Everything can be a cookie if you're brave enough!
bake it
What does the weird melted chocolate bar that sat out in the sun too long, the almond flour you bought to bake macaroons once, or the stale marshmallow confectionery left over from Easter have in common? They all get a second life in these delicious cookies!
We call them ‘leftover cookies’, because they are a great way to use up a lot of different leftovers. So far I’ve made these with peanuts, nuts and seeds, chocolate bars of all kinds, cut up marshmallows and chocolate candies. Future versions I want to experiment with include small pretzel pieces, caramels, cracker crumbles, dried fruits…
ingredients:
100g margarine / butter / other solid fat
90g sugar
1 egg or egg replacement (e.g. 1 tablespoon each of soy flour and ground up flax seeds and 3 tablespoons of water)
200g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (or baking soda)
optional: pinch of salt, some vanilla flavor or other spice of choice (I love cinnamon!)
100-150g “leftovers”
instructions:
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Room Temperature: Let your ingredients warm up to room temperature, if they are not already there.
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(Optional) Prepare Egg Replacement: For my suggested egg replacement, mix the soy flour and ground up flax seeds with three tablespoons of hot water and let it sit for a few minutes to thicken up. If you use a different egg replacement, follow the instructions that come with it.
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Creaming Method: Whisk up the fat and sugar until combined into a creamy paste. You can use a fork, whisk or electric mixer for this, depending on what you have available. This step is supposed to add a bit of air into the mixture, so take your time to whisk everything for a few minutes to make sure you get a fluffy consistency. Don’t worry, the sugar will not dissolve in the fat, so a little crunch in the texture is normal.
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Add Egg: Add your egg or egg replacement until just combined.
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Flour and Leavening Agent: Add in your flour, leavening agent of choice as well as any spices or flavors you want - vanilla, pinch of salt, cinnamon, cocoa powder. Mix it until just combined. Let’s not overmix our batter.
There is a whole army online propagating “You can’t substitute baking soda for baking powder”, but I contest that point! Baking powder is baking soda plus an acidic component. As soon as it gets wet, it starts to react and bubble and when it heats up, any left-over soda starts to break down and release more gas bubbles. Sometimes this can be supported by a heat-activated acidic component. Baking soda will react with any acidic component in your recipe and bubble up just like baking powder and when it gets heated up, again, the soda breaks down and releases more gas bubbles. To substitute one for another I would suggest using half the amount of soda compared to the baking powder and if you are really worried, adding a teaspoon of lemon juice or a tablespoon of yogurt. -
Add the leftovers: Depending on your leftovers, you may have to cut them into smaller chunks first. Just fold them into the batter, again careful to not overmix.
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Freeze or bake: Roll your cookie dough into balls (or any other shape you prefer). Either freeze them to bake cookies any time you like, or bake them right away at 180°C for 12-15 minutes. To bake your frozen cookie dough balls, just put them directly in the oven without letting them defrost. They only take a minute longer to bake. I also don’t preheat my oven, but just add 2 minutes to the baking time of these. Saves me time and energy overall!
final thoughts: The cookies will not turn out like flat American chocolate chip cookies, but a more European fluffy cloud of happiness. Depending on where you are from, these may not look like the cookies you normally make, but don’t judge before you taste! Depending on how much sugar you usually have you may want to add more or less than suggested in this recipe. If I add especially sweet leftovers like marshmallows, I leave out half of the sugar. If it’s just dark chocolate chunks in there, I’ll use the suggested amount. Trust your taste buds and your gut on this!