Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Note: You can skip the blabbing in the next 3 paragraphs and go straight to the recipe *lol*

Finally, I was able to use my oven :) It wasn't used since 2007. When I was renting a flat then, I bought an oven coz I wanted to learn baking. Then I realized, well, I thought renting a flat on my own is quite costly. So after a year, I gave up the flat and moved to another flat (much nearer to my workplace) and shared the rent with friends. I didn't think it's fair to use an oven because the electric bill is shared between me and my other flatmates. So I decided to keep it and let it acquire a lot of dust *lol*

Just last week, I had this urge to search from the web on the calculation of the consumption of an electric oven. Well, an urge? Hmm.. maybe because I'm really itching to use the oven hehehe I found this consumption calculator. It turned out, that if I use a 2000-watt Electric Oven, 30 hours/month (1 hour per day) and with the current rate (here in Singapore) 18.03 cents/kWH, then I will be paying $10.82 per month! wooo hoo not bad eh?

And here's what happened last night when finally, I was reunited with my oven.
We were watching American Idol 8, and I was also doing all the preparations for the brownie and dough. When it was time to pre-heat the oven, the power went off! I mean, really, it was gone! My flatmate who's in the toilet, screamed my name coz she thought I've mistakenly turn off the toilet's light *lol* (oh, thats very funny hahahhaha) The couple-flatmate went out their room and was asking me what happened (they're also watching tv). *sighs* turned out that it has short-circuited :( So, I told them, after American Idol, I'll switch off the tv, fridge and other lights in the living room then use the oven. Heheheh Jeez, I've been using my oven before and I didn't encounter such as this. But thinking back, I think it's just funny hehehhee.

So...... Here's the recipe. It's a combination of 2 of Betty Crocker's famous ready-mix products: Chocolate Chip Cookie mix and Original Supreme Brownie mix.



Betty Crocker's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

INGREDIENTS:

1 box Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg

STEPS:

Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening. Make brownie mix as directed on box, using oil, water and 2 eggs. Spread in pan.

Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter and 1 egg. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter; press down lightly.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Frost with frosting. For brownies, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows.

And please follow this valuable tip from Betty Crocker:
Cutting brownies or any bar with a chewy and dense texture is much easier when you use a plastic knife.

Chocolate Ganache
1 bar of Cadbury's Old Gold Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa (220g)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
6 Tbsp butter

Combine cream and butter in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Heat the mixture until it's smooth and almost going to boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate. Let stand for about a minute and stir.

The 1st photo below is showing the combined mix: cookie dough randomly dropped in the brownie mix. I should've created a country map or something *lol* Hey, it doesn't have to be perfect coz it will be covered later with Chocolate ganache. Speaking of which, that's the photo beside it. After the brownies have slight cooled, I poured the ganache on top :)



And here is the finished product :) rather, the sliced product hehehe
It's slightly burnt on the top so covering it with ganache helped a lot :P




YUM-O!!
My flatmate and colleagues loved it! The short-circuiting is well worth-it *lol*

Brownies

For my first blog, I'm re-posting this simple recipe from my other blog profile (Y360). Hi-hi-hi how unique eh (Notice the recipe book in the photo *lol*)





Ingredients


Chocolate mixture:
150g unsalted butter, chopped
125g dark chocolate, chopped
Egg mixture:
3 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Flour mixture:
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder

strip almonds

STEPS:

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180C. Line the base of cake tin with baking paper, extending over the sides.
2. Chocolate mixture: Stir the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl, over a pan of simmering water, until just melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. Egg mixture: Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl, with a wire whisk, until well combined.
4. Flour mixture: Sift the flour and cocoa together.
5. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the eggs and stir in the flour and cocoa; do not overbeat. Fold in the almonds.
6. Pour into the cake tin.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until slightly risen and just firm to the touch.
8. Cool in the tin (it will sink back down to form a flat surface).




Icing:(optional)

100g dark chocolate, chopped
100g unsalted butter, chopped

Refer to STEP 2 (chocolate mixture) for the icing.
Spread over the baked brownies.
When completely cold, lift out and cut into squares.




Mmmm.. as Rachel Ray say: Yumm-O!