Chocolate chip brownie double-deckers

Being someone who always has trouble choosing what to prepare, these double deckers were the perfect solution to my baking conundrum: two different layers, two delicious baked goods in one. To make things even better, the recipe is easy to put together and yields a lot, being great for sharing – they disappeared from the office quite fast the other day... :)

The recipe comes from a cookbook I bought on a day I was feeling bored to my bones and needed a little retail therapy – since I’m not into shoes and bags as apparently all the other girls are (or feel obligated to be as to feel they belong to a certain group of people), I bought a couple of books and Abigail Johnson Dodge’s "The Weekend Baker" turned out to be a very pleasant surprise: I have baked a handful of recipes from it and everything turned out delicious.

Chocolate chip brownie double-deckers
from the delicious The Weekend Baker

Chocolate chip layer:
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups (218g) firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/3 cups (187g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Brownie layer:
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, chopped
¾ cup (68g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
1 ½ cups + 3 tablespoons (336g) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) all-purpose flour

Position the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F*.
Line a 32x22cm (9x13in) baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang in two opposite sides. Butter the foil.
Chocolate chip layer: in a medium saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Slide the pan from the heat and add the brown sugar. Whisk until no lumps remain. Set the butter mix aside to cool while making the brownie layer.

Brownie layer: in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Slide the pan from the heat and add the cocoa powder. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition just until blended. Whisk in the vanilla with the second egg. Sprinkle the flour over the chocolate mixture and stir with a rubber spatula just until the ingredients are blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly with an offset or rubber spatula. Set it aside while you finish the chocolate chip layer.

To finish the chocolate chip layer: in a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk until it's well-blended. Once the butter mixture has cooled, add the egg and vanilla to it and whisk until blended. Pour in the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop the dough over the brownie batter in large scoops and spread it evenly with an offset or rubber spatula. Bake until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out with small, gooey clumps of brownie sticking to it, about 40 minutes. Don't over-bake or the brownies won't be fudgy. Transfer the baking pan to a rack to cool completely.

Cut the brownies into small squares measuring about 5cm (2in) each.

* Out of distraction I baked the bars at 180°C/350°F (and they worked out fine)

Makes 24 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan; I found the bars really rich, therefore I cut each square in half to make smaller bars