Another post dredged out of the archive of my 2012 baking blog
No 42 - Coffee Walnut Biscuits
There is a jar of aging instant coffee taking up space on the shelf above our kettle. Neither of us drink instant coffee, and the only visitor who does (other half's mother) insists on a particular brand - which isn't this one. Not being one to throw anything away unless it poses serious risk to health or digestion, and never having heard of or eaten a coffee flavoured biscuit, I decided a coffee flavoured biscuit was well over-due.
This week's biscuits (see previous post) seemed rich in chocolate (in particular), dried fruit of all kinds (but with a clear preference for cherries), nuts (for England), but no coffee. So some research was called for.
It's quite simple really - take a basic biscuit recipe (butter, sugar, egg, flour and leavening, and add coffee - and some walnuts, I reckon, because coffee and walnuts go together like.... well like...coffee and walnuts.)
Coffee Walnut Biscuits
150g butter
100g brown sugar
100g golden caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g flour
75g chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp each baking powder & bicarb soda
2.5 tablespoons instant coffee dissolved in 1 TB hot water and 1 TB milk
Cream butter and sugars, add egg and beat well. Sift in dry ingredients and add coffee mix, walnuts, and vanilla. Roll into balls, space out on a baking sheet, and flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.
Bake at 160 degrees C (fan)/ 170-180 degrees C conventional, for 15 minutes.
What a super idea to use up the instant coffee. I can't drink instant either.
ReplyDeletea friend used to say of 'instant' - "it's a perfectly valid beverage, it just shouldn't be called coffee"
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteBeing allergic to coffee, I might substitute almonds and almond essence... YAM xx
years ago we could get roasyed chicory syrup which I suspect was a hangover from wartime coffee substitutes. Mum used it in cakes. In Italy they make a coffee-like beverage from dark roasted barley. To a coffee drinker it is a bit of a non-starter but nevertheless a 'valid beverage'
DeleteHari OM - oh yes, you may be thinking of Camp Coffee. Mum always kept that in the cupboard - but it does contain coffee as well as the chicory to 'stretch it out' and reduce the cost. However, you have reminded me of something I used to drink a lot but haven't had for years (due to cost), Symington's Dandelion. YAM xx
DeleteThat's new - never heard of Camp Coffee before. Our very aged bottle was tall square narrow (about 1.5 inches each side) and had a vertically striped label. I recall only the chicory part and was told as a child it was a coffee substitute (black I suppose but in no other way alike).
DeleteDelicious!
ReplyDeletevery
DeleteI hate coffee but like coffee and walnut cake. However, I tried some coffee shortbread the other day, which I really didn't enjoy. I couldn't get rid of the taste of coffee for hours - it was horrible.
ReplyDeletemum alway made coffee sponge with walnuts on top for birthday cakes so coffee and walnut hase been a thing in our family for 6 or 7 decades
Delete