Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies from scratch

I've been reading here and there around blog-land about making Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies, and the thought has been haunting me. Yesterday, I decided it was time! The recipes I've seen call for using mixes, which I don't generally buy, so I made mine from scratch and thought I'd pass it on to you.

Fair warning - this recipe has nothing low-calorie or low-fat about it!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (the classic Toll House recipe, my favorite since I was a child):
Cream together, adding one ingredient at a time, scraping the side of the mixer bowl often -
1 1/2 c butter (three sticks)
1 c sugar (the recipe actually says 1c +2T for this and the br. sug, I usually do a rounded cup)
1 c brown sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 eggs

Add and mix just until incorporated -
3 1/3 c flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
(I usually add the soda and salt to the estimated 1/3 c of flour and mix it up before adding it to the bowl)

Mix in by hand -
12 oz bag chocolate chips

(for cookies, bake for 8 minutes @ 350')


Brownie Batter (this is my favorite brownie recipe, many thanks to Cathy Smith for introducing us):

Melt 2 sticks (1 cup) of butter in 9x13 pan in oven while mixing other ingredients and preheating oven to 350'

Mix dry ingredients -
1 1/2 c flour
1 c sugar
6 generous T cocoa
2 T vanilla

Add four eggs (I usually beat them slightly first) and the melted butter from the pan, mix.

(for regular brownies, bake at 350' for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with choc. chips before baking or frost after baking)

Instructions for Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies:
Spread brownie batter in 9x13 pan. Plop spoonfuls of cookie dough around the pan. You only need half of the cookie dough. What you do with the rest is up to you and your conscience. :-) I managed to bake the second half as chocolate chip cookie bars and freeze them for later. This act of self-control was negated by the extra brownie I ate in the middle of the night on my way back from the bathroom.

Bake at 350' for 40-50 minutes. Don't overbake.

Note: don't cut these into a certain number per person in your family unless you have better self-control than me!