Cookie butter babka.
I feel like I don’t really need to say anything else in this post because that is pretty self-explanatory, but SEO requires that I post a bunch of words to rank higher in google search results so we’re going to chat a little bit about it.
You all know I love a good seasonal babka. And this year I’ve been baking a lot with cookie butter, so it was only natural that I finally bring the two things together. I used the classic Lotus biscoff for this recipe, but you can absolutely use alternate cookie butters (I also love the one from Trader Joe’s).
There’s something so comforting about cookie butter. It just has the perfect combination of spices and feels so cozy. I’m doing a 12 days of Christmas cookies on my instagram page next month and I have a cookie butter cookie lined up that is just pure holiday perfection. Move over, peppermint.
Back to the babka.
Nothing crazy with the dough here, just a traditional babka dough with a little hint of cinnamon to get the cozy vibes started. Our babka filling is also super simple – just cookie butter spread out on the dough topped with crushed biscoff cookies. Roll it all up, twist it, let it rise again, then bake it!
The hardest part of this babka is having the patience to wait until it’s cooled to slice into it. Trust me though, as the least patient person in the world, practicing that patience for this is worth it.
Basically what I’m telling you to do is bake this babka. It’s so good, makes two loaves (!), and is a nice, soft, fluffy dough with filled with ultra-comforting cookie butter. Run to your kitchen to make this, you won’t be disappointed!
Cookie Butter Babka
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 2 eggs
- 6 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
- 2 tbsp. instant yeast
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ½ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 10 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste
- Filling:
- 1 jar cookie butter
- Crushed biscoff cookies
Directions
- Step 1 Combine the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer until the dough begins to come together. If more water is needed, add 1 tbsp. at a time. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes. Once rested, use the dough hook attachment on the mixer and knead until dough is soft and smooth. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow to rise for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size and is nice and puffy.
- Step 2 Once dough is risen, deflate it and divide in half.
- Step 3 Working with one half of dough at a time, shape into a rectangle approximately 10” x 20”. Spread half of the cookie butter over the dough, leaving a ½ -1 inch border. Sprinkle crushed biscoff cookies over the top.
- Step 4 Starting with the short side of the dough, roll dough tightly into a log, sealing the seam. Use a knife or bench scraper to slice the dough in half lengthwise, then twist the strands over each other. Repeat with the other half of dough and place each loaf into a greased 9” x 5” pan lined with parchment paper.
- Step 5 Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap and let loaves rise for 1 ½ – 2 hours. You want them to be nice and puffy, with the top of each loaf being about ½ – 1 inch above the top of the pan.
- Step 6 Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Step 7 Bake the loaves for 35 minutes, then tent with foil and bake for 15-30 more minutes, until the loaves are a nice golden brown on top and fully baked in the middle.
- Step 8 Remove loaves from oven and allow to cool for 7-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
