Gooey Glazed No-Butter Coffee Bars
Goodness me I simply cannot formulate words.
Hang on. Allow me to gather my thoughts.
Okay, here goes.
I have an inkling that these gooey glazed no-butter coffee bars will be making frequent appearances in my life for a long, long time. I am enamored with them.
I’ll just say it: These coffee bars make it to the top three in category: my favorite bar recipes of the year. And it’s almost the end of the year, so that’s eleven+ months worth of bar recipes that these gooey coffee bars are up against.
And I don’t even love coffee-flavored desserts that much mmkay.
When I say these no-butter coffee bars are gooey, I mean GOOOOOOEEEEEEYYYYYYYYY.
Like, imagine the softest, gooiest soft-batch cookie you’ve ever had. And multiply that by ten. That’s the texture of these glazed coffee bars. Multiplied by another nine.
And not just gooey. These bars are also so soft. So tender. So rich. So dense. And so teeth-sinkin-satisfying.
But wait. There’s more. These bars have the most delightful crisp at the edges, especially those corner pieces. Partly thanks to pan-corner-piece-baking-sciences-etcetera, and partly thanks to cornstarch, which helps provide these coffee bars with that crisp edge and gooey center.
That’s the texture. Now let’s move along to flavor.
These no-butter coffee bars are full of nutty, smoky, full-bodied coffee flavor thanks to some instant coffee (that’s dissolved in a tablespoon-full of vanilla extract). You don’t need no fancy espresso powder for these gooey bars.
These glazed coffee bars also so rich and indulgent and flavorful from additions like way more brown sugar than white sugar, lots of vanilla extract, a generous amount of oil, and walnuts.
The walnuts. I love their contribution here.
Now. I’m definitely team nuts-in brownies and nuts-in-blondies and nuts-in-cookies and nuts-in-cakes-especially-apple and, of course, nuts-in-bars. So I may be biased.
But, really, objectively, I think the nutty, deep, smoky walnut flavor complements the coffee kick so nicely, and also, those crunchy walnut bits contrast the soft and gooey dough so well too.
The walnuts can be excluded, if you really can’t stomach nuts in your desserts. But, like, don’t exclude them.
The glaze.
It’s a coffee glaze, of course. A sweet, glossy, sticky, flavor-bombed glaze that’s drizzled atop the bars once they’re cooled.
Just to double up on that coffee goodness. And for extra attractiveness points.
The glaze, like the walnuts, can be omitted, if truly desired. But again, don’t.
And did I mention how quick and easy these gooey coffee bars are to make? One bowl, one spatula, basic ingredients, a dough that comes together in minutes, a glaze that is quickly whisked together whilst the bars are baking, and there’s your coffee bars, all done.
Soft and dense. Rich and gooey. Indulgent and flavorful. Quick and easy. Dairy-free and delightful. Gooey glazed no-butter coffee bars - you ring in the last month of the year so very nicely.
Gooey Glazed No-Butter Coffee Bars
Yield: about 18 bars
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups packed flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Glaze (optional):
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 2 teaspoons boiling water
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-Water, if needed for thinning
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some excess hanging over the rim for easy removal later.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugars and oil. Add in the egg and dissolved coffee and whisk vigorously until smooth.
3. Pour the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt over the wet ingredients and mix everything together until just combined. Stir in the chopped walnuts last.
4. Flatten dough into prepared pan. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until the edges are set and golden but the center is still slightly under baked. Bars may seem a bit raw but are supposed to be that way!
5. Let bars cool before lifting them out of the pan by the excess parchment paper and glazing.
6. Whisk all the glaze ingredients together until a thick yet pourable consistency forms. Drizzle glaze in diagonal pattern over the bars, then slice into bars of desired size.
