fucking delicious
fuckingdelicious.co
https://fuckingdelicious.co/recipes/trader-joes-cookie-butter-brownies
Brownies
Trader Joe's Cookie Butter Brownies
Trader Joe's (TJ's) Speculoos Cookie Butter is the most dangerous product in the entire store and I mean that with my whole chest. It's a spreadable paste made from crushed Belgian spice cookies and it tastes like cinnamon, caramel, and bad decisions all blended into a jar. Most people eat it with a spoon directly from the container at 2am and then lie about it in the morning. I respect that. But what if we took that unhinged cookie butter energy and swirled it into fudgy brownies? That's what we're doing here. These are thick, dark, almost truffle-like brownies with ribbons of melted cookie butter running through them like delicious little fault lines. When you pull them out of the oven, the cookie butter swirl has set into these glossy, caramelly veins that shatter slightly when you bite through them. The brownie itself is the fudgy style because cakey brownies are a war crime. These are dense, rich, slightly underbaked in the center (on purpose), and the cookie butter adds this warm spice note that makes you go 'what IS that?' It's cookie butter, Karen. It's always cookie butter. If you love our fudgy brownies recipe, this is the unhinged sequel nobody asked for but everybody needed. Let's fucking go.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (Trader Joe's brand works great)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter (microwaved for 20 seconds to make it pourable)
Instructions
- 1
Melt the chocolate and butter
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate chips together, stirring constantly until smooth and glossy. Pull it off the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. You don't want to scramble your eggs when you add them, which is a mistake I've made and will not discuss further.
- 2
Mix the batter
Stir the sugar into the melted chocolate mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each one until fully combined. Stir in the vanilla. Add the cocoa powder, flour, and salt and fold until JUST combined. Do not overmix. Overmixing makes cakey brownies and I already told you how I feel about cakey brownies. You should still see a few streaks of dry ingredients. That's fine. That's correct.
- 3
Swirl the cookie butter
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Microwave the cookie butter for 20 seconds so it's pourable, then dollop spoonfuls across the top of the batter. Use a knife or skewer to swirl it through the batter in a figure-eight pattern. Don't over-swirl or you'll just mix it in completely and lose the visual drama. You want distinct ribbons of cookie butter running through dark chocolate brownie. It should look chaotic and beautiful.
- 4
Bake and resist
Bake for 25-28 minutes. The edges should be set and pulling slightly away from the pan, and the center should look BARELY set with a slight jiggle. If you wait for the center to look fully done, you've overbaked them. They continue cooking in the pan as they cool. This is the hardest part because you have to let them cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting. I know. I know. But hot brownies fall apart and nobody wants brownie rubble. Wait. It's worth it.
Baker's Notes
- Use the original Speculoos Cookie Butter, not the crunchy kind. The crunchy version has cookie chunks that are delicious for eating straight but they burn in the oven and create hard spots in the brownies. Save the crunchy one for your 2am spoon sessions.
- Microwaving the cookie butter for 20 seconds makes it liquid enough to swirl. If it's too thick it'll just sit in blobs on top instead of creating those gorgeous veined patterns. You want it pourable but not hot.
- These are FUDGY brownies which means they're meant to be slightly underbaked in the center. If you stick a toothpick in and it comes out with wet batter, give it 2 more minutes. If it comes out with moist crumbs, pull it now. If it comes out clean, you've gone too far and I'm sorry for your loss.
- Store these at room temperature covered in foil for up to 4 days. Don't refrigerate them or they turn into dense chocolate bricks. Unless you're into that. Some people microwave a cold brownie for 15 seconds and swear by it. Those people might be onto something.
- A sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top before baking makes the cookie butter swirl pop even more. The salt against the sweet spiced cookie butter is the kind of flavor contrast that makes you close your eyes involuntarily.
Nutrition
Calories
210
Fat
11g
Carbs
26g
Protein
3g
Sugar
18g
Serving
1 brownie
Notes
FAQ
Can I use the cookie butter ice cream instead?
Can I use a boxed brownie mix instead?
My brownies sank in the middle. What happened?
These are too sweet for me. How do I tone it down?
Reviews
Loading reviews...
