Most bar cookies are fairly robust affairs. Take, for instance, the brownie. As you can tell from my archives, my own taste in brownies tends toward the dense and fudgy. But even if you prefer the tender, cakey kind of brownie, you still want something that you can sink your teeth into. Something substantial.
These bars are completely different. Thin and delicate, they would be better suited to nibble on with tea than to sell at you kid’s school bake sale. Although they’re very sweet, complexity is introduced with the killer combination of espresso powder and cinnamon. I first had a chocolate chip cookie with espresso and cinnamon five years ago, and it totally changed my outlook: although I rarely consider myself a purist, that was the moment when I became a complete anti-purist. Why is purity something that we should strive for, anyway? A few extra spices in a chocolate chip cookie never hurt anyone.
But I digress. These bars are a more refined version of that cookie. And they’re incredibly good, and quick, and easy, while still looking completely beautiful and professional. In other words, everything I look for in a recipe.
