Baked's Brooksters
Baked's Brooksters
Let me get this right: It’s a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie, so basically two of my favorite sweets in one? That was my reaction when I first met the Brookster and, as I later learned from the co-creators, pretty much everyone’s say what? response.Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito came up with it back in 2008, long before hybrid desserts were in, and the inspired creation has been a fixture at their perennially popular Brooklyn bakery, Baked, ever since. They kindly shared this recipe with me from Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients (Stewart, Tabori & Chang), one of their best-selling cookbooks and a personal favorite, plus an extra note for you:"This recipe is fairly straightforward, but requires time. Don’t rush the specified times as it’s important for the dough and batter to cool and thicken slightly for a perfect bake."I’ve also tried this warmed slightly in a sundae and it’s the best foundation you can imagine. — Yasmin Newman, author of The Desserts of New York (And How to Eat Them All)
Servings
6
Ingredients
- 10 ounce plain all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 8 ounce unsalted butter, chopped and softened
- 7 ounce dark brown sugar
- 3 1/2 ounce caster (superfine) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
- 12 ounce dark chocolate chips
- ice cream, to serve (optional)
- 3 1/2 ounce plain (all-purpose) flour
- 3 tablespoon unsweetened (dutch) cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 15 ounce dark chocolate (60–72 percent cocoa solids), roughly chopped
- 4 ounce unsalted butter, chopped
- 5 1/2 ounce caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 3/4 ounce light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
Directions
- Whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition (the mixture will look light and fluffy). Add the vanilla and beat for 5 seconds. Add half the flour mixture and beat for 15 seconds, then add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly combined. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 6 individual 10-centimeter (4-inch) pie dishes and place on a baking tray. Whisk the flour, cocoa, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water) and stir occasionally until melted and combined. Remove from the heat, but keep the bowl over the water in the saucepan. Add both sugars and whisk until well combined. Remove the bowl from the water and cool to room temperature.
- Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture, one at a time, whisking after each addition until just combined, then stir in the vanilla (do not overbeat the batter at this stage or the brownies will be cakey). Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture, then using a spatula (do not use a whisk), fold in until there is just a trace amount of flour mixture visible. Fill the pie dishes with the brownie batter until just under halfway full. Refrigerate for 3 hours.