A Cookie For Coffee Lovers

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Everyday oatmeal and coffee make this cookie not so everyday.

Coffee and oatmeal. Is that not a perfect way to start the day or what?

Me thinks it’s even better if you add a little chocolate — OK, a lot of chocolate — and a big ol’ heap of buttery macadamia nuts.

Maybe these “Espresso Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies” aren’t exactly as nutritious as a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with skim milk and raisins. But man, are these cookies loaded with chewy goodness.

For these cookies, I used a sample of a new product: Barry Callebaut Espresso Chocolate Chunks. No doubt you already know the Callebaut name as a maker of fine professional quality baking chocolate. Here, semisweet chocolate is mixed with vanilla and ground chocolate for rich, smooth tasting chunks that meld the complex bitterness of coffee with the more mellow, slightly sweet taste of chocolate. A 16-ounce bag sells for $8.95 on the King Arthur Flour site.

Espresso chocolate chunks.

In keeping with the theme, I adapted an oatmeal recipe from — where else? — the “King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion” (Countryman Press). I’ve had this book for five years, ever since it came out. What I love about this book is that it provides numerous variations of the same recipe. For instance, if you’re looking to make an oatmeal cookie as I was, you’ll find a chewy version, a crunchy version, a crisp variety, a soft one, and even others for a “Date-Stuffed Oatmeal Sandwich” and a “Flourless Oatmeal Drop.” I, of course, chose the “chewy” version, since that is my all-time favorite cookie texture. Sure enough, the cookies baked up with crispy edges and a bendable center that I can’t get enough of.

In addition to the espresso chocolate chunks, oats and macadamia nuts, the dough also contains vanilla extract, a whisper of almond extract, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder. For big-time coffee lovers, feel free to add even a tad more espresso powder, if you like.

Then, watch as coffee and oatmeal combine for a new treat perfect for anytime of day.

Chewy, chewy good.

Espresso Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies (the Chewy Version)

(Makes about 45 cookies)

This flat cookie has a lovely crisp edge, but bends before it breaks — unlike crunchy cookies, which snap cleanly in two.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 large egg

6 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon espresso powder

3 cups quick-cooking oats (or old-fashioned rolled oats pulsed in a food processor, to make smaller, thinner flakes)

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup Barry Callebaut Espresso Chocolate Chunks

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, shortening, sugars, extracts, spices, salt, and baking soda, beating until fairly smooth. Beat in egg, scraping bowl, then beat in corn syrup and milk. Mix in espresso powder. Next, stir in oats, flours, espresso chocolate chunks and nuts.

Drop dough by tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies for 11 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

Adapted from “King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion”


More: Chewy Molasses Crinkles made with King Arthur Flour’s crystallized ginger shaped like gingerbread men.

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