Skratch Labs cookie mix: 4CA cookie recipe

As temperatures fall and ideal bouldering weather in the Mid-Atlantic arrives, I find myself getting just as excited about the shift in which things I want to cook.  In my mind, summer is grilling season, and winter is baking season.  Yes, I understand that both can be done year round, and I've certainly had my manliness questioned for admitting that I'd rather be next to a warm oven in the winter than out on the deck with tongs in hand and snow in my hair, but if anything that dividing line (albeit blurry) just makes me more excited for the change in season and the arrival of new food options.

It's fitting that ideal bouldering weather is also ideal baking weather, since bouldering and cookies are one of the best pairings I've ever found.  I still don't know nearly as much about the ins and outs of baking as I do about other types of cooking, but Skratch Labs' cookie mix gave me a great jumping off point, and the 4CA (coffee, cinnamon, coconut, chocolate, almond) cookies I make with it are my favorite.  Given the amount of requests I get for the recipe when I've brought them to demos or out climbing, I figured it was time to write it down.

4CA cookies

Ingredients:

1 box Skratch Labs cookie mix

1 stick butter

1 egg

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut

1/3 cup almonds

1 tbsp coffee

1 tbsp cinnamon (I prefer Vietnamese cinnamon)

Preparation:

1) Preheat oven to 350F.

2) Crush almonds or grind them in a food processor.

3) Combine all ingredients except butter and egg.  Mix until evenly distributed.

4) Add the butter and egg, and continue mixing until all of the dough sticks together

5) Place rounded teaspoons of dough on baking sheet for individual cookies, or press it into a rectangle on the baking sheet for cookie bars.

6) Bake 10-15 minutes for individual cookies, or 15-25 minutes for bars, depending on desired firmness.

7) Share them with your friends!