These Coffee Bean Cookies are adorably shaped butter cookies loaded with coffee and chocolate flavors. One is never enough! Pair with more coffee brewed with the Breville Precision Brewer.
I’ve been a long-time lover of coffee, but it wasn’t until recently that I took this love to the next level. Learning the finer details about coffee has caused me to begin collecting coffee paraphernalia, simply because I am filled with a desire to keep discovering the wonders of coffee. I have a coffee trolley at home you see, and there I have carefully arranged my coffee drippers of different shapes, sizes, and materials. On the lowest shelf are my gooseneck kettles and carafes in different sizes, as well as my precious hand grinder and a digital scale.
Amassing this collection has made me quite happy, and in the strange ways that the Universe works, it seems to be telling me there’s more joy to be had in this coffee journey of mine when a Breville Precision Brewer was suddenly sent my way.
This brewer, which now sits at the very top of my coffee trolley, is an impressive piece of machinery. Partnered with freshly ground good quality beans, the coffee this machine manages to brew is clear and delicious. You’d think that all brewers would do the same thing, but let me tell you, the jump from an ordinary percolator to a legitimate coffee machine like this is truly mind blowing. I am in love with this Breville Precision Brewer.
I thought long and hard about how I would express my love for both coffee and this machine when I was preparing for this post, but then I remembered seeing these Coffee Bean Cookies a while back and thought they would be the perfect thing. I’ve been wanting to make these but couldn’t quite find the right moment, but now I see this is where it fits.
I made these Coffee Bean Cookies to express my love for coffee, but I think Breville as a company made this Precision Brewer to help us all grow our love for coffee even more. The settings feel so well thought-out and dialed in, creating exactly the kind of amazing coffee that you would expect with minimal effort. All you need is to follow the proper water to coffee ratio (which Breville provides a guide of in the box, by the way) and you’re on your way!
The really impressive thing about this machine is how the factors of temperature and blooming/brewing time have been carefully calibrated depending on the brew mode you choose. With just a push of a button, you get to drink a good cup of joe whether you like it strong or in a similar fashion as the Specialty Coffee Association recommends. The many Brew Modes cater to a wide array of coffee drinkers actually, including options for cold brew and automatic pour over.
Having used this machine for a month now, I feel like I can honestly say that this is a machine by coffee lovers, for coffee lovers. I’ve actually been playing around with the ‘Strong’ Brew Mode to make all my favorite coffee drinks, and I just want to say, I feel like I’ve got my own little cafe here at home. (More on these drinks on my next post!)
Now while many coffee machines can brew a good cup of coffee, Breville took it a step further by being conscious about what came after the brewing process. What if you couldn’t drink your coffee right away? Well they made a carafe that can actually keep the coffee warm for a long time. But then they also added a little timer on the machine to let people know how long the coffee has been sitting there after brewing. It’s these kinds of smaller details that has me even more impressed than I already am.
And in case you’re still in doubt, coffee experts have praised this Breville Precision Brewer in more detail than I ever could.
Of course when you’ve got an amazing coffee machine churning out some truly good coffee, it helps to complete the home cafe experience when you have yummy snacks to go with it. That’s where these Coffee Bean Cookies come in. Call it meta or whatever you want; all I know is I was pretty psyched about making these cookies and showing them off in a coffee-centric post. I can’t get over how cute and true to form they are, and by making these, it really feels like an expression of my love for coffee.
Recipe notes
So let’s talk about these Coffee Bean Cookies. I adore these to bits! The fact that they have these little cracks on the surface make them look more like coffee beans. Medium roasted, to be exact, as they are of a lighter hue. These bite-sized babies are very much like shortbread cookies in texture, with a buttery and slightly crumbly mouthfeel. The flavors give off a nice combination of chocolate and strong coffee. And because I held back on the sugar, these are not sweet at all. That made them even more dangerous.
These Coffee Bean Cookies are actually incredibly easy to make. I know I say that a lot, but in this case, I honestly feel like these cookies are hard to mess up. Although you will need a scale because this recipe doesn’t have direct weight to cup conversions. Sorry about that!
To start, you want some butter that’s been softened to cool room temperature. It should be soft enough to leave a finger indent when you poke it, but not so soft that it’s melty. Put the softened butter in a bowl and beat briefly until it’s completely creamy. This is just to help smooth out the butter and make it easier to incorporate the sugar.
Speaking of which, the next step is to sift your confectioners’ or powdered sugar in. I used 65 grams but you can go up to 75 grams if you’d like it a bit sweeter.
Mix the butter and sugar together until completely smooth and lump free. You can use a whisk but I prefer a spatula almost always. Both will do the job. Use what’s comfortable for you.
Once the dough is super smooth, add in the egg yolk and mix until it’s incorporated and smooth once again. After that, use a small cup to dissolve some instant coffee or espresso powder in almost the same amount of very hot water. We want to make it super concentrated. Make sure the water is hot, otherwise the coffee won’t dissolve properly.
Now just add this coffee mixture into your butter mixture, then mix until completely smooth. It’ll smell amazing! At this point, it’s time to sift in the dry ingredients. Make sure to whisk them together in another bowl first so the dry mixture will be well distributed once you sift it into your coffee-butter mixture.
Using a folding motion, incorporate all the dry ingredients into the wet until you get a soft, shiny dough. Use a spatula here.
Using a teaspoon, portion out 38 dough pieces. Each should weigh about 8 grams. I find that a level teaspoon achieves this weight. I portion out all the dough into mounds then place them all onto a parchment-lined baking sheet before shaping.
To make coffee bean shapes, just roll the dough pieces between your hands and gently press with the tips of your fingers to shape into an oblong. The shape and length of the cookies are up to you really. Once you’re satisfied with the shape, use a toothpick to press the center line in. Place them on the baking sheet cut side up.
At this stage, it’s actually nicer to leave those imperfect and cracked surfaces alone rather than smooth them out. They will make for more realistic looking coffee beans later. I also love making my Coffee Bean Cookies in different lengths and levels of roundness, following the fact that coffee beans always come in varying shapes and sizes.
Now place your tray of pretty Coffee Bean Cookies into the freezer for 30 minutes. Make sure they are already placed about an inch apart from each other so you can bake them straight from the freezer. The purpose of this is to prevent them from spreading as they bake, helping them retain their plump, coffee bean shape. Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 325°F (170°C) in the meantime!
Bake these cookies for 12 to 14 minutes. The way to tell that they’re done is if they look kind of matted and set at the bottom edges. It’s a bit hard to see because of the dark color but they will not look as shiny anymore once they’re baked. You can bake them a little longer for firmer cookies, but I like to take them out while they still feel kind of soft on the surface. They will set fully once cooled.
These Coffee Bean Cookies will keep fresh for up to 3 days inside an airtight container at room temp. You can actually store them longer, but if you put them at a place where people can easily see them and get to them, well, I can’t guarantee they’ll last that long. They are bite-sized yummies, and I can personally eat at least 4 in one go, so there’s that!
These Coffee Bean Cookies are great served with some more coffee on the side. When I made these cookies, I brewed Yellow Turtle‘s Galapagos blend on Strong mode using my Breville Precision Brewer. Then I served it over ice, with a touch of milk. It was perfect with these Coffee Bean Cookies!
Coffee Bean Cookies
Ingredients
- 75 grams unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 65 grams confectioners' sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 5 grams instant espresso or coffee powder
- 8 grams very hot water
- 120 grams all purpose flour
- 12 grams natural or Dutched cocoa powder
- 20 grams cornstarch
Instructions
- In a large bowl and using a spatula or whisk, beat the softened unsalted butter until smooth and creamy. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until completely combined and no lumps remain. Add in the egg yolk and mix until combined.
- In a small cup, add instant coffee powder into the hot water and mix until completely dissolved. Add the coffee into the butter-sugar mixture and mix until combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, cocoa powder, and cornstarch. Sift the dry mixture into the butter mixture a third at a time. Fold the dry mixture into the wet until it forms a soft dough.
- Portion out the dough into 38 mounds of 8-grams each. (Using a teaspoon to portion yields close to this weight.) Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Roll each piece of dough into an oval roughly the shape of a coffee bean. Use a toothpick and press it lengthwise into the middle of each oval to mimic the center cut of a coffee bean. Place your cookies about 1 inch apart, cut side up. Repeat until all the dough mounds have been shaped.
- Freeze the tray of dough for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C).
- Once ready, bake cookies for 12 to 14 minutes. They will not spread nor will they rise, but you can tell they're ready once they look dry/matte (rather than shiny) on the outside. They should still be soft to the touch. Cool cookies completely in the baking sheet set on a cooling rack. Cookies will firm up once cooled but should still have a buttery, slightly sandy center.
Notes
Enjoyed this post? Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more. If you try this recipe, don’t forget to let me know if you enjoyed these as much as I did! All images and videos on this blog are owned by The Tummy Train and Clarisse Panuelos. Unauthorized use of content, removal of watermark, or edit and reupload is prohibited and will constitute theft.
Full disclosure: I received a Breville Precision Brewer to use and review, but I received no compensation for making this post. All opinions stated above are my own.
