2011-01-07

Double Chocolate Brownie Bites


When I entered the FAANtastic Divvies Cookie Contest last year, I never expected that my recipe would actually win, or foresaw any of the excitement that followed.  I was just hoping to place and maybe score some Divvies store credit.  It has been an amazing ride, and we haven't even gone on our trip yet.  Spring break, here we come!

Lori Sandler of Divvies took this recipe as inspiration, and created the amazingly fudgey Choco-lot Brownie Cookies.  (No, I don't get a portion of the sales, but the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network does, if you needed another reason to order some!)  Since the Divvies recipe is actually different than the one I submitted, Lori is kindly permitting me to go public with it.

This recipe was the result of many failed attempts to create a gooey, rather than cake like, pan of egg, dairy, peanut and tree nut free brownies, which still eludes me.  When I finally tried to make cookies from the uncooperative batter, the results were fairly unattractive brown lumps.  Incredibly chocolaty but not too sweet, soft on the inside and chewy on the outside, brown lumps.  I hope you enjoy them!


Double Chocolate Brownie Bites
(Click here for printable recipe.)

Dry Ingredients:
2 ½ C all-purpose flour
1 C allergen free cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 C dairy free margarine, softened
1 C granulated sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz container or 2/3 C plain or vanilla soy yogurt

Additional Ingredients:
10  or 12 oz bag allergen free semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl and set aside.

Beat margarine in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment at medium speed for one minute, then gradually add sugars.  Continue to cream together at least 5 minutes until mixture is light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down bowl.  Reduce speed to low and add vanilla extract and soy yogurt.  Gradually add dry ingredients until mixed thoroughly, then turn off mixer and stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Use a 1 Tablespoon disher or cookie scoop to drop spoonfuls of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets at least two inches apart.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool on sheets for at least five minutes then move to a cooling rack.  Makes about 5 dozen cookies.


A few notes about the recipe: if you have a hand mixer rather than a stand mixer, you can still make these, but make sure the margarine is softened before you start and allow more time to cream it. A disher is also not necessary, but highly recommended if you are planning to make drop cookies on a regular basis. (And let's face it, if you've got a kid with food allergies, you're probably doing more baking than you planned!) The recipe also calls for plain or vanilla soy yogurt, but feel free to substitute whatever safe nondairy yogurt you can get your hands on. If plain or vanilla isn't on the shelf, go ahead and use a berry flavored cup instead. Cherry is especially good.
You may also notice that this is a fairly large batch of cookies. The proportions do simplify things by calling for an entire cup of yogurt and an entire bag of chips to be dumped in the batter, rather than carefully measured out. Honestly, though, I can't keep up with the demand for these things, mostly from the non food allergic, so too many cookies have never been a problem!
I owe a huge thank you to the wonderful people at Divvies and FAAN, as well as our local Tampa Food Allergy Walk Committee. We are incredibly excited to visit one of the Great Wolf Lodges, and I'll be sure to bring back lots of pictures!

Update: Due to many, many requests, I've created a version of this cookie that can be made both gluten free and free of all the Big 8 allergens. Here's the link. Please consider it a thank you to the wonderful allergy community!

15 comments:

lori said...

Libby, this recipe is a winner!

Thank you for entering it into the FAANtastic Divvies Cookie Contest...the resulting Choco-Lot Brownie Cookie has quickly become the favorite of many!

Happy New Year to you and your family!

xo
Lori Sandler
Divvies

Kathleen Suchora--Tampa, FL said...

Thanks for posting your recipe Libby! I am looking forward to making it soon!

Kathleen

Unknown said...

As a chocoholic, I find myself drooling over the pictures. Thanks for posting the recipe, Libby. I can't wait to try them!

Anonymous said...

How exciting! These look & sound so delicious...holding you responsible for irrepressible brownie cravings!

Ricki said...

Gorgeous recipe. And what are you talking about, "unattractive lumps"?? They are totally alluring and drool-worthy!

Alisa Fleming said...

Yah for being able to share an award-winning cookie recipe!!! Wholly cocoa powder, those things must be intensely chocolate!!

Magdalena said...

I have died and gone to chocolate heaven! i made these today and absolutely LOVE them! and so did my son. I had to substitute the soy yogurt with coconut yogurt and it was delish! thank you for this amazing recipe!

Anonymous said...

WOW! These have been a huge hit in our house. THANK YOU for sharing. I'll be using this recipe for years to come. I truly, truly appreciate it. You are talented!

Anonymous said...

I made the brownie bites today and they are GREAT. Thank you very much for the recipe!
greetings from spain!

Amy said...

Thank you for participating the Smackdown Battle. Best of luck to you. These double chocolate brownie bites sound and look delicious. Wonderful choice to submit these cookies for the contest.

If you haven't done so, please sign up as a follower on my blog so you won't miss out on the winner announcement and new posts. Have a wonderful day!

Amy
http://utry.it

Lisah said...

These are amazing!!! You are my daughters favorite person at the moment!!

Unknown said...

Can I make these in brownie form by baking it in a baking tray?

Libby said...

Hi Schuchi! I'm afraid not. This recipe started as a failed brownie recipe, because I couldn't get the center to cook through without overcooking the edges. Making them a smaller size solved that problem and turned them into cookies.

Anonymous said...

The BESTTTTT!!!

Anonymous said...

Made for my son's class for his birthday treat. I used a coconut based yogurt because of soy allergies. They are scrumptious!!! He is so happy he could share his allergy safe food with the class.