When I was really young, I had an imaginary friend.
His name was Zozo, and he enjoyed getting me into trouble. Some of his antics included drawing on the walls of my room with permanent marker, telling the babysitter I had no bedtime, pulling my little sister’s hair, and sneaking so many tastes of cookie dough while baking that very few cookies were actually ever made.
Somehow, my parents never bought the excuse it was my imaginary friend behind all of this mischief. 😕
By the way, my childhood imaginary friend is still around and causing trouble.
Only now the trouble comes in the form of convincing me it’s a good idea to watch Netflix instead of going to the gym or doing the dishes.
And he still eats the raw cookie dough while we’re baking, until suddenly I will look up and all the batter has disappeared.
Seriously, this guy is evil.
I don’t know why we’re still friends…
Cookie Dough Brownies
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp milk of choice (270g)
- 2 tbsp ground flaxmeal (11g)
- 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp vegetable or coconut or olive oil (110g)
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (15g)
- 1 cup spelt, all-purpose, or Bob’s gf flour (120g)
- 1 cup unsweetened cacao or cocoa powder (80g)
- 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or packed 1/2 cup coconut sugar (115g)
- only if using Bob’s gf flour, add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/3 cup stevia baking blend, or 1/4 cup regular sugar
- 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
- 1 recipe of the following: Cookie Dough Dip, made the day after making the brownies
Preheat oven to 330F. Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all liquid ingredients and the ground flax. In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine all remaining ingredients except the cookie dough dip. Pour wet into dry, stir to combine, and pour into prepared pan. Bake 16 minutes, or until mostly set. Brownies will look a little underdone when they come out, but that’s okay! Let cool, then refrigerate overnight and the texture will firm up nicely. Once chilled and firm, make the cookie dough dip and spread it in a thin layer on top of the brownies. Makes 30-35 brownies (35 the size of the ones in the photos). Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Other Brownie Recipes:
- Zucchini Brownies (Reader Favorite)
- Guinness Brownies
- Almond Butter Brownies
- Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies
- Kale Brownies
- Fudge Brownie Larabars
- Healthy Chocolate Brownies
- Black Bean Brownies
Maybe there are too many brownie recipes on my site and I should stop posting brownie recipes for a while…
No. Sorry. That won’t ever happen. 🙂
I had 3 imaginary friends… Sofie, Toofie and Afra. They had 2 pets: Pet Shop and Zebra. Apparently it’s a sign of creativity in children. No wonder I grew up loving the arts and being an art major in college.
Has anyone tried ground chia instead of ground flax? In any case, I will try it 🙂
Anything with cookie dough in the name has to be amazing. Going to make these today … It’s going to be hard to wait until tomorrow to eat them!
These look so indulgent! Perfect for the weekend 🙂
I never had a human imaginary friend, but at some point I did have an imaginary black Lab named Buddy. He grew into a whole pack of imaginary dogs of all different shapes and sizes. Can you tell I really, really, REALLY wanted a dog?
I think, since I don’t gots no blender, that I’ll just forgo the cookie dough dip (you all can burn me for that) and use the brownies as a base recipe. I need a special dietary-friendly base without fancy ingredients, and this certainly THE ONE.
I tried having an imaginary friend as a child, it was a husky named Nana. Unfortunately, TRIED doesn’t mean succeeding, I just could never get into it. Probably because I have a twin sister, so I never had the need to make up someone since I was never lonely.
Haha, sounds like you have a twin of your own Katie, and Zozo is the evil one!
These look so tasty! I’m bringing your famous cookie dough dip to a trivia night tonight! Can’t wait to let everyone keep going for more and THEN tell them its healthy!! These cookie dough brownies may be next!
I completely agree – brownies are the best dessert. I’ve been trying my best to find a healthy brownie as good as the full-fat ones, but it’s tough. 🙂
Hello Katie! Haha, this was a funny post! It reminds me of a time when I told my parents that the cake I had in the fridge was not ready yet, but they didn’t really care for “perfection”. After a couple of hours half of it was gone (yet unfinished). 😀
Lovely recipe! I want to eat it now! I guess you are lucky they ate only the missing part in the pictures!
OH MY GOSH!! My 2 favorite things rolled into one!! Perfection. Will try ASAP. Just out of curiosity, what do you do when you go to the gym? Due to injury I can’t run, so I’ve mostly biked and would love some new ideas 😀
Lol, my friend and i have an imaginary friend named Norman. He’s pretty mischievous.
These brownies looks so good! 🙂