Chocolate Coffee Toffee Oatmeal Biscuits

Wotchers!

Here is the second and final recipe in the sub-series Delicious Biscuits With Unusual Stuff Added To Them and boy is there a lot going on!

We have CHOCOLATE!

We have COFFEE!

We have TOFFEE!

We have ROLLED OATS!

We have ICE-CREAM CONES!

*record-scratch* Wait, what?

Yes! These fabulously crunchy, chewy treats have a bonus texture of crumbled waffle cones mixed in.

They are similar to the Chocolate Chip Cookie of a couple of years ago, but this time with rolled oats.

I have adapted this recipe from one entered into a 2004 baking competition in the US run  by Quaker Oats. A winning entry as it happens, submitted by Paula Marchesi from Lenhartsville, PA. Aparrently 16 years is enough time for both Quaker Oats and the internet to forget whose recipe it is, because the number of versions ‘out there’ without attribution are numerous, and the Canadian Quaker Oats website even calls it “Our Chocolate Coffee Toffee Oatmeal Cookie recipe”.

It’s also interesting that Paula Marchesi from Lenhartsville, PA. pops up all over the place, with her recipes appearing on and in websites, bulletin boards and books, but with zero (that I can find) social media presence. So much so that now I’m wondering whether she’s a real person at all. On one of the recipes she claims to have been cooking for over 50 years, but all her recipes are rather modern. Curiouser and curiouser.

ANYHOO…

These biscuits are wonderfully chewy and crunchy, the sweetness of the chocolate and toffee being tempered with the aromatic bitterness of the espresso coffee. Be warned, though – with all the delicious additions, they are very much in the treat category. In fact they’re just a whisker away from being individually wrapped and sold in the confectionary aisle, so approach with caution. Or at a hundred miles an hour with an open mouth. Your call.

I’d love to be able to fill you in on their keeping qualities, but in this house they keep getting eaten up in no time.

Chocolate Coffee Toffee Oatmeal Biscuits

140g large rolled oats

115g dark or light muscovado sugar
115g unsalted butter, softened
30ml strong coffee (espresso strength) – cooled
30ml beaten egg (½ a large egg)
½tsp vanilla extract
100g wholemeal flour
½tsp salt
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g butterscotch pieces[1]
100g dark chocolate chips
3 waffle ice-cream cones – crushed

• Toast the oat flakes. This is optional (the original recipe didn’t), but I think it adds a fabulous nuttiness as well as contributing to the chewiness of the finished biscuits.
• Sprinkle the oats onto a baking sheet and put into the oven.
• Turn the oven to 170°C, 150°C Fan.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring them every 5 minutes, until lightly golden.
• Set aside to cool.
• Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Mix in the coffee, egg and vanilla.
• Fold in the flour, salt, soda and cooled oats.
• Stir through the remaining ingredients.
• Portion out in 30g balls and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• When firm, arrange onto parchment-lined baking sheets and press flat. To get regular-shaped cookies like in the picture, press the balls of dough inside a small, round cookie cutter to keep the edges neat. These biscuits will spread a little in the oven, so leave 3-4cm between them.
• Heat the oven to 180°C, 160°C Fan.
• Bake for 13-15 minutes.
• Allow to firm up on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If you want to neaten the edges of any biscuits that have spread themselves a little raggedy, do so now while they’re warm.
• If you want to sneak a ‘taster’, they are amazing when still a little warm.
• When completely cold, store in an airtight container.

[1] If you don’t have access to these, you could substitute with 100g of crushed Daim bars.