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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.

Dean Williams on 3.2.2010

These are likely to make the list in the VERY near future. But, before that happens, the answer would be… ashamedly… pathetically… break apart chocolate chip cookies. :-( I love baking, but sometimes theres just no substitute for popping those puppies in the oven at 9:30 at night. I’m horrible.

Jessica on 3.2.2010

Last dessert?? A white cake with a lot of chocolate icing… it sadly fell apart so i covered up the mistakes with a lot of icing. I don’t think my husband minded :-)

Kandice on 3.2.2010

I made brownies with my 3yr old!

KKKKaty on 3.2.2010

The last dessert I made was my old stand-by,,, Sour Cream Pound Cake. So simple, and so easy. I thought it would last all week, but it was gone in two days! Oops!

ShellinPz (Christy Ruth) on 3.2.2010

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake. ‘Nuff said.

Sheila @Momfessions on 3.2.2010

I make a lovely batch of “crownies”– a dessert I invented that is half cookie and half brownie! Yum!

Laura on 3.2.2010

I made chocolate stout cake cupcakes on a whim last weekend. Yum!!!

Naomi H. on 3.2.2010

I made lemon bars last week! Mmmmm! I love lemon bars so much. :)

Jennifer B on 3.2.2010

Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Chip cookies from scratch! They are a staple at my house. I use the recipe on the back of the bag, but I double the vanilla :P

Wendy Taunton on 3.2.2010

Viennese Chocolate Cake out of my husband’s great-grandmothers cook book called Gastronomique

Susan on 3.2.2010

Brownies…heavenly, chocolate-y, nutty homemade brownies…Nothing.Better……

annie on 3.2.2010

I made PW’s Perfect Pound Cake, for like the fifth time, lately!
It is so good! I’ve also put on five pounds because of this, even though I do share it with my neighbors. They can’t wait for the next one!

CherylT on 3.2.2010

The last dessert I made was pudding…I love dessert but I end up eating to much.

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Jessica on 3.2.2010

Hmm, the last dessert recipe I made was Pioneer Woman’s chocolate cupcakes with ganache icing! How ’bout that. And they are GOOOOOOOD.

alice on 3.2.2010

Vanilla ice cream with Hint O Mint Oreo Cookies mixed in.

Sue Bailey on 3.2.2010

I did your fabulous roast!

char on 3.2.2010

ummmm pioneer woman’s apple dumplings. double whammie. one batch for sick friend, and one batch for home!!!

Andrea O. on 3.2.2010

I made Amish Friendship bread last week! Yummy!

Heidi on 3.2.2010

I made brownies with Hershey Symphony bars in the middle! It was for a work pot-luck..but I kept quite a few at home :)

KC on 3.2.2010

Low Fat Hot Fudge Cake and Practically Sugar Free Orange Chiffon Pie. Both were delicious!

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jenniferr73 on 3.2.2010

I made a German chocolate bundt cake last night for my husbands birthday. Thank goodness there was still some frosting left for the cake, because during quality control, I was afraid there wasn’t going to be any left. :)

Jill on 3.2.2010

My son’s spiderman birthday cake! :)

Lynne on 3.2.2010

I made white gingerbread to give away last christmas. It uses no molasses but three kinds of ginger and has Turbinado sugar crystals on top. Everyone loved it and it looked fancy and had a great ginger taste.

http://www.relishmag.com/recipes/view/34770/white-gingerbread.html

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lisa brower on 3.2.2010

your apple dumplings for a big family dinner after church on sunday!!!

sleepy jeanne on 3.2.2010

I made chocolate muffins last week. Tempted to make cookies today… we’ll see.

Lorie on 3.2.2010

My daughter’s scratch brownies. I could take some of those right now…(hint to the daughter)

Heather on 3.2.2010

white chocolate macadamian cookies at Christmas!

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Becky on 3.2.2010

I made nut goody bars on Saturday night for my husband, daughter, and myself…we all were wanting chocolate, peanuts, and marshmallow goodness ;)

Heather D. on 3.2.2010

Cream puffs with cappuccino cream!

Anne on 3.2.2010

I made Nutella brownies, which were good, once you cut away the burnt bottom.

Elisa S on 3.2.2010

German chocolate cake!

Laurie Wood on 3.2.2010

I mixed up a batch of oatmeal peanut butter white chocolate/chocolate chip cookies (a sort of mixed up conglomeration of three different cookie recipes that my family really loves). A couple of weeks ago (my poor children and hubby are dessert-deprived because I am trying to drop 40 lbs).

Marilyn Hausknecht on 3.2.2010

That would have to be your mom’s apples dumplings, Ree. They are a favorite now at our house. And so darned easy to make. Wow!

https://tastykitchen.com/cooking/2008/02/apple_dumplings/

And they steal the show (presentation-wise) on our Spode Blue Italian!

Susan L Cox on 3.2.2010

Brownies and vanilla ice cream (store bought ice cream)

Denise W. on 3.2.2010

Mini fruit pizzas. They were so refreshing!

Julie on 3.2.2010

i made a backberry cheesecake because me matey loves me and blackberries!!

Mandy Dean on 3.2.2010

I had a craving for the “double doozy” cookies that are sold at our mall (two cookies with some kind of creamy goodness in between), but unfortunately got there right when they closed. So yesterday during my short lunch break, I whipped up a double doozy with packaged chocolate chip cookie dough and cream cheese cake frosting.

I know there is nothing to be proud of here, but what can I say. It was good. And still warm from the oven.

etheljr on 3.2.2010

I made “Next Best Thing to Robert Redford.”

Yes, I’m from the 70’s.

Therese on 3.2.2010

I was on a tear last week, but the last one I made was Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes late Friday night.

Emily on 3.2.2010

Strawberry Shortcake on Sunday…and it was divine!

Ben on 3.2.2010

Friday night I made an Apple-Pear-Blueberry Crisp. It was yummy.

KnVA on 3.2.2010

On Fat Tuesday, I made and *almost* single-handedly at an entire batch of homemade brownies, frosted with fudge frosting!

JaxinGR on 3.2.2010

I made Gingerbreakd cookies – from a mix – pathetic.

But they went from idea to mouth in about 20 minutes so they fit the bill.

AmandadnamA on 3.2.2010

Oh… I made some apple shaped cake pops not too long ago! So cute!

Leslie on 3.2.2010

I made a cranberry cheesecake. Mmm

Valerie on 3.2.2010

Ghiradelli brownies. I’d like to say I made some fancy gourmet dessert from scratch but I cannot tell a lie.

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zachandalex on 3.2.2010

I made chocolate cupcakes with marshmellow creme in the middle and chocolate genache on top. super yummy!

Liz on 3.2.2010

I made some yummy choc chip cookies!

Barb on 3.2.2010

I don’t bake much anymore: 61 years old + late middle age spread = no way am I lookin’ in the mirror naked. But last Sunday, in honor of two grandpunks who spent the weekend with us, I made strawberry pizza. Delish. I only had two slices. That’s it; no more!

alison on 3.2.2010

Pint of Ben and Jerry’s and spray whip cream…

It was a bad week.