espresso-chocolate shortbread cookies
In my mind, there are few higher callings in the baking world than cookies, and simply no higher cookie callings than shortbread, so I cannot think of a better place to start my Week-O-Cookies. They are firm enough to pack in a tin but manage to taste soft. Bites seem to dissipate in your mouth, but not so quickly that you feel you were shorted. They get better with age–and really, who doesn’t want that? And while I will never, ever (ever) complain about a plain one made with some of that Danish butter with sea salt flecks, I’m continually impressed by the myriad of ways shortbread can be adapted and still be as delicious as the original.
Dorie Greenspan’s Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread are an awesome example of this, and were the first time I have had a coffee-flavored cookie that really, truly tasted first and foremost like coffee. The tiny chocolate bits are reminiscent of Everyone’s Favorite Dorie Cookie, the World Peace variety, but even cooler in this because they’re more contrasted to the cookie flavor.
But here is where I tell you the secret that I hope will blow your mind, even though I haven’t tried it myself–yet. Toffee-Coffee. I mean, how amazing would that be? Specifically I’m thinking of one of my favorite readily-available toffee chocolate bar, Ghiradelli’s Toffee Interlude. And look at that–exactly the four ounces the recipe requires! I consider it a sign, kismet.
Do tell me if you try the coffee-toffee combination. Though it’s hard for me to imagine these cookies getting any better, this might be their only chance. And every cookie deserves a chance, right?
Smitten Kitchen Went to Aruba and All I Got Were These Lousy Cookies! Deb and Alex have flown the snowy, slushy and biting cold coop this week for warm, sandy island shores and countless tubes of SPF 50, so comment responses are going to be slow until they return. In our absence, we leave you with a Week of Cookies–this is recipe one of four.
The Menu for Hope Campaign continues through Dec. 24, which means that you still have a chance to win a box of home baked cookies (such as these!) from the Smitten Kitchen, or one of hundreds of other prizes donated by food bloggers around the world, delivered to your doorstep. You receive one raffle ticket for a prize of your choice for each $10 donation. I’ve explained everything in detail over here.
One year ago: Zucchini Latkes
Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Baking: From My Home to Yours
I have to admit that one of the coolest things about this is the rolling-in-a-bag technique. Why have I never thought of this before? This is a common refrain whenever I make Dorie recipes.
Makes 32 cookies
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (plain, or a toffee variety), finely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.
2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.
3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.
4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.
7. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.
Ooh I have tried this recipe before! Mine looked exactly like yours!
http://community.livejournal.com/bakebakebake/821217.html#cutid1
And yes, they do taste like coffee which is a great thing.
They were a tad too light and delicate for my taste though. I prefer a thick, substantial shortbread.
I’m so glad you liked these shortbreads! I think it’s fun to have a coffee-flavored cookie to go with coffee - and a little chocolate never did anything but make things better, right. I’m loving the idea of coffee-toffee. Now I get to say what you said, “Why have I never thought of this before?”
Oh. My. God. These look amazing. I’m going to try them this week. With the chocolate toffee bar.
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I think the delicate part might come from the powder sugar ?
I might try using half powder, half bakers sugar.
Any thoughts on this ?
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sounds delicious! will make soon ;)
These look like the most amazingly delicious cookies ever! I remember having coffee cookies (without the chocolate) once in Hawaii, of all places. I still dream about them - they were so good. Thanks for the recipe. I’m going to try these for the holidays!
By the way, I love your blog. I especially like all your photos. So very beautiful…
Sounds delicious! Chocolate and Espresso are one of my favorite combinations, but I never even thought to put them in shortbread.
Oh, I know *just* the deployed soldier who would love these- and is therefore going to get a box of them (hopefully before New Year’s). Thank you so much for the recipe and photos!
cookies look wonderfulllllllll
This looks much superior to the lemon poppyseed shortbread. I’m starting to assemble ingredients as I type.
Enjoy your well deserved vacation!
nazila
As I happened to have four rolls of Rolos in the back of a cupboard and a Saturday evening to myself when I read this, I am now in a position to confirm that chocolate-coffee-toffee shortbread is indeed a killer combination. (Also, some of the caramel in the Rolos sort of melts out of biscuits and puddles round them crispily.)
LOVE the picture!!! Coffee-toffee sounds just delicious. (Almost as good as Aruba.)
I am going to try these and the World Cookies for teachers gifts. The coffee cookies will go well with the Starbucks gift certificates. Beautiful pictures!
Seriously marvellous - off to the shops now to pick up ingredients then shall give this a try!
Your cookies look delicious! You’ve inspired me to try the recipe now — thanks!
These cookies look wonderful! I love everything Dori makes:) The toffee is a terrific addition! Can’t wait to try these!
The Dorie Greenspan book has been calling my name and YUP on impulse last night I scooped up my edition! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry Martha Stewart BAKING, I found so many more recipes to try in this new book - even though I’ve owned BAKING WITH JULIA for years. I’ll be making many friends after I finish baking today!
OMG…I made these today with the Ghiradelli’s Toffee Interlude and I think these will always be on my xmas baking list!!! Of course they will be made through the rest of the year too!! As I am typing this we are expecting 25 cms. of snow so it is a great baking day.
Regards
These look so delicious and the Toffee is a great idea. Which lead me to another thought. Ghirardelli Citrus Sunset. Because I love chocolate and orange and I used to drink Starbuck’s Mocha Valencia’s. These could be the cookie version of that drink…or it could be awful. Either way I’m going to try it. THANKS!
Alrighty then. These are a keeper. Serious keeper.
Even if a plastic bag had to sacrificed. I’m hearing sparrows falling off of trees due this indiscretion.
Hi - just wondering, as a non-coffee drinker (but mocha lover) — can I use instant coffee rather than espresso? Anyone know?
Thanks!
i’m wondering, would this shortbread work with prepared coffee instead of instant espresso powder? granted, the coffee flavor would be less pronounced, but i’m just too lazy to go out and buy the espresso powder.
by the way, the shortbread looks phenomenal! you take stunning pictures.
I made these today with the Toffee Interlude bar and they are delicious! The toffee flavor is not quite as strong as I expected it to be, but they are awfully good nonetheless. Thanks for the fantastic suggestion.
Deb, these are awesome! What is it about the texture of shortbread that makes it so irresistable. I didn’t have instant espresso powder, so I used 2T instant coffee and 1T water. I’ll have to try it sometime as written to see if I can tell a difference. My first batch of World Peace cookies are out of the oven in less than two minutes. You’re saving my baking butt this year. Wait! There’s the timer. Gotta run. . . .
I just made these with instant coffee rather than the espresso powder. I’m not sure if it was that or the awful oven I used, but they turned out very dry and didn’t taste very strongly of coffee at all. They also weren’t very sweet. I’m sure this is a mistake on my end and not the recipe, but any suggestions?
these sound as yummy as my Caramel Macchiatto shortbread…which I will post on my blog this week. If I procrastinate…which I do often…I can always save the shortbreads til the last week because they are so quick and easy. ‘course, it would just be easier to make them early and freeze them.!
These look mouthwatering. Even my husband leaned over and drooled on the keyboard a little. As you said, I have never had a cookie that really tasted of coffee, although I do like to use coffee to boost a chocolatey flavor. The next time I have access to my full kitchen (I’m living in West Africa right now) I’m going to give these a try.
They look so good, Deb. And anything with toffee has my undivided attention!
Have fun!
I’ve been making espresso shortbread dipped in chocolate every holiday season for several years. But I think Dorie’s recipe trumps mine (when doesn’t it?), so I’m going to try this one. And it suddenly makes much more sense to me to put the chocolate bits into the cookie, rather than dipping them in chocolate — the tempering process is always a b*tch for me, although the appearance IS beautiful and dramatic. Anyway, thanks to both you and Dorie for this lovely recipe.
I wish I had checked this blog yesterday!! I just baked 3 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange at work, but I would have LOVED to make these instead!!
hope aruba is fantastic. nyc is wretched right now! you picked the perfect week to escape. quick question: where do you get instant espresso powder? i’m in nyc & usually shop at the big fairway at 125th street. do they have it? i made the shortbreads the other night & they’re great, but not very coffee-y, sinc ei just used a tbsp of regular old brewed espresso.the ratio must have been way off! they’re good…but i want them to be better!!!!
roll in a bag?!? that is pure genius - and would have been helpful last night when i made shortbread and could not make the edges of my rectangle straight… thanks deb and dorie!
I’m not usually a big fan of shortbread but this post was perfectly timed to coincide with my planning a box of cookies to send to my husband’s family. I made the dough last night, left them in the fridge over night and baked them this morning. I tried one and I might be a shortbread convert!
I can’t keep up with all of the yummy cookie recipes - they all look so decadent!! I’ll be a busy cookie-making-mommy this weekend, for sure.
These look and sound a-m-a-z-i-n-g! I think I’ll make them tonight and add a little finely grated orange zest to the dough and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar when they come out of the oven. Sounds like the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee to me.
Absolutely delicious! I’m enjoying some right now with a cappuccino. They’re perfect for dipping.
I made these this weekend, and they look exactly like yours. I used the instant espresso (great to have on hand - also used in one of Dorie’s brownie recipes) and the coffee flavor is very pronounced. Along with the bittersweet chocolate, there is a definite strength to these that your average shortbread doesn’t have. I would probably prefer a slightly less intense chocolate next time, but I did make them to give away with her Brown Sugar Pecan shortbreads, and they compliment each other nicely. The Pecan shortbreads didn’t look nearly as nice, though.
I whipped these up last night and just baked them off this morning. Fabulous, easy cookie! I subbed real espresso (a double ristretto for a double batch) and caramelized cocoa nibs that I had been wondering what to do with.
The coffee flavor was good, but could have been a bit stronger…I was worried about adding too much liquid to the dough, though. The nibs are the bomb! Mine don’t look as lovely as yours, but you’re the queen!
Merry Christmas!
Hi Deb. loved your piece on Culinate. I couldn´t agree more with everything. Except maybe the apron, I love to keep a perfectly ironed one to wear at dinner. Covers up so many shortcomings!
Wow… I tried these, and .. wow.
A second batch is just coming out of the oven now.. and I am truly amazed. Im not a baker. My friends poke fun at me, at just how awful a baker I am. I can cook.. but bake.. nope.
So why was I tempted to try shortbread? Which Ive never attempted, because Ive been told its a finnicky recipe?
The pictures were so tempting. And dark chocolate, and coffee???
They turned out! Oh wow are they good. Thank you so much.. my friends are never going to believe I baked these.
MK
Of all the recent baked good treats, I think these might be my favorite! Eep! I love espresso flavoring in just about anything!
OMG!! I love your blog. I have always been looking for egg less cookie recipes and you have so many of them. Thanks for sharing :)
Deb, I made these yesterday and they were terrific. Thanks for the recipe! I’m always looking for reliable cookie recipes that don’t have leavening because of our high elevation. I added crushed cornflake crumbs as well. It’s awesome. You completely rock.
Wow. I just made some yesterday- unbelievably delicious. They’re perfect for me, because I love the not-too-sweet-but-just-right desserts. Thanks for the recipe!
dhyana rose — Yes, I think the powdered sugar contributes a lot to the delicate part. I think you could swap some for regular sugar, however I wouldn’t go too far with it because it might end up a little sticky or coarse without the powdered sugar (often contains some cornstarch) to act a bit the way flour does. Hm, I suppose that wasn’t the clearest explanation, but having not experimented with this recipe and mixed flours, I’m stabbing at a guess.
Laurie — I love the Citrus Sunset bar as well–go for it! Personally, I wasn’t sure how the orange/espresso/chocolate would work together, but I’d love to hear if you liked it.
Emily — I’m not sure how instant coffee would be more appealing to a non-coffee drinker that espresso would be, but I’m sure you could use it. It might have a weaker, or less pure flavor however, so I would try to find something better than Sanka, you know? Good luck.
Michelle — I’m not sure what went wrong–mine weren’t overly dry, certainly no more dry than a regular shortbread and thought they are not cloyingly sweet, I certainly didn’t find them lacking in sugar so… your guess is as good as mine. Any more ideas of what may have happened? Perhaps I will be better at diagnosing if I learn more.
sioux — I feel certain the big Fairway would have it, but I think we bought ours at the Whole Foods or Garden of Eden in Chelsea, which are closer to us. Still, I think I have even seen it in Gristedes! Good luck.
lobstersquad — Thank you! I am duly impressed that you keep an apron ironed. I keep exactly nothing ironed, not that this should surprise anyone. ;)
I made these for Christmas and they were a HUGE hit! Everyone loved them, and all of my aunts asked for the recipe, which is always the sign that they are not just being polite :) I’ve had terrible luck in the past with cookies that require rolling, but the ziplock bag made it a cinch. It was so nice to have a non-round cookie in the mix this year! Thank you!
fyi, deb, the big fairway did not have it, but the coffee guy ground up a dollar’s worth of espresso up for me superfine and said that would do as well. he said lots of people ask for it (perhaps you’re more powerful than you thought!). i haven’t tried it yet. i’ll let you know!
I made these tonight and they were soooooooooooooo good. Thanks
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Try these others:
http://dessertfirst.typepad.com/dessert_first/2006/09/my_favorite_coo.html
why do you prick them with forks? does that help in the baking process?
i made these cookies just now and they are great! i used regular sugar, and they reallly do taste just like shortbread. i didnt have and couldnt find any instant espresso so i used 2 tablespoons of regular instant coffee and 1 tablespoon of boiling water. they turned out great!! one last thing, i didnt have a ruler so i couldnt really measure when rolling, i just rolled the dough out to fit the edges of the bag, which is a little bigger than you recommended. i got 20 cookies from the batch. thanks so much!
I just made these and all I can say is that I had a hard time not eating the dough. This is an excellent recipe and is not very hard at all to make. The only things I add was Skor Toffee bits. This came in a package from Hershey’s. I used 2/4 cups mini chocolate chips and 1/4 cup toffee bits. Awesome is all I have to say.
I came across this recipe a few days ago. Figured Valentines would be a good day to give it a try. I also really enjoy toffee so I added 2 Skor bars and a bit of an extremely rich chocolate bar that has the little nibs in it, really adds a nice depth do them I think.
Something else that would be good in these is broken chocolate covered espresso beans. Or just a hand full of nibs if you can find them.
I was looking for a coffee shortbread and google sent me here! I have just put the dough in the fridge, I didn’t have any bags but used cling film and it worked perfectly. Not sure if I will be able to leave the 2 days though, maybe a few hours…
Deb, how did your cookies turn out such a nice shade of brown? Mine are pale as can be.
I didn’t have mini morsels on hand, so instead I made the cookies plain, and gave them a half dip in melted chocolate. Still fantastic, and the cookie tin’s got this wonderful coffee aroma.
At first I thought they were a tad too soft and delicate, but after nibbling a couple more, I have to say they’re starting to grow on me. Thanks for another great recipe! (And my labmates thank you too!)
I made this today and instead of espresso powder(I couldn’t find it anywhere local), I used 2 Tablespoons of instant coffee with one T of water. The flavor is wonderful and I was amazed at how easy the dough is to work with and they are wonderful.
Thanks Deb