Brookie? Crownie? What’s the best abbreviation for brownie cookies? Is there one that doesn’t make them sound mega lame, because both of those options aren’t so good and I’ve had people saying them at me for the last week. Last year I was sent a recipe by my girlfriend which we both made about 3 times in the weeks running up to Christmas. The recipe easily makes about 50 cookies, doesn’t take all that long to put together and its icing sugar shell makes it a perfect fit for a Christmas treat. You roll them in icing sugar just before you bake them, which causes them to crack and gives a lightly dusted, snowball like shell. They’re pretty intense; gooey and chocolatey like a brownie but with a crunch of a cookie.
Being able to make so many cookies from such a small batch of dough that only takes a few minutes to throw together makes these perfect for that ‘last day in the office baking treat’ or for any form of large social gathering you’re having over the festive period. Because they are so rich you won’t have people eating 6 at once, so they’ll go even further if you need them to. The crisp outer shell, enhanced by the icing sugar encases a chewy chocolate center.
There’s a second recipe going up on the blog before Christmas, so keep your eyes peeled for that. It’ll be the last recipe I post in 2016.
I may have to make these again before Christmas…
- 85g good quality cocoa powder
- 400g caster sugar
- 125ml vegetable oil
- 4 medium eggs
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 250g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 60g icing sugar
- In a medium bowl beat together the sugar and cocoa powder with the vegetable oil, before beating in the eggs and vanilla.
- Combine the flour, baking powder & salt. Stir this through the wet mixture until it's smooth.
- Transfer to a small bowl, cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours (or the freezer for 45-60 minutes, don't let it freeze).
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and line a couple of baking trays with grease proof paper.
- Using a tablespoon divide the dough out into balls. Roll each ball in icing sugar and place on the prepared trays. You'll need to do this in batches of about 6 per tray.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Place the tray on a wire rack and leave to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tray and paper and leaving on the rack to cool completely.