One thing I really enjoyed about our recent trip to England was the variety of fun things to drink, like Ribena blackcurrant syrup and sparkling elderflower flavored water. What really got my taste buds going were hot drink powders like Barleycup, Horlick’s and Ovaltine.
I became particularly obsessed with Barleycup, made from barley, rye and chicory. I’ve been trying to cut back on coffee. (Full disclosure: I am drinking coffee as I write this, so that’s how it’s going.)
I’ve been on the hunt for hot beverages that have a similar flavor profile to coffee but contain little or no caffeine. Here in my mid-50s, caffeine makes my hands shake so badly that I can barely drink my 12th cup of coffee.
England was mostly cool and misty (shocking, I know) so I was already in an autumnal frame of mind when we returned home. Everyone knows that autumn means cookies. (FYI: Summer, winter and spring also mean cookies.)
I was searching around for cookie recipes when I had a “Eureka!” moment. Why not mix some of that yummy drink powder right into the dough?
Ah, but I am not the first person to think of this. Many recipes for cookies use not only Ovaltine but also Barleycup, Horlicks and chicory powder, made from the roasted roots of the chicory flower and a popular coffee additive in New Orleans. (Think Café du Monde and beignets.)
Obviously these things are difficult to find in the Pacific Northwest, where we just add more coffee to our coffee. But one thing every grocery store has is Ovaltine, either the original malt flavor (with no cocoa), the chocolate malt (with malt and cocoa) or the rich chocolate flavor (which contains no malt).
Before I delved into the recipe, I wanted to learn more. Who were the first people to make a hot beverage out of powdered grain?
In 1869, British brothers James and William Horlick created a powder of malted barley, milk powder and wheat flour as a nutritional supplement for babies and convalescing adults. (Malt, in case you’re wondering, consists of toasted sprouted grains, giving them caramel-like flavor.)
Horlick’s was regularly prescribed by doctors and dentists of the day and soldiers also received rations of Horlicks to bolster their health during military operations.
Ovaltine wasn’t developed until half a century later, when Swiss chemist Alber Wander created Ovomaltine from powdered malt, milk, eggs and cocoa. It was conceived as a healthful drink on the premise that barley malt contains many vitamins.
It was exported to England in 1909 under the name Ovaltine, then it came to the U.S., Canada, Australia and Southeast Asia. It’s still quite a popular drink in India.
To this day, there’s an Ovaltine factory near Bern, Switzerland (though it’s also made in several other countries).
The formula has changed in the last 100 years and different variations are sold in different countries. British Ovaltine, for example, no longer contains eggs.
Ovaltine and other beverage powders have been used by home cooks to enrich baked goods for a hundred years. Now I’m joining that noble procession with my own recipe for chocolate chip Ovaltine cookies.
The recipe uses 1/2 cup Ovaltine, so that malt flavor really comes through. You can also add nuts or crushed chocolate-covered malt balls instead of, or in addition to, chocolate chips. The texture is part of what makes these cookies so delicious because they bake up crispy around the edges but chewy in the middle. It’s the best of both cookie worlds.
First, melt a stick of butter (1/2 cup) and set it aside to cool slightly. Sift 1 ½ cups flour, 1/2 cup Ovaltine — any variety, I used chocolate malt — and ½ teaspoon baking soda into a big bowl.
Whisk in 1/2 cup packed brown sugar. Make a well in the middle, pour in the melted butter, one beaten egg and 2 tablespoons of milk.
Fold in ½ cup chocolate chips, nuts or crushed chocolate-covered malt balls or a combination of all three.
Leave the dough to sit while heating the oven to 350 degrees. Pour ¹/3 cup of sugar into a bowl. (In honor of fall, I couldn’t help but add a teaspoon of pumpkin spice to the sugar. You may be able to show more restraint.)
Scoop tablespoon-sized chunks out of the dough, roll into balls and coat thoroughly with sugar. Flatten slightly and place on cookie sheet with room in between, because these cookies spread while baking. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crackled on top (or bake for 12 minutes for chewier cookies). Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack.
Eat all 30 cookies. Over a period of many days, of course. What else could I mean? Excuse me while I wipe these crumbs off my mouth.
Ovaltine Cookies
1½ cups flour
1/2 cup any variety Ovaltine (or other malted drink powder)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk
½ cup chocolate chips, pecans or walnuts (or ¼ cup chips and ¼ cup nuts)
1/3 cup sugar for rolling
Melt the butter and set it aside. Sift the flour, Ovaltine, white sugar and baking soda into a big bowl. Whisk in brown sugar. Make a well in the middle; pour in the melted butter and beaten egg. Stir to combine and then leave the dough to sit while heating the oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup of sugar into a bowl. Scoop tablespoon-sized chunks out of the dough, roll into balls and coat thoroughly with sugar. Flatten slightly and place on cookie sheet spaced well apart because the cookies spread while baking. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crackled on top. (Bake for 12 minutes for chewier cookies.) Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack. Makes about 30.
