Remember the last time you went out to eat and couldn’t decide between the shrimp and the New York strip- so you ordered the surf and turf? The divas at Betty Crocker figured out dessert eaters sometimes have the same dilemma. For those days when you can’t decide between baking cookies or brownies, they created a special baking mix called “cookie brownie bars,” a convenience dessert that combines two of America’s favorite comfort foods.
I had spied this Betty Crocker baking mix at the grocery store for several months, managing to resist its seductive whisper (“buy me, you know you want me”), but one afternoon the box magically leaped into my shopping cart. Obviously, it was a sign I was supposed to buy it.
Double Trouble
It wasn’t until later that night, while scrambling to prepare dinner, that I realized this baking mix required double the effort of either cookies or brownies. The box contained two pouches, each of whose batter or dough had to be mixed separately. Both the brownie mix and chocolate chip cookie mix require the addition of butter and water; the brownie mix also asks for an egg. Still, we’re talking mix vs. scratch baking here, so it’s petty to complain about extra work (although it did mean an extra bowl to wash).
The most fun part of the preparation process was spreading the thick, chocolatey brownie layer into the pan and topping it off with spoonfuls of chocolate chip cookie dough. The mix provides so much chocolate chip cookie dough, I ended up covering the whole brownie layer with dollops of dough.
After baking the combined mixes in the oven, I let the dessert cool for awhile. Daughter and her boyfriend were visiting, so I was hoping for some good guinea pig feedback.
Not surprisingly, the guys ended up getting involved in something more important than dessert, so my daughter and I were stuck sampling these freshly baked treats. We poured ourselves the mandatory frosty glass of milk and took our first bite. Our reaction? “Meh.” Neither the cookie nor brownie layers were as flavorful as a chocolate chip cookie or brownie by itself. The cookie layer was a tad more tasty than the brownie layer, but its texture lacked the crisp edges of a cookie. The brownie layer was brown, suggesting chocolate – but it was hard to discern any true chocolate flavor.
It’s a Miracle
The next day I was pleasantly surprised to discover my cookie brownie bars had magically morphed into something more delicious over night. Neither cookie nor brownie, the result was akin to mating a horse with a donkey and creating a whole new critter. In fact, these next-day cookie brownie bars were so good it was hard to limit myself to just one bar (1/16 of the pan has 200 calories as prepared, according to the box).
Based on my experience, I would suggest leaving the cookie brownie bars in the pan overnight before serving them. You might also add some real chocolate to the brownie layer to provide a fudgier flavor. Though no one will mistake your bars for Mrs. Fields, for those times you can’t decide between cookies and brownies, Betty Crocker’s cookie brownie bar baking mix provides a quick comfort food dessert at a reasonable price.
