These two-layer Cookie Dough Brownies feature a rich, chewy chocolate brownie topped with eggless mini chocolate chip-filled cookie dough!
Cookie dough + brownies. Arguably two of the world’s best creations when they’re on their own. Together? Irresistible.
The inspiration for this recipe came from a treat I had in London. My friends Izzy, Paige, and I were wandering around the Real Food Market on the Southbank (which was recommended by one of my readers – thanks! :D) and we saw the cutest little dessert stand. Obviously, we couldn’t resist picking up a few treats to bring back with us to snack on.
The first bar we got was a Snickers Bar, which was pretty darn delicious, and the second was a cookie dough brownie. The brownie looked fudgy and rich, with a thick layer of cookie dough on top. Reality was a little less impressive. The brownie wasn’t as chocolately as it should have been, and it was on the verge of being too dry. The cookie dough was too sweet and didn’t have any flavor – just sweetness with too few chocolate chips. We weren’t impressed.
After we all took a bite, we agreed that I need to remake these brownies, and make them taste the way you would want a cookie dough brownie to taste: rich, chocolatey, with a delicious cookie dough that tastes like the real thing (even though it’s gotta be eggless). I didn’t want to use a brownie that was too rich, because with the cookie dough, it could easily become overwhelming. I settled on one of my favorite chewy brownie recipes, and it paired perfectly with the lightly sweet, but flavored and absolutely delicious eggless cookie dough.
That eggless cookie dough is absolutely to die for, and would be soooooo good mixed into some vanilla ice cream or *cough cough* eaten with a spoon. Not that I’d do something like that…
When all the elements came together, you’ve got a dessert bar that’s definitely rich, but not overwhelmingly so. These Cookie Dough Brownies were everything I wanted the ones in London to be. And yeah, there’s two different components of it that you need to make, but both the brownies and the cookie dough don’t need more equipment than a bowl, a whisk, and a wooden spoon. Don’t you love that?!
If you’re a cookie dough person (and who isn’t…?), you must try these! Enjoy :)
Cookie Dough Brownies
Ingredients
For the brownies
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the cookie dough
- 1/4 cup 1/2 stick butter, softened
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk of choice
- 1 cup 4 1/4 oz. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
For the brownies
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper or foil and grease lightly.
- Combine the melted butter, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir flour mixture into the egg mixture until blended. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before adding cookie dough on top.
For the cookie dough layer
- In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, white sugar, and butter until smooth. Whisk in vanilla and milk. Mix in the flour until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Spread cookie dough in an even layer on top of cooled brownies. Refrigerate until firmed up, about 1 hour, before cutting into squares.
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
August 7, 2014 at 6:02 amOh wow these look so perfect I can’t stand it!
Muna Kenny says
August 7, 2014 at 6:24 amI love this type of dessert, the 2 in one dessert! Looks perfect, and yes I love cookie dough :)
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough says
August 7, 2014 at 7:49 amThe ratio of cookie dough to brownie in these is PERFECT. I wish I could grab a few through the screen!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
August 7, 2014 at 9:48 amI have the biggest craving for chocolate and cookies. Now I will probably be thinking about these bars all day!
Beth @ bethcakes says
August 7, 2014 at 10:04 amOmg, I looove cookie dough brownies. I’ve never made them myself, but now I totally need to. That’s such a shame the ones in London weren’t any good, haha. Your version looks perfectly fudgy and delicious! :)
Kelly says
August 7, 2014 at 10:45 amOmg, these look beyond amazing Rachel! Your layers look perfect and have me totally drooling for one or 10 of these right now! Pinned:)
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
August 7, 2014 at 1:48 pmChoosing between cookies and brownies is always the hardest thing (first world problems alert!) but these make life so much easier :)
Chichi says
August 7, 2014 at 4:05 pmLooks so delicious
Samina | The Cupcake Confession says
August 7, 2014 at 11:02 pmThis is the perfect example of killing two birds {errrr, I mean two desserts} with one stone! <3 It looks absolutely FANTASTIC and I know I am going to have a difficult time staying away from these gorgeous beauties! :D Pinned!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel says
August 8, 2014 at 11:12 amOh my gosh, these look amazing!! So gooey and decadent! I would totally eat the cookie dough off a spoon… but on top of brownies is even better!
Julie @ Girl on the Move says
August 8, 2014 at 3:06 pmThese look absolutely delicious!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
August 8, 2014 at 3:17 pmYES! These cookie dough brownies are 100% perfect in every way
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
August 8, 2014 at 8:04 pmdefinitely craving a brownie right now.. my chocolate cravings have so kicked in after seeing your delicious images!
Tash says
August 9, 2014 at 2:56 amOoo la-la that ratio is purrrr-fect! My mouth is watering!
And hey, just so you know, I nominated you for a Liebster award! I’d be so happy if you accepted the award and participated in the Q+A for fun as well! Check out the Liebster post on my blog for more details if you like! Tash x
Rachel Conners says
August 9, 2014 at 8:38 amOooh thanks for the nomination! I just looked at your blog and it looks like tons of fun :) can’t wait to get my answers up!
Olivia - Primavera Kitchen says
August 9, 2014 at 6:05 amwow… this recipe is wonderful!! Cookie dough + brownies are an awesome combo!!! You always post irresistible recipes, beautiful Rachel! Have a wonderful weekend ;-)
Rachel Conners says
August 9, 2014 at 8:36 amThanks so much, Olivia!
Chelsea @ A Duck's Oven says
August 9, 2014 at 6:50 amThis sounds SO decadent and wonderful! Holy moly. And my fiance would be all over this! Thank you for such an awesome recipe!
Abby says
August 9, 2014 at 8:34 amthese look delicious! seriously, can it get any better than a brownie topped with cookie dough?! i don’t think so :)
Connie @ Sprig and Flours says
August 9, 2014 at 11:16 amLove! This is my kind of treat!! I cannot wait to make these.
katie says
August 9, 2014 at 11:55 amCookie dough and Brownies??!! Now that’s a match made in heaven. These brownies look amazing. I could eat them through my computer screen!
[email protected] Chef says
August 10, 2014 at 4:04 amwow, damn delicious brownies!!!
the photgraph i trully seducing me…..
Mary Frances says
August 10, 2014 at 11:05 amThat is always so annoying, when a dessert looks amazing but doesn’t taste as good as it looks! No problems here – everything looks rich, fudgy, and decadent, and based on how I am about to faceplant in my computer screen, I can bet it tastes even better than it looks. That cookie dough! Pinning, and happy weekend Rachel!
Paige Minteer says
August 10, 2014 at 5:11 pmAs one of the friends that tried the average cookie dough brownie in London I am SO UPSET i cannot teleport to Tacoma to try these! Guess ill have to make a whole batch for myself ;)
Mir says
August 10, 2014 at 5:26 pmI do exactly what you do! Get desserts somewhere, feel disappointed, and then make it better myself. These look delicious! I’m sure these are far superior to the ones in London.
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
August 11, 2014 at 7:10 pmCookie dough brownies are definitely the best dessert ever! Two of my favorites, combined into one. Can’t wait to try these out! Pinned!
paleobrownies says
September 23, 2014 at 10:08 pmNice recipe and its look so amazing. I will surely try this at home.
Alina M says
March 18, 2015 at 2:26 pmThis is so ironic.. after having a cookie dough brownie this weekend I could not help to try and recreate them myself. We both tried the same original brownies at South Bank Food Market! I can definitely confirm that they were AMAZING!!!
Rachel Conners says
March 23, 2015 at 10:02 amHow funny!! Thanks so much for commenting, Alina :)
Julie says
November 14, 2015 at 7:34 amThis looks delish! The brownie is in the oven as I type this, can’t wait to taste it! Do you put frosting on the brownie before putting the cookie dough, or just leave it as is and dump the cookie dough on top of it?
Rachel says
November 14, 2015 at 8:17 amHi Julie. You just spread the cookie dough right on the brownies – no need for frosting. Enjoy!
cindy says
January 7, 2016 at 7:06 pmi had an issue with the cookie dough layer not “sticking” to the brownie layer … any suggestions ?
Rachel says
January 7, 2016 at 8:31 pmHi Cindy, I haven’t tried it but my first thought was to try spreading a thin layer of melted chocolate between the brownie and cookie dough to act as a sort of glue. Hope this helps!
Katie says
January 8, 2017 at 10:20 amCan we just use a boxed brownie mix?
Rachel says
January 11, 2017 at 5:49 pmDefinitely! Just substitute it for my brownie recipe.
Sandy Brown says
January 22, 2017 at 12:17 pmI was wondering if margarine would work instead of butter? I have made this recipe many times, and my family loves it! I just have never used margarine before
Rachel says
January 22, 2017 at 6:24 pmHi Sandy. So glad your family loves these brownies! I don’t ever use margarine, so I’m not sure how it would perform, but I think it would be similar and the brownies would turn out well. Report back if you try it!
Sandy Brown says
January 22, 2017 at 6:25 pmIt worked out great!
melissa calabro says
January 22, 2017 at 3:35 pmgreat recipe worked out great
Stacy says
March 9, 2017 at 5:04 pmJust made these tonight for my family of 6 – and doubled the entire recipe. Absolutely delish! Fit perfectly in a 9×13, and now there’s enough goodness to go around! And I’ll definitely be making that cookie dough again to add to some vanilla ice cream…or a bowl on its own haha!
Rachel says
March 10, 2017 at 6:20 amI’m so glad they were a hit Stacy!! Thanks so much for your feedback.
Dawn says
March 18, 2017 at 8:52 amShould these be refrigerated when you’re not serving them or do they only need to be in the fridge for that hour to set?
Rachel says
March 18, 2017 at 8:54 amHi Dawn, these will keep for longer in the fridge but they would be fine for a day or two at room temp as well, just make sure they’re in an air-tight container.
Bre says
September 17, 2017 at 8:51 amCan you make the cookie dough layer while the brownies are cooking and then keep it in the fridge until the brownies are cool? Thank you! :)
Rachel says
September 17, 2017 at 9:01 amYa that should be fine, just let the dough come to room temp before trying to spread it on or it will be pretty hard to spread! Enjoy :)
Bre says
September 17, 2017 at 9:03 amOk, thank you! :)
MiMi says
November 2, 2018 at 9:05 pmI’ve baked these twice and they are the best of brownies AND cookie dough. This time I added a tablespoon of instant coffee granules to intensify the chocolate flavor. A favorite with everyone. Thanks for a new family/community tradition!
Rachel says
November 3, 2018 at 11:41 amLove the coffee addition! So glad you’re loving the brownies – thanks so much for sharing your feedback!