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 made these over the weekend and i thought they were pretty good. i mad the sugar-free version of the cookie dough dip and used almond butter which i think was a mistake as it tastes very much of almond butter. next time i will use peanut butter. I think the brownies could have been a little sweeter… very much appreciate the idea though! After making a few changes i think these will be great! and no i never had an imaginary friend when i was younger. 😉
Oh. my. goodness. That was insane. Just made these for a family get together. Didn’t tell them what was in the cookie dough until after they ate it. My ridiculously picky teenager even went back for more once I told him. They were THAT good. 🙂
How healthy are these really, I’m kinda watching my weight a little and am jonesing for a snack…
Hi Katie!
I love the sound of this recipe and can’t wait to try it. I was wondering, do you think you could maybe try making a white chocolate brownie? If you could I would love you forever!!!!!!!! Also, thanks so much for putting the measurements in grams on the side – I live in England so it really helps.
Thank you so much for your delicious recipes! I don’t know how I’d live without them
Going to make these for my 7 year old granddaughter. I had an imaginary horse as a friend when I was 7. My granddaughter, Ari, has a whole menagerie of dogs and other creatures in her imaginary world, and has since she was 3 and learning to talk English. (From 5 months of age, she spoke in an entirely unknown language. Not babbling, but talking in sentences, repeating words and phrases until we could figure out what she wanted. Her mother and I worked hard to get her to speak English, and now she doesn’t remember her first language. Big mistake, I think.) Shark and Snowball are the two main characters, giant dogs that run alongside the car when we’re going someplace. Snowball, the white Husky, has 3,000 girl puppies and 250 boy puppies. Shark, also a female, has fewer puppies, but she’s been sick lately. Ari tells stories about her dogs, zebras and her one giraffe. She’s a marvel and a wonder, a bright star in my constellation of grandchildren.
I’m definitely going to have to try this. And my imaginary friend was a monkey who lived on the roof, and whenever we moved, he moved right along with us, until one day he got into a helicopter and flew away for good, never to return again.
I was wondering, because it is not cooked, does the cookie dough topping tastes like beans? So far I’ve only tried one black bean brownie recipe, but the batter didn’t taste that great before baking. Have you tried baking the cookie dough topping, and if so, how did it come out? They look delicious regardless!
Ah, that wasn’t very clear. I meant, have you tried baking the topping once it was on the brownie. As in, baking them together?
Rinse the beans well and no, it will not taste like beans. If you try baking it, though, definitely report back!
Hi Katie, thank you for all your choco-licious recipes! Me and my man are so hooked now.
I wonder if I can use coconut flour for this cookie dough brownie recipe? Thanks!
I’m unfortunately not allowed to publish it online, but there is a coconut flour brownie recipe in my book 🙂
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chocolate-covered-katie-katie-higgins/1119439699?ean=9781455599707
Thank you so much for these! They are incredibly delicious and I especially love that these are also healthy! I can feed these healthy things to my siblings and they have no idea that the cookie dough topping is made with beans!
How did you come up with the name of your imaginary friend? Just wondering because “Zozo” is the name of an ancient demon. Yikes.