BitterSweet

Sweet Musings with a Bitterly Sharp Wit

Tag Archives: cookies


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Coffee Flour Brew Haha

Think outside the cup. For every scalding-hot carafe of coffee, how often have you stopped to consider what didn’t make it into that brew? Precious as they are, those beans are but a small part of a bigger plant, celebrated yet simultaneously, curiously ignored. Nutritious, perfect viable fruit is stripped away from these kernels, left to rot in the fields without a second thought. Considering just how much coffee the average office drone will down in a given day, you can only imagine the staggering amount of food going to waste.

Slowly but surely, a steady buzz is growing around turning this by-product into a worthy crop in its own right. Dried and milled, the resulting coffee flour contains only as much caffeine as chocolate (which is negligible at most), but can boast a much more measured energy boost in the form of abundant protein and fiber. Although it’s been an esoteric ingredient on the fringes of mainstream food ways, considering the fact that it’s now available at Trader Joe’s, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a whole lot more of it from here on out.

Preserving personal health and the environment at large are both admirable goals, clearly within the cross hairs for those singing the praises of this power flour. Whether or not they’re attainable depends entirely upon more hedonistic perspectives: Taste. Leftover husks and skins don’t sound particularly delicious, and the flavor is one you might not expect based on the label. Fruity, floral, with notes of lemon and (of course) cherries, the dark brown powder tastes nothing like a cup of mud. Is that a good thing? A bad thing? Just a thing to consider?

If you ask me, that unique essence just proves how much more the coffee cherry has to offer. Functioning much like cocoa powder in baked goods, it can generally take the place of 30 – 40% of the standard all-purpose flour in a given recipe, or blended into smoothies for a whole new sweet sensation.

Of course, given the comparison to cocoa, I couldn’t resist trying it first in a batch of fudgy, gluten-free brownies.

Held together by the magic of aquafaba and crowned by a perfect crackled crust, these are pretty much my ideal cookie bars. The impulse to add a bit of coffee essence was too strong to deny, but you could just as happily omit the instant coffee powder if you’re not a natural coffee fanatic. Accenting with a pinch of cinnamon, or playing up the subtle citrus notes of the flour with a hint of orange zest, would be equally delightful.

Coffee Flour Brownies

1/2 Cup Vegan Butter, Melted
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup Aquafaba
3/4 Cup (4.5 Ounces) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Divided
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Coffee Flour
1/2 Cup Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder (Optional)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Toasted and Chopped Pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch square pan.

Place the vegan butter, sugar, aquafaba, and 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat. Gently warm, stirring constantly, until the chocolate and butter have melted, and the sugar has dissolved. It should be smooth and silky. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let cool for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the coffee flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee (if using), salt, baking powder, chopped pecans, and remaining chocolate chips. Toss to combine and thoroughly coat the mix-ins with flour, to prevent them from sinking to the bottom.

Add the liquid chocolate mixture into the bowl of dry goods, mixing with a wide spatula to combine. You needn’t worry about over-mixing here, since it’s completely gluten-free! Make sure there are no pockets of flour or lumps hiding within the batter before transferring it to your prepared pan. Smooth down the top so it’s one even layer.

Bake for 16 – 20 minutes, until the top is dry and shiny. A toothpick inserted into the center should pull out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it; you don’t want it completely clean, or the brownies will end up being dry. Let cool completely before slicing.

Makes 12 – 16 Brownies

Printable Recipe

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Mac Daddy

Passover has mercifully passed on by without incident, the week without leavened bread already a distant memory. Jumping right back into the typical glutenous routine as quickly as pizza crust can crisp and brown back to life, the cupboards miraculously refill with wheated treats, and boards of matzo just as suddenly disappear. Still, its influence lingers, the drive to create kosher eats still strong and the inspiration of past successes just as compelling.

One of my strongest food associations with the holiday, right after matzo ball soup, of course, is coconut macaroons. Sad to say, it’s a regrettable negative mental link, once correlated to the stale, mummified nuggets found at the bottom of an ancient tin can, likely the very same guest invited to a decade of celebrations. Sinewy, overly sweetened strings of processed coconut were woven throughout, like sugary balls of yarn, obliterating any genuine flavor, natural or otherwise.

It needn’t be this way. Coconut macaroons are effortless to make from scratch, suitable for all diets and palates, but many prepared options exist that can deftly carry the torch, too. Coco-Roons first hit the market years ago with a modest selection of standard flavors. Since then, the family has expanded to include more innovative offerings.

Chocolate and vanilla, the mandatory classics, are presented with a bit more flare as Brownie and Vanilla Maple. While such fanciful monikers may be a bit more hype than truth, there’s no arguing that these macaroons are far and away a huge upgrade over the sad leaden lumps that haunt my childhood memories. Vanilla Maple tastes surprisingly more of rum than maple; subtle, unexpected alcoholic notes play among the tropical coconut flavor, surprising but not unwelcome. Brownie offers adds a nicely rounded, robust cocoa taste to the mix, although I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s equivalent to a decadent fudgy square. For some slightly more avant-garde options, Salted Caramel is a standout, dazzling with warm, toasted notes, heightened by that extra bit of seasoning. Lemon Pie does indeed bear an impressively creamy, custard-like lemon flavor; bright but not tangy, it falls firmly into the sweet camp, rather than sour.

More importantly than the individual flavors though, each tiny morsel is moist, soft, and sweet. Very fresh, full coconut flavor, they employ short strands of flaked coconut to create a more pleasing texture, while still remaining relatively faithful to the original script. Traditionalists would undoubtedly enjoy the modern upgrade, and the fact that they happen to be gluten-free, vegan, and raw are just added bonuses.


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Sugar, Spice, and Everything Rice

Rice is life. The original “ancient grain,” rice in some form has been around since the beginning of recorded history, flourishing in every cuisine across the globe, the very foundation of civilization itself. The word for “rice” in Japanese is the same as the word for “meal,” which succinctly demonstrates just how essential this basic cereal has been for many millennia of cooks and eaters. Boasting well over 40,000 different, wholly unique varieties, one could easily eat rice every single day for their entire lives and never grow bored. Today, I’m talking about basmati, but not just any basmati; Texmati, the first of its kind to be grown in the US.

In collaboration with RiceSelect, I’ve plunged head-first into these tender, subtly nutty grains, relishing their versatility in both sweet and savory applications. Remaining firm and chewy after cooking, it’s particularly well-suited for stir-fries, soups, fried rice, pilafs, and stuffings, but to really highlight this whole grain, I wanted to take a less conventional approach.

Horchata, the greatest form of rice milk known to humankind, is arguably just as important to the evolution of society. Creamy but still light and refreshing, cinnamon tints the icy-cold beverage lending its gentle spice to the blend. It’s hard to improve upon something so brilliantly simple, so infallibly satisfying… Which is I didn’t try to in the first place. Instead, I took that inspiration and turned it into an entirely new treat, in the form of soft, decadent cookie bars.

More flavorful than plain white rice and more toothsome than typical basmati, Texmati Brown Rice truly shines in this new sweet sensation. Falling squarely between cake-y and chewy, these blondies manage to strike a delicate balance that’s only improved when served thoroughly chilled, just like a tall glass of horchata itself.

When the formula is so uncomplicated, every last ingredient counts, which is why I want you to taste these horchata blondies the right way: With Texmati rice. RiceSelect and Mambo Sprouts have generously offered to equip one lucky reader with not one, but two containers of Texmati Brown Rice, plus a bonus tote bag to flaunt around town. To enter, just hit the giveaway page here, and don’t forget to leave me a comment! This giveaway will run until April 19th, and the winner will be notified shortly thereafter.

Horchata Blondies

1/2 Cup Vegan Butter
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Aquafaba
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Cooked and Cooled Texmati Brown Basmati Rice

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Lightly grease and set aside.

Place the vegan butter and sugar in a small saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook gently until the butter is melted and the sugar has fully dissolved.
Turn off the heat and stir in the aquafaba, vanilla, and almond extract. Let cool for at least 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Incorporate the cooked rice, tossing to evenly coat with flour. This will help prevent it from simply sinking to the bottom as the bars bake. Once equally distributed, pour in the liquid mixture and stir with a wide spatula, just until the batter is homogeneous. Transfer to your prepared pan and smooth down the top.

Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before slicing.

Store the blondies in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature, or for up to a week in the fridge.

Makes 8 – 12 Bars

Printable Recipe


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Tapping into Maple Treats

Far from revolutionary yet uncommonly combined, the idea of sweetening a simple latte with maple syrup stopped me in my tracks. Hustling downtown from one errand to the next, I practically tripped over the sidewalk sandwich board touting the debut of a “salted maple latte,” mercifully indicating an end to Pumpkin Spice season. Trying to play off my ungraceful footwork like a premeditated pause, I took a small detour to squint into the open cafe window, as if I might catch sight of this mystical creation, to no avail. Short on time but long on tasks, I had no choice but to continue ahead as planned, latte-less.

All day and later that night, I still couldn’t shake visions of coffee and maple from my head. That final suggestion of a subtly salty finish truly sealed the deal. While undeniably appealing as a quick-fix caffeine infusion, it didn’t take long for me to realize the potential for baked good conversion.

Consider this the grown-up take on this nostalgic chewy cookie; a bit more edgy than its simple cinnamon-scented origins, occasionally salty, crisp on the outside but still soft and supple in the center. Pure maple syrup provides a comforting woodsy undercurrent, perfectly paired with the more earthy notes of strong coffee, concentrated down into powdered format. I daresay one perfectly chewy cookie easily outshines a whole round of foamy coffee shop drinks- No baristas necessary.

Salted Maple Latte Snickerdoodles

Salted Maple Latte Cookies:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
1/3 Cup 100% Grade B Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Vegan Butter, Melted
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Maple-Cinnamon Sugar:

1/4 Cup Maple Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Coarse or Kosher Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silpat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, instant coffee, baking powder, and salt so that all of the dry goods are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Separately, combine the sugar, maple syrup, melted vegan butter, and vanilla. Stir well, and then add the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry. Using a wide spatula, mix just enough to bring the batter together smoothly.

Mix together the ingredients for the maple-cinnamon sugar in a small dish. Use a medium ice cream scoop to portion out the cookie dough, and drop each ball one at a time into the sugar mixture. It’s a very soft dough so just toss lightly to coat. Once evenly covered, place them with at least 1 1/2 between each cookie on your prepared baking sheet. They spread out to become sizable cookies, so leave a generous amount of space all around.

Flatten them out slightly with lightly moistened hands, and bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until barely browned around the edges and no longer shiny on top. They may looks a bit underdone, but they will continue to bake once removed from the oven, and you want to keep them nice and chewy. Let the cookies rest on the sheets for 10 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Makes 8 – 10 Large Cookies

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Cacao Concerto

To talk of decadent white chocolate treats but withhold all the corresponding recipes would be terribly cruel.

Inspired by the myriad shades of chocolate that color the culinary world, I wanted to create a cookie that celebrated as many facets of these revered beans as possible. Not just in chips or chunks, but in powdered format, and even sticky syrup too. The results came out exceptionally tender, chewy beyond my wildest dreams, and utterly, thoroughly, chocolatey. Though I would never tempt fate to suggest that these darker, richer morsels could replace traditional chocolate chip cookies altogether… Let’s just say that the classics have some serious competition to contend with now.

Chocolate Quartet Cookies

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Natural Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks
1/4 Cup Vegan White Chocolate Chips
2/3 Cup Natural Chocolate Syrup
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with either parchment paper or silpats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt so that all of the dry goods are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Add in both kinds of chocolate chips and toss to coat.

Separately, combine the chocolate syrup, oil, and vanilla. Stir well, and then add the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry. Using a wide spatula, mix just enough to bring the batter together smoothly. Portion out cookies with a medium-sized ice cream scoop, and place them with at least 1 1/2 inches between each cookie on your prepared baking sheet. They spread out to become sizable cookies, so I usually bake about 8 or 9 per sheet.

Flatten them out slightly with lightly moistened hands, and bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until barely browned around the edges and no longer shiny on top. They may looks a bit underdone, but they will continue to bake once removed from the oven, and you want to keep them nice and chewy. Let the cookies rest on the sheets for 10 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Makes 16 – 20 Large Cookies

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Go Big or Go Bake

Six ounces of flour, sugar, chocolate, and nuts. Tipping the scales at almost a half pound of dough, the chocolate chips cookies from Levain Bakery in NYC are infamous for good reason. Instantly recognizable, these behemoth baked goods have inspired a cult-like following and countless imitators over the years. Size alone sets them apart from the pack, but it’s the distinctive combination of the very best textural aspects of America’s favorite chewy cookie that cements their place in popular culture. Crisp on the outside, each miniature mountain is tanned golden brown from a blazing hot oven, yet still nearly raw and luxuriously gooey on the inside. If the mere mental image of that sort of decadence doesn’t send your sweet tooth into overdrive, then perhaps you should check your pulse.

Copycat formulas are a dime a dozen as just a cursory internet search will show. Some remain more faithful than others, and I will shamelessly declare mine a vast departure from the inspiration. Naturally, translating the concept into vegan vernacular takes the results out of the running for best doppelgangers, so I saw no harm in taking a few more flavorful liberties from there.

Levain Bakery makes a big fuss about stripping down their dough to the bare essentials, omitting even vanilla extract, which quite frankly strikes me as a crime against all cookies. Also, rather than sticking with the traditionally prescribed walnuts, cashews add a more buttery crunch to my mixture. Finally, and I must apologize to the Levain Bakery fanatics here, but I simply didn’t have the gustatory fortitude to form my balls of batter into full six-ounce cookie bombs. Knocking them down to a mere quarter pound still yielded enormous treats will all the right ratios, but in ever so slightly more manageable portions.

If this is your first introduction to the iconic cookie, consider yourself warned: Each one is truly a mouthful. For the jaded eater who thinks that all chocolate chip cookies are more or less the same, I dare you to try just one bite while maintaining a straight face. Something as universally adored as the classic chocolate chip cookie truly needs no further explanation, so for all those voracious bakers who have already skipped on to the recipe, I don’t blame you. All anyone really needs to know is that you’re in for a treat.

Levain Look-Alike Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup Vegan Butter, at Room Temperature
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
1/2 Cup Aquafaba
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Cashews, Toasted and Roughly Chopped

Place the vegan butter in the bowl of your stand mixer and begin beating it on low speed to soften. Add in both sugars and cream together until completely homogeneous, pausing as needed to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Slowly pour in the aquafaba, vanilla, and vinegar, blending thoroughly to incorporate. It may look somewhat strange and curdled at this point, but don’t worry as long as the it’s well mixed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, vital wheat gluten, salt, baking powder and soda. Add the dry ingredients into the stand mixer bowl and start it on low speed. Once mostly incorporated, add in chocolate and nuts, and continue mixing until the dough is smooth and all of the goodies are properly distributed.

Stash the dough in the fridge and chill for at least 1 hour before proceeding.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line 3 – 4 baking sheets with slipats or parchment paper.

Scoop out about 1/3 cup of dough for each cookie, roll the dough lightly between moistened palms into round balls, and do NOT flatten them out. Allow a generous margin of space between each mound on the baking sheets; at least 1 1/2 – 2 inches of breathing room in between the cookies.

Bake for 10 – 14 minutes, until lightly golden brown all over. Quickly remove the silpats from the hot baking sheets as soon as they emerge from the oven and let cool completely. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week… If you can resist them that long.

Makes About 16 Giant Cookies

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Just Add Ice Cream

Given my unconventional approach to featuring a pint of my favorite ice cream, as highlighted in my previous recipe melt down, it should surprise precisely no one to learn that I was once a master at making ice cream soup. Especially when the air took on a chilly edge and a solidly frozen scoop could send shock waves rippling through my sensitive teeth, it only made good sense to temper my treats a bit. Science has proven that we’re less capable of tasting the full flavor nuances of anything chilled below 32°F. I’d like to think I was simply wise beyond my years, gleefully turning sundaes into spoonable milkshakes for maximum enjoyment. Inevitably this led to some very sticky situations and many stained shirts, but that’s another story.

It wasn’t long after gaining the privacy of my own tiny apartment kitchen that I began to tinker with some downright insane concepts, while taking my penchant for ice cream soup to the extreme. After one cycle too many in the microwave, I discovered that my luscious chocolate ice cream had “defrosted” far beyond the realm of milkshake territory, sloshing around inside its cardboard carton freely. While one could toss the liquid back into an ice cream churn and salvage the mess, I saw this as a new opportunity. A new ingredient to play with, once again, to transform into an entirely new treat.

No baking is required for those suffering under summer’s stifling heat. In fact, the end results taste even better when eaten chilled; an inadvertent homage to its frozen origins. For anyone who’s ever craved a brownie denser than a cake, or a fudge just a hair lighter than pure ganache, these obscenely rich bars fill that gap. Admittedly, the squares pictured above are much too large for any reasonable human being to consume in one sitting. That didn’t stop me, of course, but I can’t recommend it for the sugar rush and food coma sure to follow. Just a little bit goes a long way with these devilish little dark chocolate squares.

This is yet another entry for the Raise a Pint Recipe Contest, fostered by Go Dairy Free and So Delicious. The entry period will end on July 24th, at which point all the sweet recipes will be revealed and you can vote for your favorites. In the meantime, you can join in by sharing your ice cream moments on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter- Be sure to use #RaiseAPint! Find the full details right here.

Instant Brownie Fudge Bars

1 Pint So Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
4 Cups (About 18 Ounces) Finely Ground Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Crumbs
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans, Divided

Line an 8×8-inch square pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease; set aside.

Place the ice cream, coconut oil, and salt into a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Allow everything to fully melt, bringing the liquid to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, whisking periodically, for about 5 minutes.

Add in the cookie crumbs and half of the nuts, stirring quickly and vigorously with a wide spatula. The resulting batter will be very thick, so don’t be afraid to put some muscle into it. Transfer to your prepared pan and spread the mixture out into a smooth, even layer. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top and use your palms to gently press them into the surface.

Move the pan into your fridge and chill for at least 4 hours, or into your freezer for 2, before slicing into bars or squares as desired. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge, for up to a week… If you can keep you hands off of them for that long.

Makes 16 – 24 Servings

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