Breakfast Crack Cookies

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Ahhh…you know what that sound is? Do you hear it? It’s the last of my kids starting school. I love love love summer. I love spending time with my kids, hanging out, no schedules. But by the end of August, projects aren’t getting done, bank accounts are depleted and I’m ready to get back into some sort of a routine. My dad use to say: “Take me, get me, bring me, buy me…is that all you kids have to say?” It would appear I’ve passed the torch.

So on this particular start of the school year (one in fourth grade, the other in seventh), I spent my first morning paying bills. So. Utterly. Depressing. But it had to be done.

To ease the pain, I made breakfast crack cookies. I have been dreaming about this cookie for some time. We all know my love of Fruity Pebbles. Is there a better cereal? A very close runner up is a fresh box of Cocoa Pebbles. But how (oh how!) to get those in a cookie? And what would I want that cookie to look and taste like? I was excited about the texture, but wanted a little ass-kicking along the way. I was thinking this should come in the form of espresso…and toffee…and hella dark chocolate.

For three months the house has been pulsating with noise. So much Taylor Swift I know the entire album by heart. Xbox noises of cars crashing and kids navigating, building and destroying in Minecraft. Whining. Oh the incessant whining. Take me. Get me. Bring me. Buy me. But then, on this particular morning, after a sorrowful couple of hours paying bills, it was utter silence. I heard birds (that I hadn’t heard in months) chirping and squawking in the yard. There was a slight breeze rustling the leaves on the trees and off in the distance I could hear a horse neighing. Yes, neighing. And that blistering hell-like heat that I couldn’t stop complaining about has finally abated. The only thing that would make this moment utterly perfect (and remove that bill-paying sting) was delicious, chocolate-y, salty, soft-but-crunchy, amped up crack cookies. The kind of cookies that would give me a kick in my get-a-long. This is that cookie. I think this is a completely acceptable breakfast cookie because of the espresso and the Cocoa Pebbles. Makes perfect sense. We’re good with that, right?

Breakfast Crack Cookies | DisplacedHousewife

Breakfast Crack Cookies | DisplacedHousewife

Breakfast Crack Cookies

Makes About 3-ish Dozen Crack Cookies

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup sunflower seed or canola oil
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon freshly brewed espresso or strong-brewed coffee
  • 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s…nothing fancy)
  • 1 ¼ cups bread flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 ½ cups chopped dark chocolate toffee bar (such Giradelli Toffee Interlude; I used about four 3.5 ounce bars…you could use whatever chocolate you have on hand, but I really dig a loaded chocolate bar, chopped up)
  • 1 cup Cocoa Pebbles
  • Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling on top of the cookies

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Place the chocolate in a medium size, microwave-proof bowl and melt the semi-sweet chocolate (on high) in the microwave for about 30-40 seconds. You don’t want it completely melted in the microwave or you run the risk of scalding it. When there are still some small chunks of chocolate visible, take it out of the microwave and stir with a spoon until all of the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.
  2. Brew your espresso or coffee. Set aside to cool a beat.  Make a couple for both of us while you’re at it. I’ll take soy milk with mine. Thanks.
  3. Put the butter, oil, light brown sugar and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use your arms, bowl and spatula) and mix on medium until well blended.
  4. Add the eggs, with the mixer on low, one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after adding each addition to make sure everything gets mixed in.
  5. Pour in the 2 teaspoons of vanilla, the 1 tablespoon of espresso and the melted semi-sweet chocolate and mix on low until completely blended.
  6. In a medium bowl, whisk together the bread flour, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
  7. Pour the flour mixture into the butter-sugar mixture and mix on low until just blended. Maybe 7-9 turns with the paddle.
  8. Add in the chopped chocolate and the Cocoa Pebbles and finish mixing everything together with a spatula so that you don’t over mix the dough.
  9. Place a layer of plastic wrap directly on top of the dough, then put another layer of plastic wrap on top of the bowl to keep the dough from drying out. Place the bowl with the cookie dough in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Chilling the dough a bit will make it easier to roll into nice round balls. You can also decide not to bake the cookies right this minute. If that’s the route you wanna take, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and then put in a resealable plastic bag and make fresh crack cookies for the next couple of mornings. Breakfast done for the week. Think about it. Is it too early for Cognac? I think that might pair nicely with these…
  10. Put one of the racks in the top third of the oven.
  11. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  12. When the dough is ready to come out of the fridge, roll about 2 tablespoons of the dough into a ball. Flatten the balls slightly with a damp hand.
  13. Cover your baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silpat and space the balls about 2 inches apart from each other.
  14. Give a nice sprinkle of sea salt flakes on top of the dough balls. Balls. …just thought we’d say it again.
  15. Place the crack cookies on the top oven rack and bake for 12 minutes.
  16. Once out of the oven, let the crack cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes; after 5 minutes let them finish cooling on a cooling rack.
  17. Now you can start thinking about lunch. I’m thinking cake. What do you think?

{ on my mind }

  • First, I’ve been a wee lax on my posting schedule this summer. Mostly because kids negate any attempt at scheduling when they’re not in school. Just a fact. HOWEVER, I’m going to get back to my Sunday/Thursday schedule routine. I have a handful of sweet nuggets that I’d like to get out there and one savory gem. It’s happening people. Promise.
  • Second, my chickens are so broody it’s DRIVING ME INSANE!!! Any tips on how to steady their hormones would be greatly appreciated. #gratefulAF
  • Likewise if you know how to program your sprinklers send me an email. I’ll bake you some sweets in exchange. I tried to fix mine so that they complied with our designated watering times and now they’re watering at high noon. Pretty sure someone is going to turn me in. Pray for El Niño so I don’t have to worry about all this crap. Why does a sprinkler system have to be so complicated? Sometimes I think someone is getting shits and giggles out of making things like this totally illogical. Take autocorrect, for instance. Autocorrect is doing nothing to streamline my life. It just pisses me off. And takes perfectly spelled words and then turns them into something that makes zero sense. Apple programmers are smart. They did this on purpose.
  • Peace.

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Comments

Leave a Reply to Emma

I love your comments, reviews and questions! If you love this recipe, please rate it when you leave a comment. Star ratings 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 help people discover my recipes. Your support means a lot, I look forward to chatting with you!

Rebecca xox

17 Comments

  • Kiara August 31, 2018 at 5:42 PM

    Hello, is it possible to use all purpose flour instead of the bread?

    Reply
    • Rebecca Firth August 31, 2018 at 8:20 PM

      Hi Kiara! I haven’t made the cookies that way, but I’m thinking you could. The dough might have more moisture to it (if you use all bread flour) and the cookies might have more crisp, less chew and potentially spread a bit more while baking. If you make them this way, I would love to hear how it goes!! xoxo

      Reply
  • Meghan Grout February 26, 2017 at 1:56 PM

    Is it OK to use milk chocolate toffee bars in place of the dark? I have to make triple batches when I bake, I don’t want to go broke on Ghirardelli bars unless I have to.

    Reply
    • Rebecca Firth February 26, 2017 at 3:51 PM

      Hi Meghan!! I like how you think!! You can use any chocolate you like…and those sound great. Have fun baking!! ❤❤❤

      Reply
  • Jenny Blaylock October 16, 2016 at 5:54 PM

    I was thinking about substituting something for the breakfast cereal..maybe cacao nibs or nuts?

    Reply
  • Caitlin Taylor October 13, 2015 at 3:32 AM

    So I just baked these…and I concur. They’re LITERALLY crack. SOOO insanely good!!!

    Reply
    • DisplacedHousewife October 13, 2015 at 3:38 AM

      Why thanks lovie!!! I’m so jealous–wish I had some right now!!! xox

      Reply
  • Jessica | A Happy Food Dance September 3, 2015 at 3:22 AM

    I think my mom did a mini celebration every year when school started again – I don’t blame her. My siblings and I almost killed each other every summer. I’m dying about your sprinklers going off at noon – I’m sure you’ll have a crazy neighbor reporting you in no time! At least the heat wave from hell is over – now pass me one of those crazy good looking cookies :)

    Reply
  • Sally September 2, 2015 at 1:51 AM

    Love your posts! Can’t wait to try it.

    Reply
  • MB@Bourbon and Brown Sugar September 2, 2015 at 1:47 AM

    Rebecca – First, these cookies look AMAZING… and I am with you on the love-summer, but am so ready for the end of summer… though for me, as a teacher, I head back to school too. And second, I wanted to thank you for including my blackberry scone recipe in you recent scone round-up for the feedfeed. It led to the discovery of your blog, which I adore. Like you, I started my little blog on a whim, and simply love the process of writing and sharing my favorite recipe with others. I was also thrilled to discover the extended feedfeed community. It was an honor to be a part of such a talented group of bloggers, and just wanted to say, you totally made my week. (which involved a mind-numbing number of beginning of school staff meetings…so was particularly appreciated.)

    Reply
    • DisplacedHousewife September 2, 2015 at 1:58 AM

      Well what a nice note to get!! Your scones are gorgeous…I’m so happy I found them. Nothing better than being appreciated for something you put your heart into…I’m glad it made your week. Good luck with the school year!! xx

      Reply
  • DisplacedHousewife September 1, 2015 at 9:39 PM

    Ani I hope so!!! Would love to meet up and kvetch…it will happen!! Thanks for your nice words!! xoxo

    Reply
  • Ani September 1, 2015 at 8:02 PM

    I’m sitting at work, just finished reading your post. I heart you. That is all.
    But really. I love reading your words and I really do feel we must become real-life friends! Enough of this virtual business. Someday, maybe, I’ll find my way to your coast. ❤️Ani

    Reply
  • Amanda Paa September 1, 2015 at 6:49 PM

    milk acquired, cookies needed. i mean, whoa! serious chocolate perfection. and the pictures show their soft, chewy qualities so well. a few of them had to help the morning of bill paying, right?

    Reply
  • Emma September 1, 2015 at 2:12 PM

    Hmmm, I wonder what’s for breakfast today…

    Reply
    • DisplacedHousewife September 1, 2015 at 7:07 PM

      They may have helped for a couple of days…maybe morning, noon and night!! :) xx

      Reply