziplock, and then using a rolling pin to crush the pecans). Once rolled it should be powdery. Then add a tablespoon of melted butter with a couple of drops of honey, and mix the mixture together.
Make brownies according to package and let cool. Cut about ten 1 inch squares. Enjoy the remaining brownies. (I used a pan about 8 X 8)

For the chocolate chip cookie dough, beat butter with a mixer until creamy.
Add brown sugar and beat until smooth. Add eggs, yolk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl and stir together with a wire whisk. Add flour to butter mixture and beat until combined. Then beat in the pecan mixture for a more buttery, sweet taste. Stir in mini chips. Let dough chill covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use a measuring cup to scoop batter by the 1/2 cup. Since it’s chilled, you may need to pack it with a spoon. Then use the spoon to remove the dough from the cup and place it on parchment paper. Work quickly so the dough remains chilled or either prepare one cookie at a time so the rest of the dough remains cold.

After the dough is on the parchment paper, make an indention and place a 1 inch square brownie in the center. Press the brownie down gently and work the remaining dough around the brownie. You can use your hands to shape the dough into a ball.

During this step, I found it easier to use a piece of parchment paper as a work surface since the dough can get sticky and then I used another piece of parchment paper for the baking sheet. If your dough gets too soft, you can chill the rolled dough balls for a few minutes right before baking.

Prepare six cookies at a time using a large baking sheet (15 X 20) and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. (If you wish, you can cook longer, but I have found it better if you leave them out once they are a bit doughy because they harden up.) Return the remaining dough to the refrigerator until time to bake the second batch.

Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about ten cookies using a little less than a 1/2 cup of dough for each cookie.

If your cookies start to get too brown before they are done baking, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over top for the last few minutes.

All credits except for the pecan mixture go to http://www.bakerella.com/pillow-cookies/ since I pulled it directly from the site and Southern Living 2009