And so was born the Vanilla-Chip Coffee Cookie experiment (still not set on the name but it'll do for now).
Considering I had no vanilla extract (truly a travesty to the baking department of my cupboards) I had to improvise with vanilla chips. They are a softer, subtler substitute for plain white chocolate chips and for this particular baked good they would be replacing the missing vanilla flavor in the dough. The next, obvious, ingredient was coffee. My husband had been grinding coffee earlier for spice company related items which made it readily available. At that point, why NOT use it? Plus, these hungry men needed a pick-me-up after all.
After morphing these new ingredients to an existing go-to cookie recipe, we had a lovely little late night treat. The following recipe was completely on a whim (as made apparent by the preceding statements) so bear with me on the measurements. They may need some tweaking but should serve you well as a starting point. I'd love to know how they turn out for you if you decide to take on the challenge:
Vanilla-Chip Coffee Cookies
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground coffee
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (be generous with this)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
1 1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Vanilla Chips (optional, as desired)
Combine flour, coffee, baking soda and salt in bowl. In separate bowl cream together brown sugar, sugar, maple syrup and melted butter. Add egg and egg yolk, mix until fully incorporated. Slowly stir in dry ingredients mixture. Mix chips into the dough. Chill dough until firm. I use this time to preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cook for 14-16 minutes.
These definitely require an ice cold glass of milk! Enjoy!
Slainte,
Megan
