Mocha Walnut Coffee Cake Bars

Quick, easy, and satisfies your morning craving for that large Starbucks muffin, bread, or donut!
I know ...you are reading the ingredients, and thinking…wouldn’t these be just as bad as having one of those items from Starbucks?

Well not necessarily! These are cut up into little squares to help with portion control…and you made them yourself! Therefore you know what you are putting into your body ; )

These were created by a contestant for Starbucks Natural Fusions giveaway contest.
I conveniently had the vanilla fusion coffee sitting in my fridge, so I replaced the cinnamon fusion used in this recipe with vanilla.
If you make these and they don’t disappear by lunch time, I recommend them as a small sweet treat to satisfy your after lunch or dinner sweet tooth craving.
There were only about 3 of these left within the first 5 minutes of me placing them in the kitchen of my office!

Don’t be shy and leave out any element of goodness when making these bars. The cake is pretty basic and it relies on all the textures and flavors from the add-ins. The confection sugar drizzle is a nice touch too, and always a favorite component of mine!

Mocha Walnut Vanilla Coffee Cake Bars
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
1 2/3 cup (6 oz) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup cooled strong coffee (I used Starbucks Natural Fusions Vanilla)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Thoroughly grease a 13×9 inch metal pan or line it with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light. Add the egg and beat for another minute. Add the flour mixture and coffee alternately. Stir in 1 cup of the walnuts and the full 1/2 cup raisins. Spread the batter in the baking pan going to the edges. Sprinkle remaining walnuts and chocolate chips across top.
Bake on center rack for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. With an electric mixer beat powdered sugar, with a few tablespoons of water, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Once you have reached your desired consistency, drizzle over top bars.
Lift from pan, set on a cutting board and score into bars. Makes about 30.