Espresso Choffy Shortbread with Dates

Choffy in a Tablespoon

If you haven’t met Choffy yet, you might want to check it out.  Choffy is roasted cocoa beans that have been crushed and you brew it like coffee.  It’s my current hot drink of choice.  The taste is deeply chocolate, yet light.  I add some stevia and a splash of soy milk.

But you can also do other stuff with Choffy – just as you might do with cacao nibs.  I’ve been in a shortbread mood (there’s another shortbread recipe coming tomorrow) and remembered a favorite recipe for espresso shortbread from my pre-vegan days.  Shortbread is an ideal recipe to veganize because there are no eggs or dairy milk involved.  Replacing butter with a vegan alternative is ridiculously easy.  So I followed the standard recipe but used 100% whole wheat instead of refined white flour and replaced white sugar with maple sugar.  I wanted a hint of chocolate but felt chocolate chips would overwhelm these delicate cookies.  Choffy (or cacao nibs) were the perfect solution – plus they add a nice crunch.  Finally, I added chopped dates to bump up the smoky maple flavor.

Espresso Choffy Date Shortbread
Makes 6 long cookies or 12 if cut in half

8 tbsp. vegan butter, softened
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/8 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 chopped dates
1/4 cup Choffy (or lightly ground cacao nibs)
3/4 tsp. espresso powder (or instant coffee)

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Add the vanilla, Choffy and espresso powder and mix a few times.

Carefully add the flour and salt, mix a few times, then add the dates.  Process until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough.  Chill for a few hours.  I patted mine into a square and covered it in plastic wrap.

Square of Dough

Preheat the oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/4″ thick and trim the edges.  Cut the dough into 6 long pieces and move the pieces onto the baking sheet.  Gently make a score along the center of the cookies – not going all the way through the dough – and using a fork, lightly mark 3 times down the center on each half of the cookies.

Bake for about 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.  Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer to a wire rack.

Shortbread on Brown Paper

Shortbread from On High

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36 thoughts on “Espresso Choffy Shortbread with Dates

  1. emmycooks

    That sounds like an amazing combination. I made a ton of espresso shortbread around the holidays, and loved it with vanilla and orange zest. I am going to have to check out Choffy–tho with the understanding that nothing will evr replace coffee for me. :)

    Reply
    1. Shira

      Ha! I’m with Emmy on the coffee! The choffy does sound tasty though – and these cookies look amazing! I always like how your recipes are designed to make small amounts..keeping it fresh so you can keep cranking out the yummy vegan treats! Looks easy too, thanks Annie!

      Reply
  2. Brittany

    I have never heard of this amazing stuff you call choffy. It sounds amazing, and this bread looks divine! YUM!

    Reply
  3. pilgrimageofhealth

    I have all these ingredients, except I lent out my espresso powder, sad day :( I’ve never heard of choffy, but I’ve definitely wondered if people ever do the same thing to cocoa beans as they do to coffee beans. Guess they do! So wonderful. Where do you purchase it?

    Reply
  4. keepinitkind

    Where has Choffy been my whole life? I kind of want to dip these in a cup of hot Choffy… Mmmmm.

    Reply
  5. Somer

    I might actually have to make the 30 minute drive to whole foods to track down choffy now. I need it now!!! Those cookies look brilliant, and you make me feel better that I wasn’t the only one who used earth balance in the last 24 hours 😉

    Reply
  6. Choc Chip Uru

    I love me some shortbread all the time though I confess I have yet to try a vegan version 😀
    But your recipe and choffy have no trouble convincing me 😀

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    Reply
  7. trueindigo

    Choffy!? How neat, I never heard of it and I thank you for bringing my attention to what it is all about.

    Reply
  8. Márcia Gonçalves

    Your shortbread looks so delicious !

    ” Choffy is roasted cocoa beans that have been crushed and you brew it like coffee.” Really ?! That’s amazing ! But I bet I can’t find choffy here in Portugal :(

    Reply
      1. Márcia Gonçalves

        Thanks, I guess I’m going to do some research to find choffy ; )

  9. Gabby @ the veggie nook

    As someone who has recently given up coffee I am intrigued by Choffy! I have never heard of it but it sounds delicious! Thanks for the idea :) Where did you get yours?

    Reply
  10. Zsofi

    These look so delicious. Shortbread and cocao crunch–what’s not to love? Beautiful pics, too.

    Reply
  11. Sweet Posy Dreams

    I haven’t heard of choffy. Looks like something I would like to try. Probably not available in our town, but nice to know one can order it. The shortbread looks intriguing.

    Reply
  12. Little Sis

    Thank you!! We have Choffy and I’ve been thinking about what to do w/it. Now I know! Yum!

    Reply
  13. biggsis

    LIttle Sis and I both received our Choffy from our Dad for Christmas – I saw the recipe and was very excited. Let’s see who makes it first… Oh wait! She’s coming to visit, maybe we’ll make it together!

    Reply
  14. tearoomdelights

    Choffy is new to me too but sounds very interesting. Your shortbread looks lovely and I bet it slips down a treat with a hot mug of choffy. With all that chocolate flavour, how can you fail?

    Reply
  15. Sophie33

    Waw, What a wonderful & alternative shortbread! I have never heard from Choffy before & Now, I leanred something new! Thank you so much! 😉

    Reply
  16. Beth Pearce

    Thank you so much for this shortbread idea! I am a Choffy distributor and am always looking for new ways to use it. This is going to the top of my list!

    Reply
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