These coffee bean cookies are so cute!!
Crunchy, not too sweet, and with a distinct coffee flavor.
I relied on the recipe by the legendary Sonia Peronaci with a small modification regarding the use of eggs. While Peronaci’s recipe includes egg yolks in the dough, I added egg whites to the flour, sugar, butter, coffee, and cocoa instead.
What initially seemed like a distraction error had its explanation: some time ago, I read my friend Valentina‘s recipe on her blog Profumo di limoni, where she uses egg whites instead of yolks for her coffee bean cookies. As Valentina explains, egg whites ensure the central incision on the cookies opens up in the oven without altering the cookie’s shape.
The “mix and match” of these two recipes resulted in delicious cookies that won over even the youngest in the house.
Now take a minute to read the recipe and then…let’s cook and eat!
See also
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for 45 cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cups butter (cold)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tbsps coffee (espresso)
- 2 tbsps instant coffee
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/3 oz egg white
- 1 pinch fine salt
Steps
To make the coffee bean cookies, I used my trusty stand mixer, but you can easily work the dough by hand by gathering the ingredients in a bowl and then transferring them to a work surface.
First, prepare the espresso (or coffee with a moka pot), dissolve the instant coffee in it, and let it cool.
Meanwhile, cut the cold butter into pieces and put it in the stand mixer bowl along with the flour, sifted cocoa, and powdered sugar. Start kneading at low speed using the flat beater.
After a couple of minutes, add the cooled coffee, egg white, and pinch of salt.
When the ingredients have combined, transfer the mixture to the work surface and work it quickly without warming it too much to form a dough ball.
Unlike classic shortcrust pastry, this dough doesn’t require chilling, so start breaking off pieces weighing about 1/2 oz each, roll them between your palms, then flatten them slightly and shape them into ovals.
As you shape them, place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and use a toothpick (inserting it lengthwise into each cookie) to create a central incision typical of a coffee bean.
Once shaping is complete, move on to baking.
Bake the coffee bean cookies in a preheated static oven at 330°F for 20 minutes.
Once baked, transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely so they turn out crunchy when tasted 😉.
Follow me on:
