Oatmeal CookieBlog: Coffee Cake Cookies

Coffee_cakes_sm Boy, do these yummy Drake's Coffee Cakes take me back to my elementary school cafeteria. I'd bite off the crumbly, cinnamony tops and throw away the cakes. (And this was years before Elaine discovered muffin tops.)

Ah yes. Those were the days when I survived on such healthy fare as Little Debby Star Crunches, Doritos, Jenny-O turkey loaves, and Chef Boyardee eaten straight from the can. Poor mumma couldn't get a vegetable past my lips if her life depended on it...but I digress.

This recipe takes the best part of coffee cake--the topping--and turns it into a tasty little cookie. Your standard coffee cake doesn't actually contain any coffee. (Isn't it ironic?) Cinnamon is the belle of this ball, but I do include a hint of coffee in the form of cappucino chips. It's not a punch-you-in-the-face kind of flavor, but it does add a nice hint of coffee to the background.

This recipe calls for some special ingredients: cinnamon chips and cappucino chips, which I found at the King Arthur online store. If you get the cinnamon chips, you can also use them in my Hot(ter) Chocolate cookies. If you don't get the cappucino chips, you can replace them with three tablespoons of cold coffee added to the wet ingredients.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Coffee Cake Cookies.)

Creamables	2 sticks butter 1 3/4 cups brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	2 eggs + 1 yolk 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/2 cups flour 1 3/4 cups oatmeal 1 3/4 cups ground graham crackers 2 cups cinnamon chips 1/2 cup cappuccino chips 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado or raw sugar

In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together the wet ingredients.
Add combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
Preheat oven to 350º.
Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
Roll each dough ball in turbinado or raw sugar.
Place sugared dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.