Get ready for the ultimate cookie sandwich: rich cookie dough buttercream sandwiched between two soft brownie cookies. Is it a million times better than an Oreo? Absolutely.
Brownie. Cookie. Sandwiches. With cookie dough buttercream frosting. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
If you’re anything like me, you love all sweets. BUT, sometimes you can’t decide which one to bake at any given time–so you end up baking all of them. If you’re not like me and are content with just one treat, good news! These brownie sandwich cookies have a little bit of everything. They’ve got a brownie-like cookie texture, plus rich buttercream frosting and cookie dough flavor.
How to Make Brownie Cookies
What’s the difference between a brownie and a chocolate cookie anyway? The short answer is that brownies have a higher liquid content, while cookies have additional flour to form a dough, rather than a batter.
Thus, brownie cookies–brookies?–have more liquid/fat than cookies normally would. But, the additional flour ensures it can be formed into balls of dough. The result? Crinkly-topped, fudgy cookie goodness.
Basic Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Dutch process cocoa powder – a high quality cocoa powder will give you a richer, deeper flavor, but budget cocoa powder will work too
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks – yup, you’ll want cocoa powder and chocolate chips in these bad boys!
- Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs, room temperature – a quick tip for getting them room temperature in a pinch: place them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes. Voila!
- Vanilla extract – pure vanilla extract is always better!
- Baking powder
- Salt
To start, you’ll melt butter and chocolate chips or chunks in the microwave or double broiler. You’ll notice that this is similar to making brownies! Then, you’ll mix your ingredients together, preferably in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or hand mixer).
A crucial note on the dough: you’ll definitely want to chill your cookie dough before baking. The additional time it sits in the fridge will stiffen the dough so it can be more easily rounded into balls.
How to Make Cookie Dough Buttercream
Next, we make the buttercream. Cookie dough buttercream frosting is a lot like other buttercream frosting, with a base of butter, obviously, along with powdered sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. What gives it the cookie dough texture and flavor in this recipe is the addition of flour and light brown sugar.
In short, you’ll beat the ingredients together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until smooth. If you find that the frosting is too thin, you can add more powdered sugar, or if it’s too thick, add another tablespoon or so of cream.
Worried about adding raw flour to your frosting? No worries! You can bake flour in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes before adding it to your buttercream mixture.
Once you’re ready to assemble your cookie sandwiches, you’ll frost the bottom side of one cookie and top it with another cookie. You can either pipe the frosting on or just use an offset icing spatula. I went with the former and used a Wilton 2A piping tip. Lastly, I recommend finishing the cookie sandwiches with a sprinkle of sea salt–I love Maldon sea salt flakes!
Brownie Sandwich Cookies with Cookie Dough Frosting
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Piping bags
- Piping tip – I used Wilton 2A
Ingredients
For brownie cookies
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 8 oz chopped semi-sweet chocolate bars)
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
For cookie dough buttercream
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1.5-2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp milk or cream
Instructions
To make the brownie cookies:
- Microwave butter and chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl until melted; heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, vanilla, and sugar together on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until creamy.
- Meanwhile, in a medium size bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Once butter-chocolate mix has cooled slightly, add to ingredients in stand mixer, mixing just until combined.
- Gradually incorporate dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, beating on low speed and scraping down the sides as needed. Mix until just incorporated. The dough will seem very liquid-y and more like batter than dough, but it will stiffen in the fridge.
- Chill dough in fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight. You don't want to skip this step, as the chilling time stiffens the dough!
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Let cookies sit on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
To make the cookie dough buttercream:
- In bowl of stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Mix in the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Then, gradually add 1.5 cups of confectioner's sugar.
- Beat in vanilla and cream. If the frosting seems too thick, add an additional tablespoon of cream; if it seems too thin, add another half cup to a cup of confectioner's sugar.
To assemble cookie sandwiches:
- For each cookie sandwich, pipe frosting onto the bottom side of one cookie. Top with another cookie, with the crinkly top facing up. Repeat to make 12 cookie sandwiches (using 24 cookies total).
