Coffee Sandwich Cookies

Boy Bakes Treats - Coffee Sandwich Cookies

Let me say from the outset that this is not a treat for the faint of heart. Despite its delicate appearance — light cookies with distinctive cracked tops encasing a smooth icing centre — this coffee sandwich cookie is an absolute flavour bomb.

The exterior is rich, dark, and chocolatey, steering into bittersweet territory thanks to the coffee delivering a boost in both depth and darkness. The buttercream filling rises to the chocolate challenge and matches its intensity with a counterpoint hit of coffee-infused sweetness.

If you're a bit of a coffee snob, and won't go within ten feet of anything that's not freshly ground or shun beans that don't have a distinct back story, I'm afraid your favourite brew just won't give you what you need for this bake. Instant is the only way to go — its concentrated caffeinated power gives you a strength of coffee flavour that's needed to make it front and centre of your cookie experience.

One final tip, instead of rubbing the butter in to the mixture, you can save yourself some time on this step by giving the butter and flour mixture a quick blitz in a food processor to get that same crumby consistency.

MAKES

PREP

35 minutes

COOKS

15 minutes

Ingredients

2 teaspoons instant coffee
150 grams self-raising-flour
40 grams cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
40 grams light brown sugar
35 grams caster sugar
75 grams butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee
50 grams butter
100 grams icing sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons coffee-flavoured liqueur

Directions

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/360 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 oven trays with non-stick baking paper. Dissolve your coffee in 1 tablespoon boiling water, stir well and set aside to cool.
Sift the flour, cocoa, and salt into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with the tips of your fingers until it resembles fine crumbs. It's important that the butter is cold when you do this otherwise it will turn into a sticky mess. If you want to speed up the process a bit, add the sifted ingredients and butter into a food processor and blend to the same consistency.
In a separate small bowl, combine the coffee, egg and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Pour the mixture in to the larger bowl and stir to combine. Using your hands, gently bring the mixture together into a soft, pliable dough.
Take around a tablespoon of the mixture, and use lightly floured hands to roll into cherry tomato-sized balls. Flatten slightly with a floured fork and place on prepared trays about 2 fingers apart, as they will spread as they cook.
Bake your cookies for about 12-15 minutes until the surface is starting to crack and they are firm to the touch. Leave them to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the filling, leave the butter to warm to room temperature and cut into cubes. Dissolve your coffee in 1 teaspoon boiling water, stir well and set aside to cool.
Sift the sugar and salt into a small bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Add the coffee liqueur and about half the sugar, and stir until the sugar is combined in and the mixture is looking smooth. Add coffee little by little to get the icing to come together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically, and add the rest of the sugar. Stir until it's incorporated in, then mix until the frosting is fluffy and spreadable.
If the icing seems to thin, add more icing sugar 2 tablespoons at a time. If it seems too thick, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until the icing until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
Turn half of the cooled cookies over and spoon a teaspoon of the buttercream filling onto each one. Top with the remaining cookies to form a sandwich and if you'd like to fancy them up a little, dust the tops with a little extra icing sugar.

Ingredients

Directions

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Recipe notes