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This sandwich cookie pairs fudgy brownie cookies with a safe-to-eat cookie dough buttercream filling. You'll enjoy how the deep chocolate taste balances with sweet buttercream, making a knockout dessert that's great for any time you need something special or when you're just craving some chocolate goodness.
I originally whipped these up for my daughter's birthday when I needed to impress her friends who love chocolate. Now, three years down the road, these sandwiches show up at all our family gatherings, big or small.
Ingredients
For Brownie Cookies
- Unsalted butter: Adds moisture and helps create that soft brownie feel
- Bittersweet chocolate chips: Bring intense chocolate taste; grab good quality ones
- Granulated sugar and light brown sugar: Work together for just the right sweetness
- Large eggs: Should be at room temp for the best mixing
- Vanilla extract: Makes the chocolate taste better
- All-purpose flour and bread flour: Team up for the right chewiness
- Dutch process cocoa powder: Gives a darker color and stronger taste
- Baking powder and baking soda: Let the cookies puff up just right
- Salt: Cuts the sweetness and brings out flavor
For Cookie Dough Buttercream
- Room temperature unsalted butter: Creates a silky foundation
- Brown sugar: Makes it taste like real cookie dough
- Confectioners' sugar: Gives the right texture and sweetness
- Heat-treated flour: Tastes like raw dough but without any risks
- Vanilla extract: Adds that cozy, familiar flavor
- Salt: Keeps it from being too sweet
- Heavy cream: Makes it smooth enough to pipe
How To Make Brownie Cookie Sandwiches
Heat Treat The Flour
Put flour on a baking sheet in an even layer. Pop it in a 300°F oven and check it every 2 minutes with a food thermometer, giving it a stir each time. Keep going until it hits 165°F to kill any bad stuff. Let it cool completely before you mix it into your buttercream.
Prepare The Chocolate Base
Put chocolate and butter in a double boiler and stir often until it's all melted and smooth. Move this mix to your stand mixer bowl and let it cool a bit so it won't cook your eggs when you add them. This melty mixture is what makes your cookies super fudgy.
Mix The Wet Ingredients
Throw in your eggs and both types of sugar with the cooled chocolate. Beat everything at medium-low until it's mixed well. Add a splash of vanilla and give it a quick mix. You'll want the batter looking shiny and smooth now.
Incorporate Dry Ingredients
Add your flour mixture to the chocolate stuff and stir just until you can't see any flour anymore. Don't keep mixing after that or you'll get tough cookies. Your dough will be pretty soft right now.
Chill The Dough
Wrap the bowl with plastic and stick it in the fridge for half an hour. Don't skip this part - it makes the dough firm up so you can scoop it better and keeps your cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
Scoop And Bake
Grab a small cookie scoop and drop portions onto baking sheets lined with parchment. If you want them all the same size, you can weigh each blob at about 0.07 ounces. Bake at 350°F for 8–10 minutes until the edges look set but the middle is still a bit soft.
Shape While Warm
As soon as they're out of the oven, make them into perfect circles by using the curve of a fork or a round cookie cutter. This trick makes your sandwiches look fancy and helps them fit together better.
Make Buttercream Filling
Beat butter and brown sugar until it's fluffy. Slowly add in the powdered sugar and treated flour. Mix in vanilla, salt, and just enough cream to make it easy to pipe. The filling should stand up nicely when piped.
Assemble Sandwiches
Put buttercream on the flat bottom of one cool cookie. Place another cookie on top, flat side down, and press gently. Add a tiny sprinkle of sea salt on top if you want to make the flavors pop and look extra fancy.
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The best thing about making these is watching people's reactions to their first bite. They're always surprised to find cookie dough inside what looks like a normal chocolate cookie. Even my husband, who says he doesn't like sweets, keeps sneaking these from our freezer when he thinks I'm not looking.
Storage Tips
These cookie sandwiches stay fresh when stored right. Put them in an airtight container with parchment between layers and they'll last about 3 days at room temperature. They'll get a bit softer each day, which many folks actually prefer. To keep them longer, freeze the finished sandwiches on a tray until they're hard, then wrap each one in plastic wrap and put them in a freezer bag. They stay good for up to 2 months in the freezer and thaw pretty quickly on the counter.
Ingredient Substitutions
Need to change things up? No problem. For dairy-free cookies and filling, swap in plant-based butter sticks (not the tub kind which has too much water). You can use coconut cream instead of heavy cream for the buttercream. If you need gluten-free cookies, try a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour mix instead of the regular flours, but still heat treat it for the filling. Want stronger chocolate flavor? Use dark chocolate instead of bittersweet.
Serving Suggestions
These sandwiches look amazing on a tiered stand for parties. Want to make them fancier? Serve each one with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and some warm fudge sauce. They go really well with coffee, especially espresso which balances the sweetness. If you're hosting a get-together, try making mini versions with a smaller scoop so guests can easily grab them while chatting.
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The Story Behind These Treats
These sandwiches bring together two American favorites: brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Brownies showed up in cookbooks in the early 1900s and quickly became popular for their rich taste and dense texture. While store-bought cookie sandwiches like Oreos have been around forever, homemade ones just taste way better. The cookie dough buttercream puts a modern spin on everyone's guilty pleasure of eating raw cookie dough, but we made it safe by heating the flour first.
Frequently Asked Questions
- → How can I get super fudgy cookies?
Pull them from the oven when the edges are firm but the centers look just barely cooked. Overbaking takes away that soft, gooey inside.
- → Can I switch bread flour with other types?
Absolutely! All-purpose flour works fine as a swap. Expect a slightly softer cookie, but it’ll still taste awesome.
- → Why bother heating the flour for buttercream?
Heating the flour makes it safe to use raw by getting rid of bacteria, so you can enjoy the buttercream worry-free.
- → Are these cookies good to make ahead?
Totally! Keep them sealed for a few days at room temp or freeze them for a few months. They're just as good later.
- → Any tips for perfect cookie shapes?
Once they’re out of the oven and still warm, gently push the edges with a fork or circle a cookie cutter around them to get a nice, even shape.