There has been nothing but rain for the past week. Seriously. Nothing but rain. Constantly. And I think that it has perhaps been a week and a half since I’ve seen the sun. It is a moment I remember fondly, after only a day (only a day) of rain, I was driving to work and suddenly the clouds parted and there was a little ray of sunshine, just enough to peek through my car window for a minute, and then the clouds covered it again and I’m beginning to be afraid that it has been lost forever.
And in the meantime we just keep putting on our rain jackets and a being cold and wet and needing a fire constantly. And we do things like bake cookies that are so easy and so delicious and can only come from the prettiest cookbook I’ve seen in awhile, a(nother) favorite Christmas present, The Smitten Kitchen cookbook. We all know that we owe all this to Deb in a way, this internet world of food. And now we owe her our thanks for giving a cookbook that is so pretty and practical and perfect.
Brownie roll out cookies remind me slightly of a chocolate version of these cookies. They are light and not too sweet, but deeply full of chocolate.
And even though the recipes that come out of the Smitten Kitchen have practically never misled me, I still felt a bit doubtful about these. I thought they might be impostors, undeserving of the “brownie” in their title, because there are just a few meager ingredients listed. But oh, they are not. They are deeply chewy and moist and thick crumbed like your favorite brownies. They have the entirety of brownie flavor and somehow almost feel like a brownie in your mouth despite being a cookie.
And what’s more is that the batter is easy to throw together, and the cookies are hardly a bother at all to roll out and cut into shapes. And really, what else would you do on a rainy Saturday?
Prep Time:
Wait Time:
Bake Time:Makes about 2 to 3 dozen large cookies, or 4 to 5 dozen small cookies
Wait Time:
Bake Time:Makes about 2 to 3 dozen large cookies, or 4 to 5 dozen small cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder together.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Then mix in the vanilla.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating on low speed, until the dough comes together somewhat.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour. Remove from the fridge 15-20 minutes before rolling it out.
6. On a lightly floured surface (or perhaps between two sheets of parchment paper) roll the dough out to 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch thickness (thicker for chewier cookies, thinner for cookies that are more crisp). Cut the dough into shapes, brushing the excess flour off the cookies, and placing them on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Then mash the rest of the dough together, re-roll, cut more more cookies, and continue to do this until all of the dough is used.
7. Bake for 8-11 minutes (8 minutes for 1/8 inch thick cookies, 10 to 11 minutes for 1/4 inch thick cookies), until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.
8. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder together.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Then mix in the vanilla.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating on low speed, until the dough comes together somewhat.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour. Remove from the fridge 15-20 minutes before rolling it out.
6. On a lightly floured surface (or perhaps between two sheets of parchment paper) roll the dough out to 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch thickness (thicker for chewier cookies, thinner for cookies that are more crisp). Cut the dough into shapes, brushing the excess flour off the cookies, and placing them on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Then mash the rest of the dough together, re-roll, cut more more cookies, and continue to do this until all of the dough is used.
7. Bake for 8-11 minutes (8 minutes for 1/8 inch thick cookies, 10 to 11 minutes for 1/4 inch thick cookies), until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.
8. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This is exactly what I had in mind to do for Valentine’s day; now I don’t have to search for a recipe :) They look like the kind of cookies that would be hard and snappy, like shortbread, so the chewy brownie-ness is intriguing to me. Yum!
Try to stay dry! I’m sending you sunshine vibes from California… :)
Oh – I think you just gave me something to do this weekend. These are adorable and chocolate brownie cookies? It has been raining here too all week and right now we are waiting for the snow….
The weather actually decided to mix it up and snow here yesterday (very rare). But thank goodness the sun is shining this morning!
The photos in this post are just beautiful, I’m in love with the gorgeous soft light. Plus looking forward to trying these cookies : )
Thanks Kathryn! I’ll be honest though and attribute some of the prettiness of the photos to my lovely new camera lens. ;)