Bready or Not: Mocha Shortbread
Combine the awesomeness of shortbread and chocolate in a single pan!
I loved shortbread from the time I was a kid and we’d buy those precious boxes of Walker’s Shortbread at the Fresno Highland Games. Now you can buy Walker’s everywhere, but in the late ’80s and 1990s? It was a real treat.
This chocolate shortbread is a real treat, too. It creates tender yet firm bars that combine all the best of buttery shortbread, mocha, and espresso.
I first made this by mixing in mini chocolate chips (replacing the cocoa nibs in the original recipe). When I wanted a good cookie recipe to mail during an Arizona summer, I thought of shortbread because it ships and keeps so well, but chocolate chips would melt. Therefore, I made the recipe again with melted chocolate in the dough. The versions tasted the same and the new version shipped cross-country without any issues.
I think the biggest issue here is that it tastes so good–especially with coffee or tea–that there’s a tendency to gobble down shortbread bars as if they are potato chips.
Bet you can’t eat just one!
Modified from Mocha Shortbread as printed in Martha Stewart Living.
Bready or Not: Mocha Shortbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips either kept whole, or melted in microwave to blend into dough; the latter ships well, even in summer heat
Instructions
- Prepare a 9x13 baking pan with foil or parchment, and apply nonstick spray. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat softened butter with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy and pale, about 5 minutes. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is very light, about 2 minutes, then stir in the vanilla extract and espresso powder. Mix about one more minute until it's smooth.
- Slowly pour in the flour mixture and mix until it just comes together. Add in the chocolate (either in chips or melted). Press dough evenly into the prepared pan. Press plastic wrap over the top and use that to smooth the dough with your hands or a spatula. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, at least an hour and up to a day.
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Leaving the dough in the pan, use a knife to slash the dough into small rectangles and then use a fork or chopstick to poke holes in top of each bar.
- Bake until set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes, then re-cut bars. Let it cool completely then use the foil or parchment to lift out the shortbread and separate bars. Store covered up to one week.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Dutch Baby Pancake
Need a small batch of pancakes? Or don’t want to stand there and flip individual pancakes?
Go big!
I had Dutch pancake baby recipes pinned for years. For some reason, they looked intimidating to me. Shows what I know. It turned out, these are much easier than standard pancakes. Mix, pour, bake.
The only tragedy here is that they look beautiful as soon as you pulled them from the oven, and as soon as you cut it, they deflate. The taste is fabulous, though–that doesn’t go flat!
I tried out a Snickerdoodle variation as well. Just add a little cinnamon to the batter and more on top. It’d be just as easy to add some chocolate chips or fresh or dried fruit. Mix it up!
Modified from Martha Stewart.
Bready or Not: Dutch Baby Pancake
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk almondmilk works fine
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Snickerdoodle variation:
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in batter plus more sprinkled on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium cast-iron or ovenproof nonstick skillet, add 2 tablespoons butter and stick it in oven as it warms up.
- In a blender, combine eggs, milk, flour, salt, vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar. Blend until foamy, about 1 minute. Pull skillet from oven--be careful, that handle is hot! Pour batter into skillet and bake for about 19 to 20 minutes. The pancake should be puffed and lightly browned.
- Slice into wedges--it will deflate and look a lot less pretty, but it's still delicious. Serve with butter and any other desired toppings (maple syrup, dulce de leche, powdered sugar, etc).
Serves one hungry person, or along with sides can feed several people.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Baked French Vanilla Mini Donuts
It’s been far too long since we’ve done mini donuts. They’re just so gosh darned cute.
I did a similar recipe to this ages ago and the results were meh. I used plain milk and the donuts tasted BLAND. It was like putting delicious glaze on cardboard.
However, when company came and left behind some So Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Creamer, I knew I needed to use it up somehow. I decided to try donuts.
I’d never tried coconut creamer before. The stuff was fabulous. The flavor added the mildest touch of coconut and strong vanilla, and it carried through in both the donuts and the glaze.
I think the recipe would also work very well with other French Vanilla-flavored creamers, too. Or other flavored creamers, period. From my experience, the stuff is a great substitute for milk/liquid in all kinds of baked goods.
Donut recipe modified from Bakers Royale; glaze recipe modified from Averie Cooks
Bready or Not: Baked French Vanilla Mini Donuts
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 1/4 cups cake flour sifted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup French Vanilla Coconut Creamer or other flavored creamer
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp butter melted and briefly cooled
Glaze
- 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar sifted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 + teaspoons of French Vanilla Coconut Creamer or water, milk, half & half, etc
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Apply nonstick spray to mini donuts pan(s).
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Add the creamer, egg and butter and stir until just combined.
- To fill the pan, it's easiest to use a pastry bag or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped. Only fill the cavity to half full, which is usually about three circuits of batter.
- Bake 4 to 6 minutes or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes before removing. Makes about 32 donuts. Unglazed, they can be frozen.
To make the glaze:
- Combine ingredients and stir. Add more liquid as needed for the right consistency. Dip one side of the donut into the glaze, then immediately add sprinkles, if desired. Let donuts sit out an hour or so, until set.
Once glazed, the donuts keep best for about a day.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Snickerdoodle Pancakes for One
One day my husband sighed most pitifully. “You know what I miss?” he said. “Pancakes. You never make pancakes anymore.”
“That’s because I can’t eat piles of bready things oozing in syrup,” I said. “But let me see if I can find a good recipe that will work for just you.”
In the end, I had to work some kitchen magic. I found a good recipe, cut the amounts in half, and played with the ingredients. I was pleased that it used sour cream as the base because I know it makes a rich, tender dough in breads. Almondmilk worked just fine, too. It actually made for a somewhat healthy stack of pancakes… which he then, of course, drowned in pure maple syrup.
My husband loves Snickerdoodle cookies and many other Snickerdoodle-like things. He vows that these live up to the name. They are Snickerdoodle goodness in pancake form.
This small stack is perfect for a hungry adult or to feed a couple kids.
Modified from Snickerdoodle Pancakes at No. 2 Pencil.
Bready or Not: Snickerdoodle Pancakes for One
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 cup sour cream or vanilla or plain yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 3 + Tablespoons milk almondmilk works great
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients, and then combine everything. If the batter is really thick, slowly add milk to get the right consistency.
- Heat up a nonstick griddle or pan. Use 1/4 cup to scoop up batter onto the surface. When the edges of a pancake are set with little bubbles creating craters on top, it's time to flip to cook the other side.
- Makes a small stack of medium-sized pancakes. Serve with whatever fixings you like!
OM NOM NOM!
Those little bubbles popping on top mean I should set down the camera and flip this baby over.
Bready or Not: Dulce de Leche Apple Blondies
Dessert. Breakfast. Brunch. Hunger. These are all good times to whip up these Dulce de Leche Apple Blondies.
This is kinda like a cross between an apple crisp and a pie. The apples are mixed into batter and then topped with layers of caramel and sweetened crumbs.
I confess, I didn’t measure the amount of dulce de leche I used here. The measurement below is a total guess. Really, get a squeeze bottle or an open jar and drizzle. Don’t worry about covering the whole surface.
The edges here bake up solid and chewy. The middle passed the toothpick test for doneness, but once it was cut into, it was still a little gooey. That was fine. I knew it was baked through. It’s just a pie-like consistency in the middle.
Serve this cold straight out of the fridge. Maybe add a scoop of ice cream. Or warm it up a touch in the microwave. These blondies are versatile. They can take many paths to end up in your happy belly.
Modified from Foodie Crush
Bready or Not: Dulce de Leche Apple Blondies
Ingredients
For the blondies
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 2/3 cups light brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 medium apples peeled and diced (1 1/2-2 cups)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup dulce de leche or caramel topping
For the strudel
- 5 Tablespoons cold butter chopped
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 X 8 inch pan (or 9 X 9 inch) pan with aluminum foil so that it hangs over the sides. Apply non-stick spray.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cream of tartar and salt in a medium size bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add the dry ingredients. Add the apple pieces. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
- Whip out a squeeze bottle or jar of dulce de leche or caramel. Drizzle over the batter.
- Combine the strudel ingredients in another bowl and chop together until the butter is mostly down to pea-size chunks. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Allow to cool completely. Lift the bars out by the overhanging foil and cut into bars. The edges will be crisper and more solid, while the center may be messier and sticky with caramel. It's all good.
OM NOM NOM.
Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Breakfast Bites
I present to you a healthy, delicious breakfast option that just happens to taste like cookie dough. OH YEAH.
A while back I shared my recipe for Maple Energy Bites. Now it’s time to share the cookie dough version. It’s very simple. Throw ingredients in a high-powered blender. Form into bars or balls. Stash in the fridge. Eat.
You can use any kind of nut here, really, or a combination of nuts, but cashews will be the closest to cookie dough. They have that natural buttery taste. The dates add sweetness and also act as a binding agent. I add cinnamon, but you can sprinkle in whatever flavors you want and make it more like a spice cookie.
I usually eat two or three for breakfast. They are great before a work-out. They also will keep for upward of two weeks in a sealed container in the fridge.
Healthy cookie dough. This is totally a thing.
Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Breakfast Bites
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup dates chopped, medjool best
- 1 cup cashews
- big pinch cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips
- water if needed
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients but the chocolate chips and water. Pour 1/3 or 1/2 the mix into a high-powered food processor or blender. Pulse. Stir it with a spoon or spatula--it will be thick and gum up the machine. Pour the blended mix out, then add in more of the nut-date blend until everything is mostly blended. It's okay to have some chunks. Add the mini chocolate chips.
- Squeeze the mash between your fingers. If it doesn't want to stick together, stir in water by 1/2 teaspoon until it's cohesive.
- You can shape them in two ways. Use a tablespoon scoop to form a ball, then compress them with your hands to tighten. Or, make bars. Place a sling of parchment paper in a bread pan. Pour the mash in. Compress as tightly as you can. Remove using the sling and cut to preferred size.
- Keep stored in covered dish or closed baggie in fridge. Makes about 9 tablespoon-sized balls or 7 bars. Will keep for upward of 2 weeks.
OM NOM NOM!
