I’ve been a little down in the dumps about my job lately because things are moving across my desk at a dizzying speed and I’m feeling sort of powerless about quality control, bound to each successive deadline. I’m not proud of my work and there have definitely been mistakes. In this situation, with no opportunity for do-overs, I’m feeling pretty blue.

In the spirit of fixing something within my control, I did a do-over of a recipe that I recently botched and with which I never felt I had closure. You may recall the disaster that was the coffee crunch biscotti bars,  which were the result of my total inability to follow clear instructions. 

Molly Wizenberg’s story about her first experience with these was burned in my brain. There was one particularly salient part for me, for whatever reason, the part about how they smelled as they baked was something that I needed to experience for myself.

Molly writes about the “successive waves of scents: now melting butter, now freshly brewed coffee, now old-fashioned toffee”. 

I couldn’t have said it better myself. The air in the apartment was literally making me drool.  

As Molly also recounts, and I concur,  that waiting for these things to cool is a masochistic exercise of self-restraint.

When they finally (finally!) finished cooling, they were buttery and crisp with intense coffee-toffee flavor. I hadn’t been able to decide on just one kind of chocolate, so I did half milk, half dark, which I recommend if you happen to have them both around. I brought them to a housewarming party this weekend and I was delighted when a woman there asked me if these were the bars from the Bon Appetit article. Apparently it had left a strong impression on someone else as well.

Coffee Crunch Bars Recipe
Adapted from the recipe in Molly Wizenberg’s article Bon Appetit, January 2009 

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups (firmly packed) dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I used vanilla)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1/2 cup dark chocolate, 1/2 cup milk chocolate)

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk first 3 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in another medium bowl until blended, about 2 minutes. Add espresso powder and almond extract; beat 1 minute. Stir in flour mixture in 3 additions, mixing until just absorbed after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips and almonds (dough will be thick).

Turn dough out onto ungreased rimmed baking sheet. Using hands, press dough into 12-inch square. Pierce all over with fork at 1-inch intervals.

Bake until edges are lightly browned and beginning to crisp, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on sheet 1 minute. Cut into 48 bars. Immediately transfer to rack; cool (bars will crisp as they cool). DO AHEAD Can be made 5 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.