It’s holiday cookie season: Use Louisiana cold brew to make coffee and chicory cookies | Entertainment/Life

Holiday cookie season is officially underway, and this adaptation of a recipe at PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans marries New Orleans flavors with that baking tradition. Cold brew concentrate is balanced with toffee brittle or crushed coffee candy, which also adds a bit of crunch.

Tender, not too sweet, with a delicate coffee flavor, these morsels are the perfect addition to your made-in-New-Orleans holiday cookie repertoire. 

This is also one of a few remaining how-to videos in our seasonal roll-out. Keep checking back as December approaches.

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Coffee and chicory cookies

Makes 3 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

2 eggs

2-1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup coffee and chicory concentrate

Add ins:

1 cup toffee brittle, if desired

or

1 cup chopped hard coffee candy, if desired

1/2 cup coffee icing (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place butter and sugar in bowl of mixer and mix until fluffy and lightened in color. Scrape down sides, and then add 2 eggs and mix in thoroughly.

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in separate bowl. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients to butter and sugar.

Add vanilla and coffee concentrate to dough. Mix again until just incorporated.

Add brittle or coffee candy pieces to dough and, by hand, gently stir brittle into the mixture.

Chill dough for 30 minutes to an hour.

Drop dough by tablespoons onto a cool, parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving 1 inch of space between cookies. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool completely before icing. Drizzle icing on top of cookies, or dip cooled cookies in icing. Allow icing to set for at least 20 minutes before putting cookies away.

Coffee icing

Makes 1/2 cup

1-1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons coffee and chicory concentrate

Combine ingredients in small bowl and mix with spoon until smooth. Add more coffee if mixture is too dense to drizzle.

Variation: Using a food processor or coffee bean or nut grinder, grind coffee or espresso hard candies to a chunky powder and stir them into the icing.