Cookie Dough Brownies are a Little Caesars copycat (without the cellophane wrapper, of course)! A fudgy brownie base covered with edible cookie dough and decorated with colorful candy.
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Cookie Dough Brownies have a baked fudgy base with a thick layer of uncooked cookie batter spread on top. Easy to make using a box mix and my favorite eggless edible raw chocolate chip cookie dough recipe.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies (Little Caesars Copycat)
Our Cookie Dough Brownies recipe is a delicious two-in-one dessert. It looks like Little Caesars M&M’s Minis Cookie Dough Brownies but served fresh instead of in a cellophane-wrapped sleeve.
Because this raw cookie dough recipe is eggless and made with heat-treated flour, it lets you safely spread the dough over the brownies and eat it, even without baking!
This recipe for cookie dough brownies with brownie mix combines the convenience of baking from a box with the rich buttery flavor of from scratch raw batter, all without worry about the risk of food-borne illness.
Why We Love Cookie Dough Brownies Recipes
- Quick and easy to make both brownie and cookie dough.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Cookie dough is made without eggs and uses heat-treated flour so it’s completely safe to eat (no eating raw flour here).
- Pizza chain copycat prepared without preservatives.
- Brownies with cookie dough on top is a 2-in-1 treat when you can’t decide which dessert to eat.
Cookie Dough Brownies Ingredients
- Fudge brownie mix: I used Betty Crocker brand but feel free to use your favorite box or make your own brownies from scratch.
- Eggs
- Vegetable oil
- Water
- All purpose flour
- Salted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Heavy cream
- Salt
- Mini semi sweet chocolate chips
- Mini M&M’s candies
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Use Your Favorite Flour: Feel free to swap the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour, almond flour, pastry flour, or oat flour. You can also use gluten free flour to make gluten free cookie dough.
- Choose Your Chip: You can switch out the semisweet chocolate chips for milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or butterscotch chips.
- Decorate Your Cookie Dough: If you don’t want use M&Ms on top, feel free to create your own custom version. Top your treats with chopped walnuts, sprinkles, cookie crumbs, or crushed candy. You can even add a chocolate covering or drizzle.
How to Make Cookie Dough Brownies
- Bake The Brownies: Whisk together the brownie mix, eggs, oil, and water until the batter is smooth. Spread in the pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-33 minutes. Cool completely on the counter.
- Heat Treat The Flour: Bake the flour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-7 minutes then let it cool completely on the counter.
- Create The Cookie Dough: Beat the butter, both sugars, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add the heavy cream and salt and mix until fully incorporated. Mix in the cooled flour, ½ cup at a time, then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop, Spread, Sprinkle: Scoop the cookie dough on top of the the brownies and spread it into a smooth and even layer. Sprinkle with mini M&M’s gently press them down into the cookie dough.
Pro Tip: Be careful not to press too hard as you spread the cookie dough as you want to keep the two layers from mixing. - Slice And Serve: Refrigerate the cookie dough brownie bars for 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
How To Heat Treat Flour
To heat treat the flour in the oven, simply spread it over a baking pan and bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-7 minutes. Allow the heat-treated flour to cool to room temperature, for about 15 minutes. Do not overcook the flour or it will take on a burnt taste.
You can also heat treat your flour in the microwave. Place the flour in a microwave-safe dish and microwave it for 1 minute and 15 seconds at the highest setting, making sure to stir after every 15-second interval (5 times), let it cool, then use it in this recipe.
Tips For Making The Best Cookie Dough Brownies
- I like to line my pan with parchment paper so you can easily remove the brownies from the pan to slice.
- Your brownies are done baking when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out just barely clean. A couple of moist crumbs are okay, as you do not want to overbake your brownies or they will be tough.
- If you have a favorite homemade fudge brownie recipe, you can certainly use it for this recipe in place of the boxed brownie mix. You do not want to use a “cake-like” brownie recipe for this recipe, though.
- You may want to let the refrigerated brownies warm to room temperature before serving to allow the brownie layer to soften slightly.
- Since this cookie dough does not contain any leavening ingredients, it is not recommended to bake it into cookies.
- Make sure that your butter has softened to room temperature to properly cream with the sugar.
How to Store Cookie Dough Brownies
- To Store: These cookie dough brownies should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- To Freeze: These brownies can be frozen, tightly wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 1 month. Thaw the brownies completely in the refrigerator before serving.
More Easy Brownie Recipes
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Cookie Dough Brownies
Serves — 16
Cookie Dough Brownies are a Little Caesars copycat (without the cellophane wrapper, of course)! A fudgy brownie base covered with edible cookie dough and decorated with colorful candy.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
Brownie layer
- 16.3 ounces box of fudge brownie mix Betty Crocker brand
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons water
Cookie dough layer
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup salted butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup mini m&m’s candies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9 straight-sided metal baking pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving enough of the parchment paper to overhang the sides of the pan, then spray the pan with baker’s spray. Set aside.
- To make the brownie layer, add the fudge brownie mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and water to a large mixing bowl. Whisk by hand for 1-2 minutes or until the batter is smooth.16.3 ounces box of fudge brownie mix, 2 large eggs, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons water
- Spread the brownie batter into an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out just barely clean. A couple of moist crumbs are okay, as you do not want to overbake your brownies, or they will be tough.
- Remove the baked brownies from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300°F. Allow the brownies to cool completely on the counter. While the brownie layer is cooling, you can make the cookie dough layer.
- Line a 9×13 quarter sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread out the all-purpose flour into an even layer on the prepared sheet pan and bake for 5-7 minutes. This is heat treating the flour to kill any potential bacteria. Keep a close eye on the flour, as you do not want it to burn.1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- Remove the heat-treated flour from the oven and let it cool completely on the counter. Once cooled, it can be added to the remaining ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy.1 cup salted butter, ¾ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Lower the mixer speed to low and add the heavy cream and salt. Mix until the heavy cream is fully incorporated.2 tablespoons heavy cream, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add the cooled flour, ½ cup at a time, to the cookie dough batter and mix just until incorporated and no white streaks of flour remain.
- Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed in the dough.1½ cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Once the brownie layer has cooled completely, use a large cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough out of the bowl and place the scoops evenly over the surface of the brownie layer.
- Using a small offset spatula, very gently spread the cookie dough into a smooth and even layer. Be careful not to press too hard as you spread the cookie dough as you want to keep the two layers from mixing.
- Sprinkle the mini M&M’s evenly over the cookie dough layer and gently press them down just enough for them to lay flat and stick to the cookie dough.⅓ cup mini m&m’s candies
- Refrigerate the cookie dough brownies for 30 minutes. Once the cookie dough has chilled, carefully lift the brownies out of the pan using the overhanging parchment paper and slice to serve.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: These cookie dough brownies should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- To Freeze: These brownies can be frozen, tightly wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 1 month. Thaw the brownies completely in the refrigerator before serving.
- Betty Crocker brand fudge brownie mix was used to develop this recipe, and the box calls for 2 eggs, ½ oil, and 2 tablespoons water. If the brand of boxed fudge brownie mix you are using calls for different amounts of these ingredients, you will need to follow the directions and ingredients called for on the box of your brand of brownie mix. You will also bake as directed for a 9×9 metal pan.
- I like to line my pan with parchment paper so you can easily remove the brownies from the pan to slice.
- Your brownies are done baking when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out just barely clean. A couple of moist crumbs are okay, as you do not want to overbake your brownies or they will be tough.
- If you have a favorite homemade fudge brownie recipe, you can certainly use it for this recipe in place of the boxed brownie mix. You do not want to use a “cake-like” brownie recipe for this recipe, though.
- This is an edible cookie dough therefore, the heat treating of the flour is an important step to ensure that no bacteria is in the flour when you add it to your cookie dough.
- You may want to let the refrigerated brownies warm to room temperature before serving to allow the brownie layer to soften slightly.
- Since this cookie dough does not contain any leavening ingredients, it is not recommended to bake it into cookies.
- Make sure that your butter has softened to room temperature to properly cream with the sugar.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 568kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 229mg | Potassium: 168mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 433IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 3mg
very good!