Tuesdays with Dorie: Chipster-Topped Brownies
May 26, 2009 at 3:28 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 37 Comments
OK, so I totally thought that a Chipster-Topped Brownie was a brownie with some chocolate chips scattered on top (what can I say…my mum does that all the time to jazz up plain brownies). It wasn’t until Beth of Supplicious chose them for TWD, and I checked out the ingredient list to see if I needed to buy anything prior to baking, that I saw that they are actually brownies with chocolate chip cookies on top. Whaaat? Dorie, you crazy!
Once I had that sorted, I developed in my head an expectation of what they would be like– specifically, a fudgy brownie base topped with a big, soft, brown-sugary chocolate chip cookie. Chalk it up to an overactive imagination, but oftentimes in life, and in baking, I just don’t get what I expect…this was one of those times. That golden cookie top you see in the picture was actually just a super-crisp, thin crust, and underneath it was a large pocket. It pretty much shattered when I cut into the bars. The piece in the photo was the only one who’s top halfway held together. And apart from that outer shell and the presence of chocolate chips on top and walnuts on the bottom, the two layers didn’t visually appear very distinct. The top did have a different texture than the brownie, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it “cookie-like.” The bottom, though, was most definitely brownie.
I had no problems with the cookie batter, and no difficulty spreading it nicely over the brownie. What went on here, I just don’t know. The bars were tasty, though, and my husband liked them a lot. I probably won’t make them again (even if they had come out the way I’d envisioned, I still prefer my brownies as just plain ol’ brownies), but I am curious to see all the other outcomes from the TWD Blogroll. For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Supplicious.
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I love Dorie’s Quintuple Chocolate Brownies, in fact it’s a favourite in my family and I get asked to bake them on a regular basis. So I looked forward to trying these, unfortunately they did not quite work out for me….
Comment by Marthe— May 26, 2009 #
Marthe- Those Quintuple Chocolate Brownies rocked! I posted on them awhile back, too.
Comment by steph (whisk/spoon)— May 26, 2009 #
I had the exact same thought about the title! 🙂 sorry they didn’t work out the way you planned!
Comment by Natalie— May 26, 2009 #
I’m just starting my comment round up, but I have a feeling, form the comments I heard and read about this recipe, yours are going to be some of the most beautiful! Perhaps it’s in the genes… if you grew up with a brownie making mom, that must be it! Either that… or you are definatly a brownie goddess! LOL
Perfect, Steph!
Comment by Vibi— May 26, 2009 #
They look wonderful! I wasn’t sure how impressed I was with this recipe until they sat overnight. Very tasty!
Comment by Amanda— May 26, 2009 #
Il est parfait ! j’aurais aimé que ce soit le cas pour moi…ça n’a pas eu le succès escompté chez nous.
Comment by isabelle— May 26, 2009 #
Yeah, I wasn’t super crazy about these, either, but I am super crazy over that pic of yours! The top is just perfection!
Comment by Teanna— May 26, 2009 #
Gorgeous picture like always!
Comment by rachel— May 26, 2009 #
Thank goodness I’m not the only one who wasn’t blown away by these. I’ll take a plain brownie or cookie any day.
Comment by Beryl— May 26, 2009 #
I thought the same thing about the title until reading this post. Now I’m far more intrigued than before! Bummer that they didn’t work out.
Comment by Carrie— May 26, 2009 #
I had trouble cutting the cookie ‘crust’ too, it was definitely very brittle on top of the soft brownie below. At least you got one for that beautiful picture!
Comment by Charli— May 26, 2009 #
Mine wouldn’t bake if their life depended on it.
Comment by chocolatechic— May 26, 2009 #
My cookie batter on top also crested and kind of shattered when I cut them. I had to kind of mash the brownie with the palm of my hand for the photo, but it still has a little peak on top. Your photo looks great.
Comment by Amy— May 26, 2009 #
My cookie batter on top also crested and kind of shattered when I cut into it. I had to push down on the brownie with the palm of my hand to flatten it for the photo. Your photo looks great.
Comment by Amy— May 26, 2009 #
I thought the same thing when I saw the name of the recipe. My cookie crust broke up a bit too but I thought they were delicious. Your picture is great.
Comment by Kim— May 26, 2009 #
That is pretty much what happened to mine too – the only division of ‘batters’ I could see was from the edges before I cut anything – and I had the air pocket too. Since I loved them so much I guess nothing else mattered to me. Next time I make them though I may try to turn the heat down a bit and see if the air pocket can be avoided.
Comment by Holly— May 26, 2009 #
Despite your portioning tribulations, that is one perfect brownie. Beautiful!
Comment by Clivia— May 26, 2009 #
Your description of your brownies (the big gap between layers) is exactly what happened with mine! I was a little disappointed with the result, but they were tasty!
Comment by Erin Orr— May 26, 2009 #
Lovely photo! Bummer that the top shattered on most of them. They still look delicious!
Comment by Karen— May 26, 2009 #
woah, what will they come up with next?!
Comment by Sophie— May 26, 2009 #
It looks great – I agree – they were hard to cut. I made them before and they came out better (for some reason). They are almost too much of a good thing! Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Nicely done!
Comment by mike— May 26, 2009 #
Your brownie photo is gorgeous! I was thinking the same thing regarding the ‘chipster’ topped brownie, I was just wondering if Dorie had created a chipster mix to top the brownies with!
Comment by uclala— May 26, 2009 #
We thought the same thing at my house, but your picture looks awesome!
Comment by Anne— May 26, 2009 #
Your picture is saying: “bake me, bake me!!!”
Comment by nina— May 26, 2009 #
Your chipster brownie looks wonderful. I think I prefer my brownies and choc cookies separate.
Comment by Wendy— May 26, 2009 #
As always, yours look great. Some of my family felt the same way as you and prefer their brownie as a brownie and cookies separate.
Comment by Betsy— May 26, 2009 #
my brownie looks quite different to yours! My cookie layer kind of took over. Isnt it interesting how even with following the same recipe you can have quite different results
Comment by Tammy— May 26, 2009 #
I agree. I’m glad I tried it, my husband liked them, but not like he’s loved some other Dorie recipes. And I like plain old brownies.
Comment by Madam Chow— May 26, 2009 #
Wow, yours look wonderful! I’m with you though – I was expecting a soft, caramelly cookie over a fudgey brownie. Best of both worlds, right?
Comment by Caitlin— May 26, 2009 #
I agree- I probably wouldn’t make these again- two batters for one baked good isn’t appealing to me.:)
Comment by Jodie— May 26, 2009 #
Oh, these look marvelous. top 5 over here…the guys were inhaling them and declaring them the best thing ever…LOL. Yours look wonderful, but that streusel at the top looks too good to be true! Great job on that!
Comment by Kayte— May 27, 2009 #
ditto here on everything. I like my brownies covered with just one thing – ice cream. So as much as I like the two, I won’t make again either. That ONE of you yours looks perfect.
Comment by teaandscones— May 27, 2009 #
Well it looks perfect to me! My cookie batter sank into the brownie batter so I definitely didn’t have a layer of cookie dough on top. Oh well, they were still tasty. Like you, I probably wouldn’t make them again though.
Comment by Tracey— May 28, 2009 #
I love the idea of having a chocolate chip cookie on top of a brownie. Sorry these didn’t turn out quite as you had expected. Oh well, they sure look yummy. Crispy crust or not, they look delicious.
Comment by Elyse— May 28, 2009 #
Wow! Looks fantastic! 🙂 Yummy!
Comment by food librarian— May 29, 2009 #
These were not my favorite thing either, but your photo looks great. Gimme a cookie in one hand and a brownie in the other–yeah, that’s it! 😉
Comment by Katrina— May 30, 2009 #
ha, I thought the exact same thing about the chips.
Comment by Mermaid Sweets— June 4, 2009 #