Brownie mix cookies

I needed chocolate cookies.  I had brownie mix.  Here's to #covidbaking  Onward ho.

For one dozen cookies, here's what I used:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 of an approximately 18-ounce box of brownie mix (Duncan Hines, as it was)
1/4 cup (more or less) cocoa powder
1/4 cup (more or less) pea protein powder
1/8 teaspoon (more or less) salt (optional)
1 teaspoon molasses
1/4 cup milk (more or less), added 1 tablespoon at a time
several handfuls (maybe 1/2 cup) chopped walnuts

In a medium bowl, stir together the melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract with a fork.  Separately, sift together the dry ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, along with the molasses and stir until completely incorporated, adding enough milk to get a wet cookie batter consistency.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the walnuts and stir to distribute evenly.  Drop by double tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes.  Leave to cool for a few minutes on the sheet, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

My stupid oven...  I checked the cookies at 10 minutes and they were still mounds of melting dough.  The oven was at 300.  I turned it up to 350, and checked again at 7 minutes.  They still looked suspicious, so I left them in another 3 minutes.  Then they were quite firm.  I probably should have taken them out after 7.

I liked the added salt at first, but once I'd gone through about half of them it started to seem like too much.  An option would be to leave it out of the batter, but sprinkle the tops before baking.

Conclusion:   Delicious.  Cakey.  A little dry right out of the oven, but better the next day.  They didn't flatten at all, and in fact sort of puffed up a little.  Using 1/2 an egg would make them less cakey (or 1 egg for the whole box of mix.)   Now I'm thinking of a lot of fun ways you could change these up, with peanut butter, mint, coffee, rum...