These Cinnamon-Coffee Cookies do it all. They are warmly-spiced with a coffee-forward flavor.
Plus, they are soft and chewy, which really is how I prefer cookies to be. Crunchy cookies are good, too, but cookies like this? Oh yeah.
My husband’s work lives on coffee. Needless to say, they adored these cookies–with coffee. Bring on the caffeine in all forms, right?
The ingredient list for this looks long, but that’s because it has lots of spices. It really comes together pretty fast. If you want to speed things along at baking time, mix together the dry ingredients the day before.
These cookies will brighten your day. Have them for breakfast. Or a dessert. Or a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. The baked-in espresso (plus that sugar) will do a lot to brighten your day!
These Cinnamon-Coffee Cookies soft and chewy, and loaded with a warm mix of spices, along with a pleasant jolt of caffeine. This makes about 28 cookies using a tablespoon scoop.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: coffee, cookies
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
tablespoon scoop
Ingredients
Dough
2teaspoonsespresso powder
1Tablespoonhot water
1/2cupunsalted butter 1 cube, room temperature
1/2cupshortening
3/4cupwhite sugar
3/4cupbrown sugar packed
2teaspoonsground cinnamon
1teaspoonbaking powder
1/2teaspoonground nutmeg
1/4teaspoonbaking soda
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonground cloves
2eggs room temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2 1/4cupsall-purpose flour
Topping
1/2cupturbinado sugar or other raw, coarse sugar
1 1/2teaspoonground cinnamon
Instructions
In a small bowl, stir the espresso powder into the hot water until it is dissolved. Set aside.
In a big bowl, beat together the butter and shortening. Add both sugars, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, and cloves. Follow up with the eggs, vanilla, and liquid espresso. Beat in the flour until just incorporated. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours; otherwise, the dough will be very sticky and hard to work with.
Preheat oven at 325-degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients.
Use a tablespoon scoop to form dough into an round ball. Roll in cinnamon-sugar. Place rounds spaced-out on cookie sheet, flattening each to a fat disc.
Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. Let set on cookie sheet another 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Completely cool, then place in a sealed container at room temperature.
Today’s Bready or Not is a 2-for-1 deal: a recipe for fast and easy pizza dough, followed by the process I use for divvying up that dough to make small but thick cast iron pan pizzas.
The basic dough recipe is modified from the great book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. [Affiliate link] Yes, this dough really comes together in 5 minutes. It also keeps for up to 2 weeks AND can be frozen.
The method for making mini pizzas in a skillet is one I practiced a few times several years ago, then made a LOT during 2020 as my husband was working from home more often. I perfected it to the point where I had to write it down–and share here.
The pan pizza recipe is pretty much an outline to show the timing on the shaping, rise, and crust-cooking, but the ingredients are all up to you!
This makes enough pizza dough for a large pizza or 3 10-inch ‘pan’ style pizza. The dough is ready to use after only a few hours, and will keep in the fridge for as long as two weeks. Modified from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoe Francois.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: pizza, yeast bread
Author: Beth Cato
Ingredients
1 1/3cupswarm water
2Tablespoonsolive oil
1/2Tablespoonwhite sugar
3 1/4cupsall-purpose flour
3/4Tablespoonkosher salt
2teaspoonspizza seasoning or Italian seasoning, optional
2 1/4teaspoonsactive yeast or one packet store-bought active yeast
Instructions
Place the water, olive oil, and sugar in a big mixing bowl, stand mixer, or food processor. Add the flour, salt, and seasoning, if using. Start mixing together, then sprinkle in the yeast. Mix until just combined.
Keep in same bowl, if desired, or transfer to another bowl that is greased. Loosely cover top with plastic wrap or towel and let dough rise at room temperature until it flattens out on top, about two hours.
Dough can be used now but is much easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a non-airtight container and use within two weeks. Dough can also be frozen in freezer bags, for up to a month, and defrosted later in the fridge.
About a 2-pound batch of dough, such as the 5 Minute Artisan Dough recipe on Bready or Not, will make three hearty personal pan pizzas in a 10-inch cast iron pan. This process takes about 45 minutes. The remaining dough can keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: beef, cheese, pizza, pork, yeast bread
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
10-inch cast iron skillet
Ingredients
handful pizza dough
olive oil
desired toppings and seasonings
Instructions
Preheat oven at 450-degrees. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a cast iron skillet and place the pan in the oven to heat up.
Grab a good handful of pizza dough, or as much as desired to bake today. Oil a small space of counter or table as well as hands, and gently stretch and press out the dough to a rough circle. If it tears, patch with other pieces of dough as best possible. Let dough rest for about 20 minutes.
By this time, the oven should have preheated. Use a potholder to pull out the skillet. Carefully swirl the hot oil in the pan to coat the bottom and set pan down on a safe surface. Carefully, again, place the dough in the pan.
Bake crust for 6 to 10 minutes, until it is set. Pull out of oven and add desired toppings.
Put pizza in oven for another 6 to 10 minutes, until crust is golden and toppings are cooked to desired level. Let pizza cool for about 10 minutes, then slide onto a plate or other surface to slice and eat.
Cake mix is fantastic ingredient to keep in the pantry for a quick-fix dessert. It’s easy to doctor into something extraordinary, such as with these S’mores Cake Mix Bars.
This is a treat that doesn’t taste like cake mix at the end. It’s just sweet and wonderful, courtesy of the lovely combination of ingredients.
I used ready-made graham crackers crumbs here, but really, you could probably use various kind of vanilla cookies, smashed, to mix in. Vanilla wafers or even Golden Oreos would be good substitutes.
I love bar recipes like this where ingredients are swirled together at the end. There is something visually delightful about that marbled look.
Be sure that when these bars are sliced, they are stores with waxed paper between the layers. Marshmallow makes things a bit sticky! And delicious.
This original Bready or Not recipe uses cake mix for a quick-fix delicious dessert that doesn’t at all taste like cake mix. It’s just plain delicious.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bars, cake mix, chocolate, marshmallow
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
9×13 pan
waxed paper
Ingredients
1box white cake mix or yellow cake mix or French Vanilla
1/2cupunsalted butter 1 stick, melted
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2eggs room temperature
1cupsemisweet chocolate chips
7ouncemarshmallow fluff jar
1/2cupgraham cracker crumbs
Instructions
Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9×13 casserole pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, butter, vanilla extract, and eggs until no dry crumbs remain. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and even out surface. Add the graham cracker crumbs in little piles scattered across the top. Use a butter knife to partially swirl the crumbs into the dough. Add dollops of marshmallow fluff across the top. Again, swirl the marshmallow into the dough, coating it with graham crackers in the process. Don’t combine everything too much–there should still be visible swirls and varied textures.
Bake at 350-degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are golden and contents look set.
Completely cool at room temperature or speed process in the fridge. Use foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container with waxed paper between the stacked layers.
You can’t go wrong with these classic brownies! This recipe makes a big casserole dish of chocolaty goodness. Make this recipe to share, or freeze some brownies for later!
1Tablespoonespresso powder or instant coffee granules
2teaspoonsground cinnamon
6eggs room temperature
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate and butter in very short bursts, stirring well between each pass, until it is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.
In a small bowl, combine the flour and cocoa.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, espresso powder, and cinnamon. Pour in the chocolate mixture. Beat until just combined. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Gradually stir in the flour-cocoa mix. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
Bake for 35 to 42 minutes, until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the very middle passes the toothpick test. Set on rack to completely cool.
Use the foil to lift the brownies onto a cutting board. Cut into bars. Store in a sealed container at room temperature. Brownies can also be layered in wax paper and frozen for later enjoyment.