Sloppy Brookes

Ryan really loves our friends Brooke and Joe and associates their names together. So I probably shouldn't have been surprised when the following conversation took place a few weeks ago.


We were about to sit for dinner, and he asked what we were having; I told him I made Sloppy Joes. He thought about that for a minute and answered, "And Sloppy Brookes, too?"

I, of course, told our friends about this immediately, and Brooke declared that there SHOULD be a Sloppy Brooke sandwich. We immediately started collaborating and discussing Brooke's favorite foods: chocolate, cheese, and coffee.

I didn't really think cheese belonged in that group, but Brooke reminded me that cream cheese would work just fine. We brainstormed some more and finally...

The Sloppy Brooke was born.


I selected Brooke's favorite chocolate chip cookie for the "bread" part of the sandwich (I did not enlarge them like she suggests, though I would for sure do that if I was making them to stand alone), and stuffed it with a mocha cream cheese filling. Since Brooke drinks hazelnut coffee, I rolled the sandwiches in roasted hazelnuts.

Ryan and I had a blast concocting these, and they were delicious! The mocha in the cream cheese is subtle and not overpowering (and the leftovers are awesome on your morning bagel!), and the roasted nuts made me feel like I was eating Nutella. And the cookies... oh, the cookies! On their own they are fantastic; as part of this sandwich, they are divine.

Brooke, we hope you enjoy these little treats! Next up, a Sloppy Chily...


Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

For the mocha cream cheese filling:

• 2 cups cream cheese
• 2 rounded tablespoons hot chocolate mix
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup espresso

• 1 cup hazelnuts, chopped

To make the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Cover dough and chill for 2 hours.
Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool completely on baking sheet.

To make the mocha cream cheese filling:
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a mixer. Mix on medium speed until smooth and incorporated.

To make the hazelnuts:
Place in a small skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring frequenty, for just a few minutes. Watch them closely - they burn easily!

To assemble:
Take one cookie and drop a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture on the underside. Top with another cookie (so the bottoms of the cookies are "facing" each other). Roll the sides in the roasted hazelnuts; repeat for all cookies.