Red Velvet Brookies

What in the world, you may wonder, is a brookie?

The long answer is that it’s a beautiful mash-up of two of the world’s most scrumptious desserts. It’s tall and it’s dense and it’s bursting with white chocolate chips. Moist and gooey, the brookie melts on your tongue and sweeps you away into a chocolate river (or brook?). The first bite overwhelms the taste buds as you break through the crispy exterior, and the second bite is unbelievably luxurious as you reach the molten center.

The short answer is that it’s the ingenious offspring when a brownie and a cookie meet.

I’ve had my eye on Broma Bakery’s Red Velvet Brookies since it was posted on Valentine’s Day, but never really had the chance to make it until today. Lush and decadent, there’s no better recipe to kick off my blog!

Since I was lacking in white chocolate chips, I halved the recipe to make six brookies instead of twelve, and good thing too, because later in the process, I found out that I had a dearth of red food coloring as well! Squeezing every last drop out of my small food coloring container, I still only had about one teaspoon. I was worried that the brookies wouldn’t turn out the correct color, but to my delight, they were still quite red after mixing.

I must warn you, this is not a healthy recipe. The original recipe calls for two sticks of butter, but even after halving it, I thought one stick of butter for six brookies was still a sure artery-clogger. In an attempt to make the recipe a little healthier, I replaced two tablespoons of butter for coconut oil. If you’ve never used or encountered coconut oil, I highly recommend it! It’s a healthy alternative to butter and oil when cooking, and it also has a plethora (ie. one hundred) of other uses! However, if you decide to use it in your hair either as shampoo or conditioner, I would advise against using a lot. I piled it on, believing in the mantra more is better, and sported a very oily ‘do the next day.

There is something so comforting about folding chocolate chips into dough. I’m not quite sure what makes it so, but I love the feeling of the hard chips against my rubber spatula. One motion of my hand, and they all disappear under a sea of red.

Red velvet is one of my favorite desserts, and I’m not even a huge fan of chocolate! I think it has something to do with the color scheme. White chips against a backdrop of deep red is so incredibly beautiful, and it makes me think that aesthetics are half of the enjoyment of eating.

After mixing in the chips, I cut the dough into six parts and rolled them up like cookies! Only, these are not your typical cookies. No, these were huge. At first, they were very moist and reflected the light, but after a couple hours in the fridge, they firmed up and took on a more matte texture. They almost looked like play-dough balls! Aren’t they so cute?

About ten minutes after I stuck the tray into the oven, the most mouth-watering scent of chocolate flooded the house, and I knew I was in for a treat! Seven agonizing minutes later, I could finally take the tray out and saw with delight that the brookies had spread slightly, and they looked delicious!

Aren’t they gorgeous? Well guess what… they taste even better than they look! I was mildly disappointed because I did not achieve the exact chewiness of a brownie, but the brookies were still amazing. Biting into one was like sinking into a cushy leather sofa or sliding into a warm bubble bath that I never wanted to leave. Not just a dessert, but a lifestyle. However, these brookies are incredibly rich, so I would suggest having a glass of milk or water at hand.

Here’s a view of the inside of the elusive, decadent brookie:

Yummm. Be sure to check out the recipe at Broma Bakery if you’d like to make some red velvet brookies of your own! This recipe makes twelve, but you can just as easily halve it and make six. Although you may want to eat them all after finishing your first brookie, I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you want to say goodbye to all that hard-earned summer weight loss. So share the wealth! I’m sure your friends and family will thank you for it.