You can make these little desserts in your air fryer, and you'll have something special for the weekend. The Almond Brookies are little cakes that are a cross between brownies and cookies. You get a rich, fudgy, slightly gooey brownie layer flecked with almond cookie dough that's studded with crunchy almonds. The Brookies are great straight from the air fryer, served warm with a scoop of ice cream alongside. Nonetheless, after repeated research, I've found the Brookies to be quite good when served cold, straight from the refrigerator. The recipe makes two small, six-inch cakes, perfect for a weekend dessert and snacking but not so much as to linger too long. Enjoy!
Air Fryer Almond Brookies -- Makes Two Six-Inch Cakes
Brownie Layer
1/3 cup of canola oil
1/3 cup of milk
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
Line two small cake pans (6- X 2-inches) with aluminum foil and spritz the foil with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together well the oil, milk, sugars, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and eggs. Stir in the flour and baking powder until combined. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Make the almond cookie layer.
Almond Cookie Layer
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 cup of sliced almonds
In the same bowl you used to mix up the brownie batter, combine the butter, brown sugar, egg, almond extract, and salt and mix them well. Stir in the cinnamon, baking powder, flour, and sliced almonds until combined. Using a teaspoon and spacing the batter out as evenly as you can, dollop bits of almond cookie batter over the brownie batter in each pan. You don't need to smooth it out, just dollop it, and don't worry if it sinks into the brownie batter a bit--that's fine. Place one pan of brookies into your air fryer basket, place the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the brookies at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until firm to the touch and the sides of the brookies are just barely beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Don't bother with a toothpick test. The brookies will be fudgy in the middle, and your toothpick should come out with wet stuff attached. Otherwise, you've baked the brookies too long. Remove the baked pan from the air fryer basket and repeat the cooking process with the second pan of batter. Let the baked brookies cool in the pan for a few minutes, then using the aluminum foil, lift the brookies from the cake pan. Cut the brookies in wedges to serve, with ice cream alongside. The brookies will be fudgy/mushy in the middle. Store any leftover brookies in a cool place (like the refrigerator). The cold will cause the middles to set up, so if you want them "molten," zap a brookie in the microwave on medium power to warm it.
