Cookie Dough Brownies

So a little while back I had this craving for an amazing dessert.

The only problem was: I wasn't sure what that dessert was. In fact, I wasn't even sure if it existed.

All I knew was that I wanted something delicious and unusual...

Preferably loaded down with chocolate.

So I went to the kitchen and looked in the pantry and started thinking.

I came up with a few options: I could make chocolate chip cookies, or I could make brownies, or I could make cupcakes.

Orrrrrr

I could make brownies with chocolate chip cookies INSIDE of the brownie.

Ding ding ding!

We have a winner.

So I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies: your favorite recipe will do the trick. Or you can buy the premade dough. It's whatever works for you.



I lined a baking sheet with waxed paper and dropped the cookie dough by rounded spoonfuls all over the sheet. You don't have to space them out too far because you won't be baking them.

Pop them in the freezer for an hour, or until nice and solid.

Next, make your brownie batter.

You can use a boxed mix. That's what I did this time. I have this great sauce pan brownie recipe of my Nana's, but I didn't feel like waiting any longer for this dessert. I wanted immediate gratification, and though the from scratch way wouldn't have taken too much longer, this felt faster.

So I cheated.



So follow the directions on the box and pour your brownie batter into a greased pan.

OH! Preheat your oven to the temp on the brownie box.

Okay so now you take your cookie dough blobs out of the freezer.




Press the blobs down into the batter. You can do it in a grid, or just wherever you think there should be a cookie.

I chose to do a grid in the manner of how I would cut the brownies. That way each brownie would have it's own little cookie inside of it.



If you have leftover cookie blobs, you can either put them on another baking sheet and bake them, or you can put them in a cupcake pan and make little cupcake cookies. If I had had extra brownie batter I would have poured a little of that in each cup too, but I didn't. So I just made cupcake shaped cookies.

Then bake for about 25-30 minutes, checking every few minutes after 20 minutes, just to make sure they don't burn.



Take them out and marvel at the exciting dessert you created.



Ok, ok, now you can cut into it and eat it... That first bite looks so awesome, huh?

Berry Berry Shortcake: Like My Mom Made

Okay so the shortcake part of this recipe is a very old family tradition... I kind of amped up the berries a bit with a fresh take for spring: grapefruit simple syrup.

You will want to fix the berries in the morning of the day you want to serve them so that they have plenty of time to sit and mix and make plenty of juice. My Nana used to just cut strawberries and sprinkle sugar on them and leave them all day, but I like to add in unexpected flavors, so this is my take:

One pound fresh strawberries, tops cut off and sliced in half
Handful of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries (fresh preferred on all three)
One grapefruit
1/2 c + 2 Tbsp sugar

Mix all the berries together in a bowl and sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp sugar.

Zest the grapefruit on top of the berries with a microplane grater/zester.



Cut open the grapefruit and juice it, taking care to remove all of the seeds and pulp.

Pour the juice into a small sauce pan and add 1/2 c sugar. Bring to a simmer until thickened, then pour on top of berries and stir. Cover and refrigerate for several hours until ready to serve.




Shortcakes

3 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c solid shortening (crisco)

Using a pastry cutter work together until consistency of meal. I have come to recognize this statement as "mash together until no large pieces remain".



Add 2 beaten eggs. Do not try and pour the eggs on top and mix really fast... you will have bits of bright yellow in your batter and it won't look right. Trust me, beat first.
around 1/2 milk, or a little less.
Mix well. Flour hands and shape into 12 patties. Place in a greased 9x12 baking pan and bake for about 15 minutes (I baked mine for 13 minutes and they were perfect) or until lightly browned. DO NOT BURN!



Split them open and slather with butter. Spoon your berry mixture on top and top with homemade whipped cream.

A cute note on my Nana's recipe card is from a man that ate at the restaurant years ago. "A man eating this in our Tea Room said it was like a religious experience!" I love that. It makes me smile!

Homemade Whipped Cream

1/2 c heavy whipping cream
2-4 Tbsp sugar

Put into a magic bullet cup or small blender or mixer with a whipping blade/paddle and whip on high for as long as it takes to make cream... You will never buy store bought again because it is so easy to do, absolutely delicious, and cheap.

Enjoy!