Brown Butter Ooey Gooey Brookie Recipe

Why settle for just a cookie or just a brownie when you could have both, all neatly tucked into one decadent little square? That's exactly what you get when you enjoy a brookie, a brownie and cookie hybrid, which manages to effortlessly infuse the best of both worlds into one succinct little treat. This ooey gooey brookie recipe from developer Kate Shungu takes things a step further by incorporating brown butter into the mix, resulting in a delightfully sweet dessert with rich, nutty undertones.

For those unfamiliar with brown butter, it's simply plain old butter that's been heated (typically on the stovetop) until it's browned and slightly caramelized. It's a popular inclusion in baked goods because it offers up a distinctly fragrant and nutty flavor profile, something that works particularly well in these brookies. "I love how these brookies have a slightly nutty flavor from the browned butter," Shungu says, adding, "It's enough to ask 'what's that?' without it being overpowering." She even notes that these brookies got the stamp of approval from her five-year-old, who picked up on caramel notes, so it's safe to say that this is one treat that the entire family is going to enjoy.

Since this recipe effectively turns two desserts into one, you'll need ingredients to make both brownies and cookies. For the brownie portion, you'll need unsalted butter, sugar, cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, salt, eggs, vanilla extract, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. For the cookie layer, you'll need more unsalted butter, brown sugar, an egg, flour, baking soda, salt, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 325 F.

To make the brownie layer, place the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Allow to cook, stirring constantly, until the butter is light brown, about 3–5 minutes.

Pour the butter into a small dish and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, flour, and salt.

Whisk in the brown butter, eggs, and vanilla.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared baking dish.

To make the cookie layer, place the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is light brown.

Pour the butter into a small dish and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix the brown butter with the brown sugar until combined.

Stir in the egg.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and stir just until combined.

Stir in ⅓ cup chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoons of the cookie dough mixture into the brownie batter.

Use a knife or offset spatula to gently swirl the cookie dough into the brownie batter.

Scatter the remaining 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares to serve.

Brown butter is not an incredibly difficult thing to make — after all, it does involve a single ingredient — but that doesn't mean that it's completely foolproof. The biggest worry is ending up with burnt brown butter, but Shungu has some helpful tips to ensure that you whip up the ingredient with ease. For starters, make sure you're using the right pan. "Use a medium-sized skillet for 4–6 tablespoons of butter," she says. "It allows the butter to brown more evenly than a small skillet."

Secondly, make sure you keep things moving the whole time, otherwise the butter might brown unevenly. Next up, you'll want to look out for tell-tale signs that your brown butter is ready to come off the heat. "The butter will start to pop and sizzle rapidly when it's about to turn brown on the bottom," Shungu explains. "Wear an oven glove if you're concerned about it splattering onto your hands." Finally, once the butter is ready to go, make sure you transfer it to a bowl even after you take it off the heat — if you keep it in the pan, it will likely end up burning.

Brookies are already somewhat customized by design, seeing as someone decided that just one single dessert wasn't enough, so why not make it two? But, of course, if you'd like to customize things even further, there's really no limit. Perhaps the easiest customization you can make (and one that will perhaps help you use up ingredients sitting in your pantry) is to switch out the chocolate chips for a more adventurous choice. "Use white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or butterscotch chips instead of chocolate chips," Shungu suggests. Better yet, why not use one type of chip in the cookie layer and another in the brownie layer?

Another way to customize these brookies is to add a somewhat unexpected flavor profile into the mix: citrus. "Add the zest of one orange to the cookie dough batter for a hint of citrus," Shungu says, likening the flavor addition to that of a chocolate orange. Her final suggestion is to simply keep the recipe the same but make more of it. As-is, the recipe is made in an 8x8-inch pan and yields nine servings, but you can easily double the recipe and use a 13x9-inch pan instead.