Once you try these Coffee Cookies, your morning coffee will feel incomplete without them. This recipe yields thin, crunchy biscuits speckled with fine ground coffee and finished with an attractive marbled coffee icing—perfect for dunking or enjoying on their own.
Why you’ll love this cookie
- Bold coffee flavor and a satisfying crunch make these cookies addictive.
- The marbled icing is simple to create, freezes flat and dries firm, making the cookies easy to stack and gift.
- The firm, crisp texture is ideal for dunking into coffee or tea without falling apart.
These iced coffee biscuits evoke the flavor of a sweet cappuccino, with coffee present both in the dough and in the icing. The dough combines brewed coffee and finely ground beans, producing a pleasant brown-speckled appearance. Rolled thin, the cookies bake crisp and stay firm for over a week when stored properly.
Ingredients
Instructions
This is a concise overview. Full, step-by-step instructions follow in the recipe card below.
Cookies
- Mix ingredients into a pliable, nonsticky dough.
- Roll the dough thin between parchment sheets and cut into rectangles.
- Transfer the cutouts to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 18–20 minutes until edges begin to brown. Cool completely before icing.
Icing
- Mix coffee icing ingredients to a thick, spreadable consistency (about the texture of white glue). Mix the white icing the same way in a separate bowl.
- Place three small teaspoons of white icing onto the surface of the coffee icing and swirl gently with a toothpick to create a marbled effect.
- Dip the top of each cookie into the swirled icing, lift, and shake off excess. Allow the icing to set overnight on a wire rack.
Tips and variations
- Keep dough thickness consistent so cookies bake evenly. A rolling pin with thickness rings helps maintain an even thickness.
- For a stronger coffee note without bitterness, stir 1 teaspoon of coffee extract into the coffee icing.
- To ease transfer of thin cutouts to the baking sheet, chill the cut pieces on parchment in the freezer for 2–3 minutes so they firm up.
- These cookies ship and gift well. Stack with wax paper between layers and wrap tightly for presents or care packages.
More recipes baking with coffee
Consider other coffee-forward cookies and cakes when you want to expand your baking repertoire. Popular choices include chocolate espresso biscotti for a crunchy dunkable cookie, espresso shortbread for a melt-in-your-mouth treat, and chocolate chip mocha cookies for a chewier option with big chocolate pieces. A coffee loaf cake with coffee icing also makes a lovely coffee-centric dessert.
Coffee Biscuits
Thin cookies speckled with bits of ground coffee and topped with marbled coffee icing—perfectly dunkable for coffee lovers.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, British
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 24
Calories: 115 kcal
Author: Wendy Sondov
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup ultra-fine baker’s sugar (or granulated sugar)
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tablespoon finely ground coffee beans (not instant)
- 4 teaspoons brewed coffee
White Icing
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1–2 tablespoons water or milk
Coffee Icing
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 2 tablespoons hot brewed coffee
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and mix to combine.
- Add the flour and finely ground coffee; mix until combined.
- With the mixer running, add the brewed coffee one teaspoon at a time until a soft, nonsticky dough forms that holds together.
- Roll the dough to 4 mm thickness (between 1/8″ and 1/4″) between two sheets of parchment. Cut rectangles approximately 2 ¾” x 1 ¾”.
- Slide the parchment with cut dough onto a baking sheet or board and freeze 2–3 minutes to firm for easier transfer. Arrange cookies 1–2 inches apart on prepared sheets.
- Bake 18–20 minutes until edges just begin to turn golden. Cool on the sheet 1–2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before icing.
Coffee Icing
- Dissolve the espresso powder in 2 tablespoons hot coffee.
- In a shallow bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar and corn syrup. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the coffee mixture, then add more coffee in ½ teaspoon increments until the icing reaches the consistency of white glue.
White Icing
- In a separate bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon water or milk. Add more in ½ teaspoon increments until the mixture is the consistency of white glue.
Marbled Icing & Assembly
- Place three teaspoon-sized dots of white icing onto the surface of the coffee icing.
- Swirl the dots gently with a toothpick—two or three strokes is enough to create a pretty marble pattern.
- Holding a cookie by its edges, barely dip the top into the swirled icing. Lift and gently shake off excess, then place icing-side up on a wire rack.
- Repeat for all cookies. Let the icing set for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container with wax paper between layers for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Consistent dough thickness ensures even baking—use a rolling pin with rings if you have one.
- If you don’t have brewed coffee on hand, dissolve instant coffee in hot water to substitute.
- Packing tip: stack up to six cookies with wax paper between them, wrap tightly, and place in a freezer-weight bag for gifting or freezing.
Nutrition
Calories: 115 kcal | Carbohydrates: 20 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 4 g | Sugar: 14 g
First Published: August 1, 2019. Last Updated: May 8, 2024.