Cookie + Brownie = Crownie

How Crownies Were Born
The first time I made a brownie with a chocolate chip cookie on top and rolo's in the middle, the cookies sank.  They looked fine coming out of the oven, then slowly the middles started sinking, like quicksand.  I tried baking the cookie/brownies again and the middles sank again.  I tried making them six more times trying a different experiment each time...and each time they looked oh so delicious coming out of the oven, but slowly but surely the middles would sink, along with my heart.  I tried all sorts of adjustments based on the science of baking.  Clearly the cookie brownie experiments were not baking completely and ah, I was about ready to give up.  My family and neighbors encouraged me to keep baking and keep trying, because they were enjoying my failures and wanted to keep taste testing them, lol.

OK, so dear son was completely enjoying my failures, but one day he felt sorry for me and said, "Mom, why don't you just flip the pan over when you take them out of the oven".  OMG!  perfect.

And this is the upside down true tale of the luscious, melt in your mouth, delicious brownie, chocolate chip cookie with a rolo center.  And since that is a mouthful to say, dear hubby crowned them "Crownies". 

*Update 10-03-16: Recently Betty Crocker changed their package directions for preparing brownies to use less oil.  I made 3 batches of crownies last week.  For the first batch of crownies I used the new brownie directions with less oil, and my crownies did not turn out as well.  This recipe is my tried and true recipe, hope you love them.   
  Crownies 
You will need the following components:

• Brownie mix, I have been using Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix

• Mini Rolo's

• Chocolate chip cookie dough 

• Wilton mini square baking pan (pictured below; the Wilton pan has deeper cavities and are slightly larger than other pans I have seen). 

Yield: 12 crownies. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Prepare Pan by generously spraying with butter flavored cooking spray.

Make the Brownies
1 Betty Crocker packaged fudge brownie mix.  *DO NOT PREPARE ACCORDING TO PACKAGE DIRECTIONS ON BOX.  Instead, combine brownie mix with 2 eggs, 2/3 cup oil and 1/4 cup water.   Pour the batter equally into the baking pan cells.  (About 2 very large tablespoons each cell, but lots easier to pour and transfer a bit with a spoon if needed).

Bake brownie mix for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and place 2 mini rolo's on top of each brownie.  Brownies will not be cooked yet, but that's ok.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

1 sticks butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon molasses

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

6 Tablespoons sugar (3/8 cup)

6 Tablespoons packed brown sugar (3/8 cup)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 2/3 cups flour

about 1/2 of a 12 ounce bag of chocolate chips (I use slightly less than 1/2 a bag or about 5 ounces)

Cream butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla.  Mix in egg. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, then mix. Stir in the chips.  Shape dough into 1inch balls.

Flatten a 1in chocolate chip cookie ball into a square and place on top of brownie/rollo.

After pre-baking brownies add mini rolo's and chocolate chip cookie dough

Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool 5 min then place a cookie sheet on top of the baking pan and flip the baking pan and cookie sheet upside down.  The cookie sheet will be on the bottom with the inverted baking pan on top of it.  Allow to cool completely, or at least 20 minutes.

After baking chocolate chip cookie layer, get a baking sheet ready

Ready, flip! Let cool

Yay!  No more sunken middles, only delicious desserts :)

Note: With this recipe you will have leftover cookie dough, enough for about 4 cookies.  I have tried to make the brownie layer thinner, but they were more difficult to remove from the pan. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowls

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowls

On a lazy Saturday afternoon while watching TV, the ladies at Bake, Decorate, Celebrate were making Chocolate Cookie Bowls with a Wilton cookie bowl pan.  Their dessert bowls looked yummy and it looked like lots of fun making them, so I hunted down the pan, then read the reviews.  Whoa...this pan got a public lashing.  Cooks were having a hard time making the bowls and complaining that the chocolate chip cookie recipe that came with the package was terrible.  Well, I ordered the pan anyway.

My first attempt at making the chocolate chip bowls with the Wilton recipe was so bad I am embarrassed to post a picture here.  If you need a good laugh today, you can see it on my facebook page

The final recipe and batch #3 is a community recipe written with the help of Ileen Cummings, Robin Wilson, Nathan Andre, and Sue Hale Hayes. Thanks again for all of your input and help.  You can visit Robin's cookie recipe and blog at Rustic Flavor.   

I am not sure why Wilton continues to publish the terrible chocolate chip cookie recipe, because as you can see from the picture above, the bowls are really cute with a good recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowls

Our bowl recipe is a cross between a soft cookie and pie crust, perfect for holding a bowl shape.

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 stick butter
1 1/2 teaspoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 + teaspoon baking soda (just a wee bit more than a 1/4 tsp.)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, frozen (I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet)

Cream the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, molasses.  Whip your egg then add it to the butter/sugar and mix. Add 1 1/2 cup flour and mix.  If you dough is very sticky add another 1/4 cup of flour and chill dough for at least 10 minutes.

Lightly spray your pan with butter spray and then wipe it off.  The pan should be oily feeling but not slathered with spray.

Roll out your chilled dough on a floured surface and cut in 4 1/2 inch diameter circles. (I used a lid that I dipped in flour).  Place dough on the backside of the pan and lightly firm up around the pan with your fingers.  Do not pull the dough down the sides, it will spread as it bakes.

Cook in a 350 degree preheated oven for 9-11 minutes.  Remember the cookie bowls will continue to bake on the pan after they are removed from the oven, so under-bake them.

If saving your bowls for later use, store with a slice of white bread, it will help keep them moist.

Lessons learned:
Whip your egg right before you add it to your dough to introduce air, but don't whip it and let it sit around because it will deflate.
Molasses is acidic and reacts with the baking soda, which adds more air.
If butter is too firm, your dough will not get fluffy.

Extra special thanks to Robin Wilson for suggesting I freeze my chips to help bind them to the dough...it works! 

For more baking science fun, check out http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/baking_chemistry