No-ingredient cookies

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Did you ever want to do some baking, and have the ingredients for … nothing?

One Sunday afternoon last spring, I wanted to bake cookies for my daughter’s school lunches. The only problem is that I try to minimize the tempting ingredients in my house. So unless I’ve planned ahead, I don’t typically have fun ingredients like chocolate chips, toffee bits, or condensed milk on hand. That particular afternoon, I was particularly ingredient-challenged: a quick search of the cupboards showed I was also completely out of peanut butter and cinnamon.

In other words, I had the ingredients for none of my cookie recipes.

That’s where a little ingenuity came into play. I made these cookies based on the staples I always carry (flour, sugar, eggs) and the tin of cocoa in the cupboard. I wasn’t expecting much, but they received rave reviews from my daughter, who couldn’t get over how much she loved them.

I waited a long time to post this recipe, but it's a keeper – in fact, the same daughter has since taken a batch back to university with her. And although I’ve also made them with chunks of Skor bars (pictured), they’re wonderful without. Keep these cookies in mind the next time you're caught with no ingredients in your cupboard.


Cocoa Cookies
This makes a smallish batch; you can double the recipe.

1 1/4 sticks butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup flour
2 Skor bars, cut into chunks (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter and sugar on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light and creamy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat 2 more minutes, until completely combined. Add cocoa, baking soda and kosher salt, and beat on low until just mixed. Remove beater, and stir in flour with a spoon until just combined.

Add Skor bar chunks. (Or don’t! They’re great without.)

Form into balls on cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Let sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to cool.



23 comments:

Julie said...

Those look delicious. Love that they use things we normally have in the house. Have a great week.

Natalie Aguirre said...

These look awesome! I'll have to try them.

Sue said...

Look at you, adding "recipe developer" to your list of talents! Love their name too. :)

Barbara said...

Always nice to have a cookie recipe for emergency cravings. This one sure fits the bill.

Cakelaw said...

Gotta love recipes that you can make using pantry staples. These look delish.

Amy said...

It's always good to have those pantry staples for when you need them! Glad you were able to make a terrific cookie from them!

Pam said...

It's great to know we can bake cookies without running to the store. They sound delicious!

Angie's Recipes said...

I would love to try those cookies too. They look excellent!

Unknown said...

I'm always ready to bake something at a moment's notice, especially my favorite flourless peanut butter cookies. I'm glad you whipped up such a yummy creation!

Jemi Fraser said...

These look easy and delicious - right up my alley! :)

Cheri Savory Spoon said...

Hi Beth, it is always good to have a few recipes around like this, they sound delicious!

Kitchen Riffs said...

We usually have fun ingredients around , but it's always good to have a backup plan just in case, well, one of us has eaten all the fun ingredients. ;-) These look terrific -- thanks. (Oh, and I hope you had a fun time watching the election returns! I was thinking of you.)

Crystal Collier said...

They sound delicious. Truly delicious. See, that's the kind of thing my husband could pull off. Me, I'd have to go to the store and pick up what the recipe calls for, because I'm just not that creative in the kitchen.

Abbe@This is How I Cook said...

I think your daughter has perfect taste, because they sound great to me! My problem is I always have ingredients around and I shouldn't!

Marcela said...

Yum! These cookies look fantastic! I bet they're super tasty!

Katerina said...

What a fantastic idea Beth! They are surely a keeper! I always have to plan in advance too!

Monica said...

Fabulous! Sometimes you really want to bake something and these are the kind of things I always have in my pantry!

nancy at good food matters said...

Very resourceful, Beth! It's a challenge--but a fun one--to play magician in the kitchen--and see what you can create out of seemingly nothing. Brava!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

I'll take mine with Skor bars, please! I can see why these were a hit!

Unknown said...

I have this all the time; great recipe when you seemingly have 'nothing'!

Claudia said...

Beth - this is just a fun post! Of course, I never have Skor bars lying around. I always have chocolate chips!

Andrea_TheKitchenLioness said...

Beth, fun post and fun recipe idea for those days when we are truly "ingredient-challenged"! Since I do not have Skor bars sitting around in my cupboards (I believe I have seen them at the British shop though) - I would go for the plain chocolate version!

Inger @ Art of Natural Living said...

Cute title. While I have zero ingredients for immediate snacking (except ice cream), I do usually have chocolate chips and always have peanut butter and cinnamon. Using cocoa powder was genius!

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