Cafe Au Lait Bars

More of a cake bar than a cookie bar

This recipe comes from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, a classic cook book. They have a good hit of caffeine and are not too hard to make. I made this batch without the chopped walnuts. I also used a different attachment than recommended, and I think this negatively impacted the result. Recipe makes c.24 bars.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups / 300g sugar, granulated or caster

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup / 170g unsalted butter, melted

2 cups / 240g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp espresso powder

1/4 cup / 60g double cream

1 cup / 100g chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325˚/170˚C

Grease and line a 9 x 13in or 11 x 11in pan

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using a whisk attachment, beat the eggs until light and thick.

Add the sugar, beating until glossy and stiff.

Add the vanilla and melted butter, beating to combine.

Stir in the flour and salt by hand.

Set aside c. 1 1/2 cups of the batter.

Stir the espresso powder into the double cream, and add it to the reserved batter.

Spread the coffee batter into the prepared man, smoothing over with a pallate knife.

Spoon the remaining batter over the top and use a knife to create a marble effect.

Sprinkle with the optional nuts, if using.

Bake until the sides just pull away from the edge of the pan and the centre is set, c. 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for c. 15 minutes before inverting to cool completely.

Cut into bars of the desired size.

Trimming the edges is an optional step that I chose to take to make the bars look more uniform, and also to eat the edges.