I have birds.
Living in Los Angeles is like living in a jungle. Instead of dense tropical trees and dangerous pumas, Los Angeles has obnoxious cars and… actors. There is very little visible animal life besides dogs on leashes, squirrels rummaging through the trash bins and pigeons just walking around being pretty gross.
But I have birds. I call them my Midnight Song Birds. They live in the tree outside my bedroom window and sing to one another all night long. All night! Sometimes I’ll be up until 1 in the morning and the birds are still going at it. They keep up the chatter all night long.
I’ve come to love sound of these birds chirping as I fall asleep. It helps erase the occasional helicopter or paramedic siren. My birds sound beautiful. And though they sound completely out of place at 1 in the morning, they remind me to be thankful for the little things- like the simple joy of chirping birds, or chewy chocolate cookies.
How about some cookie adventures? Follow me.
I’m convinced that these cookies are actually brownies in disguise. They’re super soft, full of chocolate, and my favorite part- they have that brownie crackled skin on top. I think it’s the slightly flaky chocolate top and soft center that won my heart.
Topped with darling chocolate covered sunflower seeds, these cookies are perfect to snack on with a glass of cold milk sitting in front of the TV watching dvds of Big Love… or maybe that’s just me.
Chocolate Brownie Cookies
recipe from King Arthur Flour
yields 26 cookies without chips, 30 cookies with chips
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped or in chips)
3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
In a double boiler, or in the microwave, gently melt together the chocolate and butter. To avoid heating the chocolate too much and possibly burning it, the best method is to heat till the butter is melted and the chocolate has partially melted, then remove from the heat. Stir till all the chocolate melts.
In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs till they’re thoroughly combined. You don’t need a mixer, just do it in a medium sized bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the hot melted chocolate, then stir in the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, if you’re using them. Refrigerate the batter like dough for 1 hour, to make it easier to handle.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, three if you have them.
Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoonfuls (about the size of a small ping pong ball) onto the prepared baking sheets. A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this task extremely simple. Leave about 2″ between the dough balls, as they’ll spread as they bake.
Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked. They won’t crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they’re cracked all the way across the top surface, they’re done. The point is, you want these baked all the way through, but just barely; additional baking makes them more crisp rather than chewy. Remove the cookies from the oven, and top each with a kiss-shaped chocolate, a bittersweet chocolate wafer, or a chocolate covered sunflower seed. Wait 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
June 27th, 2008 at 4:45 am
That brownie cookies look so good! I like the sound of those chocolate covered sunflower seeds. I will have to look for some.
June 27th, 2008 at 5:43 am
My kids would love these !
June 27th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Oh these cookies look delicious! I wish I could have one right now. And that’s pretty neat about your birds!
June 27th, 2008 at 6:20 am
I think I just did that Homer Simpson drooling thing when I saw those pictures.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:44 am
I love how you decorated them, Joy. They’re beautiful.
June 27th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Oh joy, I believe that those dangerous pumas are actually the actors
are you melting down in Southern California? Up in Northern California, we are COVERED in smoke. I literally can’t see 10 feet ahead of me because of the dense haze. It’s nasty. So instead of hanging out outside like I normally do, I will be watching reruns of Big Love (I share your addiction) and chomping on these cookies.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I have those crazy birds in Nashville, TN outside my house. I don’t have the appreciation for them that you do at 1:00 AM…i DO however appreciate those scrumptious looking cookies! Maybe next time the silly birds are keeping me awake I’ll make these cookies and sing along
June 27th, 2008 at 10:42 am
There’s actually a bit of wildlife where I live, but I just noticed my own “Midnight Song Birds” about a month ago. I thought it was odd at first, but now I find it quite soothing.
I love the crackly tops on these cookies! The sunflower seeds look really lovely too.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Brownies in disguise. O yum!
June 27th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Never heard of chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Yum.
I can’t wait to try the cookies. Now, how about a good chewy oatmeal raisin cookie?
I would miss the variety of birds and other critters. Suburbia isn’t all bad. Glad you have a few by your window.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I love chocolate covered sunflower seeds.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Cookies, Cookies, Cookies…my daughter and I can never get enough of cookies, especially chocolate ones. The photos you took of the cookies look wonderful. I’ve never seen chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Maybe I can get them online. Great blog. Thanks for sharing.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I have a mockingbird that comes every summer and sings all night long varying what he hears. It is my favorite thing in summer. My blog is very new, and seeing as these are chocolate cookies, then I must make them.
June 28th, 2008 at 3:28 am
Oh Joy, these sound and look marvelous! I’m so gonna make them!
June 28th, 2008 at 4:29 am
oh. my. gosh.
June 28th, 2008 at 9:09 am
I love brownies in any form, those look great!
June 28th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
These cookies look great, just from the pictures I could imagine the soft insides and light crust on the top, mmmm.
June 28th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
These look delicious! They look so pretty with the chocolate sunflower seeds in them!
June 29th, 2008 at 1:38 am
These look and sound wonderful. A brownie in cookie form mmmmm.
June 29th, 2008 at 7:59 am
this is the chocolate cookie of my dreams!!!
June 29th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I have birds outside my windows too. Albert and Alfred will perch on the tree outside my apartment and coo for their bread. And yes, chewy cookies are delicious. I had them for dinner last night
June 30th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Hello! I’m a fairly new follower of your blog, I got a tip from a cousin and am glad I took the advice to give you a look! I just made these brownie cookies today, (I put crushed peppermints on top, the softish type, not the hard crunchy ones,) and appreciate the recipe! Even Himself liked these, and he’s not got a huge sweet tooth. When I first mixed them up, I had my doubts. The batter was so thin, but it firmed up quite nicely in the fridge, and I think mine turned out as prettily as yours. I liked hearing about your bird neighbors, too. That made me smile!
July 18th, 2008 at 10:53 am
fantastic Joy! what a nice way to sneak the goodness of sunflower seeds in these cookies! I made espresso-kahlua brownies 2 days back, and I’m still on the espresso road, so these sound delicious!:)
August 23rd, 2008 at 7:55 am
[...] list. This one is gonna be made! So was the story of these cookies, when I first saw them at Joy The Baker’s blog - I was in love! But then again, there hardly is anything on this talented gal’s [...]
September 5th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Do you bake pies? I need one delivered for a birthday in your building.
Thank you.
September 12th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Hi Joy,
I was on my was to making your brownies yet again but I stumbled on these.
Great way to say Thank you to my son’s teacher for a great first few weeks - Thanks for spreading the joy of baking all around.
Merci.
October 16th, 2008 at 6:06 am
[...] Adapted from Joy the Baker [...]