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Coffee Toffee Bars

Posted by in Baking, Step-by-Step Recipes

WINNERS – Here are the winners of the KitchenAid mixers:

Jamie M.“We made Cookie Salad last night with girl scout cookies, it was delish!”

Kimberly“We wanted something fruity and spring-like, even though it was February. I had 3 kinds of berries in the freezer, along with some rhubarb–and combined a few recipes to make a delicious rhuberry crisp!”

Congratulations, winners! Contact prizes@tastykitchen.com to claim your loot.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your most recent desserts.

More fun giveaways next week – see you then!

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I have a problem. I’m addicted to coffee-flavored anything. Coffee caramels, coffee ice cream, tiramisu, coffee itself. So as I was browsing the Desserts category yesterday for a sweet recipe to prepare, I grabbed at the first coffee-flavored treat I could find.

They’re Coffee-Toffee Bars, submitted by nhsweetcherry back in October, and I just knew they’d be something that would satisfy my coffee urges, at least for the afternoon.

When I read the recipe, I noticed right away that they’re not unlike these Spreads that I’ve made since I was a little girl—except with those, you bake the cookie base first, then spread melted chocolate chips over the top. These Coffee Toffee Bars are more of a chunky, substantial bar. Yum!

Here’s how you make them! Verdict is down below…along with a special surprise at the end.

 
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The ingredients. Simple, pure, perfect…except I called the baking powder BAKING SODA. Why do I do this every time?

 
 
 

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The “coffee” in these Coffee Toffee Bars comes from this ingredient—instant coffee granules. Did you know you can add a couple of teaspoons of instant coffee to most chocolate chip cookie recipes? Just throw it into the dry ingredients and it’ll add a delightful depth of flavor.

 
 
 

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The recipe calls for 1 to 2 cups of chocolate chips. I decided to do 1 cup of semi-sweet and 1 cup of MILK CHOCOLATE chips. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

 
 
 

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Begin by creaming softened butter and brown sugar.

 
 
 

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Then you grab these four ingredients: instant coffee, salt, baking powder, and…almond extract! I wondered what that flavor would do the bars, since the standard choice would normally be vanilla.

Intellesting. Velly, velly intellesting.

 
 
 

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Then you dump all of that into the bowl…

 
 
 

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And mix it all together. You’ll want to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure it all gets mixed together well.

 
 
 

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After that, you dump in the flour. The recipe calls for approximately 2 1/2 cups of flour, so I decided to add the full amount in order to get a point of reference.

 
 
 

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The result was a pretty crumbly dough; I had to really mix it in order for it to come together.

 
 
 

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However, it turned out fine! I dumped it into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan…

 
 
 

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And pressed it lightly into the pan.

Yes, I will be getting a new manicure, probably sometime in the year 2011.

 
 
 

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Then I sprinkled the chocolate chips all over the pressed dough.

 
 
 

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The recipe calls for 1 cup of chips…but UP TO 2 cups. I used about 1 3/4 cup of chips, just to see how far I could push it. ***More on this later***

 
 
 

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Then you just pop it in the oven for about 25 minutes.

 
 
 

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Mmmmm. It smells so, so good.

 
 
 

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The dough isn’t a hugely rising, overly poufy thing since it doesn’t contain eggs or baking soda like the average chocolate chip cookie. But it does rise and pouf just enough to anchor the chocolate chips without completely swallowing them up.

 
 
 

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Look at that yummy crust.

 
 
 

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Cut the bars into squares or rectangles, depending on how many servings you’d like to squeeze out of the recipe.

 
 
 

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Oh, yummy. How lovely!

 
 
 

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And I’m sorry…

 
 
 

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But I had to do this.

The devil made me do it.

 
 
 

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THE VERDICT: These were really delicious. I definitely used too many chocolate chips, though—the chocolate overpowered the flavor of the cookie/bar below. When I make them next time, and I will make them again, I’ll use 1 cup of chocolate chips, tops. Maybe even less. You really want that cookie to shine through.

The almond extract is very interesting! It definitely comes through in the flavor of the cookie. I thought it was delicious, but if you aren’t a fan of almond flavor, I think you could easily substitute vanilla extract.

You could also sprinkle finely chopped pecans on top, before you sprinkle on the chocolate chips.

And vanilla ice cream, of course, would be a divine accompaniment!

Thank you, nhsweetcherry, for sharing such a delightful treat!

Here’s the recipe:

Coffee-Toffee Bars

 
THE FUN PART

And now for the fun part.

Not that Coffee Toffee Bars aren’t fun!

 

Today, Tasty Kitchen is giving away two (2) KitchenAid artisan stand mixers in the classic White color above. There are so many yummy dessert recipes on Tasty Kitchen, and you need one of these babies to facilitate all the baking.

 
TO ENTER

To enter this giveaway, just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post:

“What’s the last dessert recipe you prepared?”

Did you make a chocolate cake last night?

Red velvet cupcakes last week?

Or was it that yellow Easy Bake Oven cake you made in 1974?

Just shout out the last dessert you prepared with your hot little hands (and feel free to include a link to the recipe if it’s online!) and you’re automatically entered to win a mixer.

 
THE RULES

One entry per person, please.

No entries after 11:00 pm Pacific Time Tuesday.

Winners will be selected at random and announced Wednesday morning.

Good luck!

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Contest sponsored by Tasty Kitchen, with cooperation from CHEFS Catalog.

26,637 Comments

Comments are closed for this recipe.

joleen h on 3.2.2010

Ho ho cake

Miss. Pretty on 3.2.2010

The last dessert I made was pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Ate every.single.one.

Alicia Espericueta on 3.2.2010

The last dessert I made…. hummm let me think….. I am 8 1/2 months pregnant so we have had LOTS of desserts in the house lately, just don’t think it was something homemade. I ate coconut cream cake Sunday night, but I didn’t make it. Before that it was Rocky Road ice cream in a waffle cone….I didn’t make that either. Strawberry cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory….. oh boy I better go whip something up real quick!! LOL

Elizabeth KS on 3.2.2010

Sadly, it’s not that far off from the trusty old easy bake oven – the very last dessert i made was from a box (yellow cake cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles to be precise!). but with the help of this incredible classic beauty, i could be MUCH more creative!

Marsha on 3.2.2010

I made brownies – and they were wonderful.

Wendy on 3.2.2010

brownies! with vanilla ice cream. yum.

Scott on 3.2.2010

I’m pretty sure that the last dessert I made was a two-layer yellow cake with chocolate frosting. We had a family birthday approaching, and my wife had never made a cake herself before, so I gallantly demonstrated the directions for her. My practice cake barely survived the night, and the cake she made by herself the next week was even better!

How can you not have a happy ending with four layers of chocolate-y frosted goodness?

Rose on 3.2.2010

triple chocolate brownie. However, I doubled the recipe and ate it all week. YUm-O!

Linda Poole on 3.2.2010

That would be some really gooey, absolutely delicious brownies about three weeks ago!

Courtney NY via KS on 3.2.2010

I made your cast iron skillet cake. It was fun to see my fiance so skeptical and then sile when he saw the finished product. Yum!

LindsayQ on 3.2.2010

I made a galette!! I love galettes. They are French (I believe) and it’s just a rustic open-faced tart. I make it on my pizza stone. I use plums or peaches usually…mmm. It’s delicious.

Jen W. on 3.2.2010

Last dessert for the masses were the cut-out and decorated sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting for Christmas. Last dessert for me was a bowl of vanilla ice cream with m&m cookies. Yum yum. :)

Jennifer on 3.2.2010

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake – my favorite and the wonderful gift that is always waiting for me whenever I visit my favorite Aunt. I haven’t seen her in a while so I needed to make one for myself.

Hannah on 3.2.2010

I made some classic chocolate chip cookies last night. They made may hubby very happy!! :)

Tracy hyma on 3.2.2010

I made our favorite soft sugar cookie recipe, they are delish! They never last very long : (

Trace on 3.2.2010

My 4-year old and I made homemade chocolate pudding. Since she’s a smart girl, she knew it needed more chocolate so we threw in some chocolate chips. We ate it warm and it was heavenly.

Michelle Caldera on 3.2.2010

I made granola bars last night for the kids; I have eaten almost half the pan by myself! Very very good recipe from smittenkitchen :)

Jenny Hilton on 3.2.2010

Orange Julius—I’m not sure if that is considered a dessert. But my kids think it is…

Billi on 3.2.2010

I recently made dulce de leche sandwich cookies for my family. They were gone in one day flat!

Cheyenne on 3.2.2010

Chocolate Eclair cake and a blueberyy cobbler!!

kimimats on 3.2.2010

I made cupcakes for a friend’s birthday two weeks ago, they were yummy!

Rachel P on 3.2.2010

Peanut Butter Cup Cake from Bakerella!

Yvette on 3.2.2010

Ice cream with melted peanut butter, fudge, and chopped peanuts

katy Tenniswood on 3.2.2010

cheesecake w/ smitten kitchen’s butterscotch sauce ….. mmmmm

Julie Smith on 3.2.2010

Chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting!

Carolyn on 3.2.2010

Oh I made the most amazing brownies that turned out to be the most fluffy, evil, and divine bits i have had in so long…
God, please be with my hips…

Kate on 3.2.2010

Homemade Chocolatee Chip Cookies a couple weeks ago. An oldie but goodie.

Krista on 3.2.2010

A while back I made a coconut cake for my fiance. He said it was delicious! Thats probably the last time I made a dessert…since we’re trying to stay away from sweets as part of our healthier diet!

Patsy on 3.2.2010

Lemon Cheese Layer Cake

Heidi S on 3.2.2010

Chocolate Chip Cookies…I use the recipe on the back of the Tollhouse Choc Chip bag, but its so good!

Katie on 3.2.2010

homemade vanilla bean ice cream…….just perfect all by itself!

Beth Smith on 3.2.2010

I hate to admit this becasue i really love baking, but we are moving this weekend and my pregnant body needed a sweet fix. And so I made one of those desert in the bowl things were you add a tablespoon of water and microwave for 45 seconds. It hit the spot.

Lacey on 3.2.2010

Chocolate chip cookies. Boring, but classic!

Jane Skinner on 3.2.2010

I made a nutella blueberry cheesecake with a chocolate graham cracker crust and homemade chocolate covered cherries to go on top. Yum!

Wanda Harbison on 3.2.2010

Brownies…from a box. :(

Lindsey on 3.2.2010

chocolate chip peanut butter bars….SO YUMMY!

Autumn on 3.2.2010

Brownies!

Allison on 3.2.2010

the old standby—chocolate chip cookies off of the back of the Toll House bag

Darrin G on 3.2.2010

Momofuko Milk Bar compost cookie recipe!

Laura Spivey on 3.2.2010

Brownies

Diane P. on 3.2.2010

I made Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting!

Rachel on 3.2.2010

Cheesecake brownies!!

Kate on 3.2.2010

Chocolate Sheet Cake – it was amazing, so easy, and the best part the boyfriend moaned when he tasted it! Ree you gave me another great recipe to keep him around!

Denise on 3.2.2010

A Princess & the Frog birthday cake for my 4-year old daughter’s party! It was fun to make and she loved it.

Kirsten on 3.2.2010

I made the Cherry Cream Crumble Pie (oh my!) from Tasty Kitchen yesterday. Superb!

https://tastykitchen.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/desserts/cherry-cream-crumble-pie-oh-my/.

Lisa on 3.2.2010

Angelfood cake for my brother’s girlfriend’s birthday last night!! Yum!

Casey Barnhard on 3.2.2010

I made PW’ s CINNAMON ROLLS on sunday! We ate them as a desset while we watched the olympic hockey game and the nascar race! Delicious!

smiller on 3.2.2010

An angel food cake for my husband’s birthday!

Kaley on 3.2.2010

Probably…Death by Chocolate!

Katheryn on 3.2.2010

I made chocolate chip cookies on Sunday. Low on sugar for my Dad, and they were yummy!