Coffee Cake Cookies

Eat me.

I adore a good hot piece of coffee cake in the morning on the weekends.  Sometimes I want to bring this coffee cake places - but then I remember coffee cake can be messy and crumbly...and end up all over your car floor.  True story.

Here enters the coffee cake cookie!  It is essentially coffee cake batter scooped out onto a cookie sheet and cover with streusal.  Yum Yum.  I was almost 100% sure these cookies would end up being pancakes and still fall apart like the cake.  I was oh so wrong.  These tender little morsels of goodness held up beautifully and did not crumb apart like I anticipated.  Success!!!  I made these for a ministry fair at Church where we were trying to promote our Young Adult group to people - I was hoping these cookies would entice people to approach our table and then we could get them interested in our ministry...but truthfully they were mostly consumed by little boys sneaking up to the table and snatching cookies away in a stealthy manner - pretty sure boys between the age of 5-9 are the biggest fan of church ministry fairs.

These were very easy cookies to make, and I have to admit I have eaten about 10 of them...Lord have mercy - what was I thinking!

COFFEE CAKE COOKIES

Adapted from the Baker's Royale website

Make the Pecan Streusel:

• 1 ½ cups of pecans, toasted, or I used 1 1/2 cups whole old fashioned Oats
• ¾ cup dark or light brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Cookie dough:

• ½ cup of unsalted butter, browned
• 1 egg
• ½ cup dark brown sugar, light will work as well
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ cup unbleached all purpose flour

To make pecan streusel:

1. If you are using pecans, place them on a bake sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes or until pecans start to darken slightly and smell nutty.  Chop into small pieces.  
2. Place chopped pecans or whole oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt and whisk to combine. Add melted butter and toss to combine. Set aside.

To make cookies:

1. Heat and melt butter on stove top over medium high heat until it is brown and nutty smelling. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Place egg, brown sugar and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and mix on medium speed with a paddle attachment and beat until mixture is glossy, about 1-2 minutes. Add sour cream, cream cheese, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt into mixture and beat to combine. The cream cheese might leave little clumps - no worries they will eventually break down.  Add in cooled butter and beat to combine. Turn off mixture.
3. Using a wooden spoon or a sturdy spatula, fold flour into wet mixture. Add 1/2 the streusel mixture and fold to combine.
4. Scoop out 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture and light roll into a ball and press into the streusel mixture.  Place on parchment lined baking pans.
5. Bake cookies for about 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

*Cookies will keep for 2 days in a tightly sealed container

Hey you.  Stop moving.  Take a breath.  

Be grateful for the things you have.  

You are blessed and you are a blessing.  

Life is beautiful!

Have a great weekend and eat your heart out,

Dagny