Play Me a Recipe

Jesse Szewczyk makes Red Wine Brownie Cookies

Episode Summary

There's no better activity on a fall day than whipping up some decadent gooey cookies. Listen along as Jesse Szewczyk takes you through a delicious recipe from his new book, "Cookies: The New Classics", that you can share with your friends or, even better, keep them for yourself!

Episode Notes

On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a written recipe—and you'll be right alongside them, every step of the way. Feel free to pause, jump back, or navigate the steps via the podcast chapters (if you're in Apple Podcasts, swipe up on the episode player page—the podcast chapters will be at the bottom).  

If you're cooking along, here's the recipe we're making today. Go ahead and grab the ingredients below (Jesse starts listing them at :51) before starting the episode.

Red Wine Brownie Cookies

Makes 18 large cookies

• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons/226 grams) unsalted butter
• 2 cups (473 ml) dry red wine, any variety
• ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons (99 grams) granulated sugar, divided
• 3¼ cups spooned and leveled all-purpose flour (416 grams)
• ½ cup (45 grams) natural, unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ cups (300 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (about 1⅓ cups)

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue cooking, stirring often to prevent the milk solids from burning, until the butter foams and then darkens in color slightly and is very fragrant, 4 to 6 minutes. Immediately pour the butter into a large heatproof bowl. Do not wash the pan.
2. To the saucepan used to melt the butter, add the red wine and 2 tablespoons (32 grams) of the granulated sugar and bring to a simmer over high heat. (Be careful; the wine will sizzle when you pour it in the pan.) Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to ⅓ cup (79 ml), 16 to 18 minutes. (The easiest way to test if the reduction is ready is to pour it into a heatproof measuring glass to see if it’s at the ⅓-cup mark.) Pour the reduced wine into the bowl with the butter and let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.
3. As the butter/wine mixture cools, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Preheat the oven to 350°F and set 2 racks at the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line 3 baking sheets (or as many as you have) with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
4. Whisk both the brown sugar and the remaining ⅓ cup (67 grams) granulated sugar into the butter/wine mixture, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until a soft dough forms, then stir in the chopped chocolate.
5. Using a large 2⅓-inch (#16) cookie scoop or ¼-cup measure, portion out the dough and roll into large balls. Place the dough balls at least 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets (6 per sheet).
6. Bake 2 sheets at the same time, swapping the top sheet to the bottom rack and bottom sheet to the top midway through baking, until the tops lose their shine but their cracks still appear slightly wet (don’t be tempted to overbake), 11 to 14 minutes, then bake the remaining baking sheet of cookies on either rack. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets.