Bready or Not Original: Chewy Coffee-Cocoa Nib Cookies
Espresso-flavored chocolate chips are a new fad in American grocery stores, and I use them in this original recipe for Chewy Coffee-Cocoa Nib Cookies!
I’ve tried two kinds of espresso chocolate chips. My favorite of the two was Tollhouse, which had a nice, clean coffee flavor that stayed nice and strong in the baked cookies, too.
I also mixed in cocoa nibs. Nibs are VERY strong in flavor, so you don’t need much to add a boost of flavor and crunch.
The flavor in these cookies is up-front when they are fresh from the oven, but after a day, I found the flavors deepened a good deal.
These make for a perfect snack paired with coffee or tea, and remember, they contain some caffeine! Perhaps eat them for breakfast rather than as a midnight snack.
Bready or Not Original: Chewy Coffee-Cocoa Nib Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, softened
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup bread flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup espresso-flavored chocolate chips Tollhouse recommended
- 1/3 cup cocoa nibs
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and honey and beat until creamy and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: bread flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Sift together.
- Slowly stir together the wet ingredients and flour mix until just combined. Sprinkle in the chocolate chips and nibs. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and stash in the fridge for several hours or days; dough can also be frozen at this stage.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Use greased stoneware, parchment paper, or silpat mats. The cookie dough, even straight from the fridge, has a soft Play-Doh-like consistency, and will spread when it bakes; keep this in mind when spacing cookie dough.
- Teaspoon-sized cookies need to bake 9 to 12 minutes; Tablespoon-sized take 11 to 13 minutes. Let set on cookie sheets for 10 to 15 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies will keep in a sealed container, between waxed paper or parchment layers. Coffee and chocolate flavors will likely deepen after a day,.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Spiced Maple Macadamia Nut Cookies
These Spiced Maple Macadamia Nut Cookies mix maple sweetness and warm spices and chocolate with the wonderful crunch of macadamias. They are perfect for fall–and throughout the year.
A food processor will be a big help in this recipe. The nuts and chocolate need to be in fine slivers. If the chunks are too big, the sliced cookies won’t be cohesive.
These are fridge cookies. Form the dough into tube shapes, wrap up well, then stash them in the fridge or freezer. Then thaw, slice, and bake when you need cookies.
If you do the full batch at once, you’ll likely get a lot of cookies, depending on your tube size and how you slice them. I got about 70 cookies.
These are perfect cookies to warm up your belly on a cool autumn or winter night (or in Arizona, to make-believe in such a temperature shift).
Bready or Not Original: Spiced Maple Macadamia Nut Cookies
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 3 sticks, room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup real maple syrup
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup macadamia nuts
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips semisweet or dark or mixture
- 1/3 cup candied ginger finely chopped
Instructions
- In a food processor or by knife, finely chop macadamia nuts, followed by the chocolate chips. Set aside. (If these are not in fine pieces, the dough will fall apart when sliced.)
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in maple syrup.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda. Gradually work this into the creamed mixture. Fold in the nuts, chocolate, and candied ginger until incorporated.
- Divide dough in half and shape into foot-long logs. Encase in plastic wrap. Chill at least two hours, or freeze for later baking.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Unwrap log and cut dough into 1/4-inch thick medallions, reshaping with fingers as needed. Place spaced out on parchment-covered cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until set with a firm, golden base. Cool on pan for 5 minutes then move to rack to completely cool.
- Cookies keep for at least 3 days in sealed containers at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Chewy Filled Bars
I present to you my Chewy Filled Bars: a versatile recipe that can use any number of fruit preserves, fruit butters, or other sweet filling, combined with different nuts or seeds, all to unique, delicious result.
These pictures display the recipe using Sprouts Cherry Preserves (with slivered almonds and almond extract) and Sprouts Maple Pumpkin Butter (with pepitas and almond extract).
However, I also made the same recipe using Trader Joe’s cinnamon bun filling (with chopped pecans and vanilla extract) and Apple Cider Spread (with chopped walnuts and vanilla extract). Every single version was awesome.
The jarred filling I used varied from 12 to 14 ounces. All worked well, though the Cinnamon Bun Filling required a 40 minute bake to set. I liked mixing in different nuts or seeds to pair with the filling, but you could also omit that ingredient completely, if desired.
No matter the mix-ins, the result is a pleasantly thick, chewy bar that is just sweet enough.
Bready or Not Original: Chewy Filled Bars
Equipment
- 13x9 pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract or substitute vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds or sliced almonds or substitute other nuts or seeds
- 12 to 14 ounce fruit preserves or fruit butter or other sweet filling; possibilities include cherry preserves, pumpkin butter, cinnamon bun filling, etc
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add brown sugar and baking powder. Follow up with egg and almond extract. Gradually mix in flour, oats, and sliced almonds.
- Set aside 1 cup of dough. Press the rest into the bottom of the prepared pan. A piece of waxed paper and heavy glass will help to compress it into a form, even layer. Spread preserves over top. Crumble the reserved dough over the fruit.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until top is lightly brown and no longer wobbly in the middle. Completely cool at room temperature, speeding process in the fridge, if desired. Use foil to lift contents onto cutting board to slice up.
- Store in sealed containers with waxed paper or parchment between the layers. Keeps at room temperature for days, and can also be frozen for weeks.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Soft Maple Sugar Cookies
Soft Maple Sugar Cookies! That’s right, this recipe combines two of the best things ever for an original treat.
It has been way too long since I offered up a maple-flavored treat. These are so good, they make up for that lapse in a major way.
These are soft, chewy cookies. Maple flavor is built into the dough, and the drizzle of glaze adds a touch more.
I wish I could say how long these cookies will keep, but I don’t know. They stayed delicious for at least one full day, then they went to my husband’s work and were goooooooone.
You’ll have to bake them yourself and see how long they last!
Bready or Not Original: Soft Maple Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- teaspoon scoop
- parchment paper
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened 1 stick
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple flavor
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Glaze
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter half stick
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar plus more is needed for thickness
- 1/4 cup half & half or milk
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 300-degrees. In a large bowl, beat together butter and shortening. Add both sugars, maple syrup, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat for about 2 minutes, scraping bottle of bowl often. Add egg yolks one at a time, followed by vanilla extract and maple flavor. Mix in flour until just combined.
- Use a scoop or spoon to dollop dough onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, spacing out to account for spread. Bake for 11 to 16 minutes. Let set on cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
- Once all cookies are baked and cooled, move them back to the parchment-covered pan, close together, before mixing glaze.
- In a small bowl, melt butter in microwave. Add the confectioners' sugar to bowl, followed by half & half and maple syrup. Stir. Add more sugar, if needed, to form a thick consistency. Drizzle all over cookies. Let set for 30 minutes to 1 hour before moving to sealed containers.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Cookie Butter and Jelly Bars
Cookie butter and Jelly Bars! These things are soft and chewy, creating a whole casserole dish-worth of luscious goodies.
As often as I’ve advocated for cookie butter on Bready or Not, it seems people are always discovering it for the first time. Lucky you! It’s essentially pulverized cookies in spreadable form.
You can find generic versions or Biscoff brand at places like Walmart, Target, and Sprouts, and Trader Joe’s is famous for their Speculoos jars.
In these bars, cookie butter adds incredible softness and amps up the cookie flavor. That’s right, it has this weird ability to make cookies taste more like cookies.
Use whatever jelly or jam or preserves you want. Try not to spread it to the very edge, as it can be very sticky on the foil, even if it’s well-greased.
Bready or Not Original: Cookie Butter and Jelly Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups creamy cookie butter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 13 ounce jelly or preserves or jam, about 1 1/2 cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a big bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping bottom of bowl as necessary. Follow up with the eggs, vanilla, and cookie butter, until blended.
- Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder.
- Spread about 2/3 of the batter in the prepared pan. Spread the jelly but not quite to the edges. Dollop the remaining dough all over the top.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the surface is golden and not jiggly, with the middle passing the toothpick test.
- Cool completely at room temperature or in the fridge. Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board to parcel into bars. Store in a sealed container with waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers, either in the fridge or on the counter.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Lemony Glazed Shortbread Bars
April’s lemon theme lingers into May with this week’s luscious Lemony Glazed Shortbread Bars.
These things rely fully on lemons, no bottled lemon extract or flavor required. Get a lot of lemons. You need 6, maybe 7 medium or small lemons, or 4 giant lemons. Better to have leftover zest or juice rather than not enough.
This dough is incredibly fun to work with, too. Thanks to the cornstarch with the flour, the result is soft and pliable like Play-Doh.
Most recipes I post that include glaze require the baked good to be completely cool first. Not so here. Make the glaze as soon as the dish is baked and put it on promptly. That means the glaze melts a bit after it’s spread on top, fusing with the bars.
With so much lemon infused into these bars, these things ends up smelling so summer and fresh, and the taste…! If you love lemon, these shortbread bars are totally for you.
Bready or Not: Lemony Glazed Shortbread Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup finely shredded lemon zest from 4 giant lemons or about 6 large lemons
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 3 sticks, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze
- 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract use clear extract if available, as regular will tint glaze a bit
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 300-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch; set aside.
- In another bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon zest. Using fingers, break apart the zest within the sugar to distribute the threads and release the oils. The result should be more yellow in coloration and quite fragrant.
- In a big bowl, beat together the butter, lemon juice, salt, and vanilla extract until it becomes creamy, scraping bowl as needed. Gradually mix in the sugar and zest. Slowly work the flour/cornstarch mix into the big bowl. The dough should become pliable and cling together, until it can be formed into a ball.
- Press dough evenly into the pan. Bake for 40 minutes.
- Immediately make glaze. Stir together everything to form a thick, spreadable glaze; thicken with more sugar, if necessary, or add extra lemon juice or water to loosen it. Spread glaze over bars.
- Cool completely, stashing dish in fridge to speed process if desired.
- Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board. Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container, with waxed paper between stacked layers, either at room temperature or in the fridge. Keeps for at least 2 days.
