Filing inspiration /-/ Coffee Candy Choc Chip Cookies

I know in the world of Ipads, computers and other SMART technology it is easy to look up a recipe with a click of button. Looking up a recipe for a cookie? Chewy? Thick? Thin? Crunchy? Ones that has a filling that melts in your mouth? Just type it into google. 

While some of these are great recipes; as a baker I find that it is missing that "something". There is an emptiness that comes with not having a hard copy of the recipe. However I like to return you back to a time that the paper and pen was the only way of passing down a recipe.





It is easy to forget that the recipes we treasure, the ones that everyone raves about and pesters us for the recipe, come from a book or a newspaper clipping. I have a book, well a folder of clippings; mostly stuff I find interesting, delicious and downright strange in desserts and cake. I would show you but the state the folder is in will give the organised a heart attack (or at least a mild panic attack)




To be honest I have been in a rut of all ruts. I might have posted this cheesecake and this caramel tunnel cake of insanity but I did not feel happy about them.



In a moment of terrible cooking or baking block I look to this book for inspiration.

Sometimes you need to dig up recipe from your clipping archives. The smell of old paper, print ink and dust is either the right mix for making you crazy, high or inspired. Either way it fixed my blogger’s food block.




We all know cookies are instant sugar hit especially since they get better when the dough is aged in freezer or fridge. I created this about a month ago and forgot about them in freezer until just recently. The perils of having 2 over loaded fridges, and big freezer. Yes this is a house will only two people in it now, with two other families who visit twice for dinner or lunch each week. As you can see, even if you are as forgetful about food as me; you can have these cookie candy choc chip cookies in your frozen dessert arsenal.



These cookies are based upon many types of chewy middle but crispy edged cookies I have done in the pass. The chocolate is important here as it plays a major role in the melting belly middle you see here in the pictures, as well as adding to the contrast of the crispy bits of coffee candy. While they do melt a bit in the oven; never fear! The candy does harden after once they are cool, so no panic about leaky edge cookies.



The combination of caffeine in coffee, chocolate and the addictive taste of sugar are a base of a good recipe. However add brown butter and you got an explosive cookie flavour. Yes I might be causing all those people who are on diets for summer a heart attack but it is cold down under; so I can cover up with winter woollies (#luckyme). I have used a special syrup here as the secret ingredient which makes these chewy without having to worry about over mixing. I think Camp coffee syrup is a rare, retro ingredient but like most syrups they make cookies soft. Try thinking along the lines of ginger bread (slightly soft because of molasses) and Honey jumbles (the golden syrup).

Make them when you have the time and freeze them. Trust me, if you keep these babies in the fridge; I am sure your friends will thank you for it. We all know that friends will cookies make good friends and neighbours; so be the best friend and neighbour you can be a make these!

Or you can be a very, very bad and keep them for yourself (I will not tell). 






Coffee candy Choc chip cookies

Makes about 3 dozen cookie scoop cookies 


230g unsalted butter

160g light brown sugar

40g camp coffee syrup

1 egg

15ml vanilla extract

4g baking powder

6g baking soda

4g salt

295g bread flour

140g dark chocolate, chopped roughly

100g hard coffee candies, crushed



To make the brown butter: Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until it begins to brown in colour and smells nutty. Take it off the heat a little earlier than you think as the remaining heat will finished it off without burning it. Pour it into a bowl and cover it to get semi hard for 20-30 minutes.

In a stand mixer place the brown butter and sugar and cream on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the egg, syrup and extract and cream for another 5 minutes. You may need to scrape down the bowl so it becomes light and fluffy.

Sift you baking powder, baking soda, flour and salt in another bowl. Mix your coffee candies and chocolate together in small bowl.

Add the flour mix to the butter mix in small amounts. Beat the mixture in the stand mixer beat each addition. In the last 30 seconds of mixing add the chocolate and coffee mix. Beat until it well mixed.

Using a cookie scoop tablespoon divide you cookie dough into balls and place on a lined baking tray. Place in the freezer until hard and save them later use ( place the cookie ball into a zip lock bag to prevent freezer burn once hard). However you can bake them after 4 hours.

Once you are ready to bake. Pre heat oven for 180C and line two cookie trays with baking paper. Take the cookie dough out of the freezer 10 minutes to defrost slightly. Place your cookie balls 5cm apart on the cookie tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until light brown on the edges.

Allow to cool on trays before storing in an air tight tin for up to one week.