I don’t really drink coffee.
It’s not that I don’t like the taste of it, it’s just that espresso coffee in lattes and cappuccinos, which is really the only type of coffee you can buy in cafes Australia, makes me feel sick. I don’t know why.
I can happily drink instant coffee (judge all you like). And I love the filtered coffee that they drink in the States. I would wake up to a fresh pot of that every morning when I stayed with my amazing family in Connecticut, and would always have to drink 2 cups before I could get off the couch and have a shower.
It was the Coffeemate I loved, really. My cousin used to laugh that I wasn’t putting Coffeemate in my coffee, but I was putting coffee in my Coffeemate.
Frappes and Frappuccinos I can swallow down fine, too. It’s just espresso that I can’t handle.
But coffee in baked goods? Coffee flavoured things? Yes, please.
The coffee cupcake at work is my favourite, I could easily eat the coffee buttercream with a spoon, and sometimes, if I have some left over when I’ve finished icing them, I do.
And these chocolate chip espresso bars are one of my favourite things on my blog. The chocolate espresso cookies were pretty good, too.
So when I saw this recipe for mocha thumbprint cookies, I jumped right at it. Especially since they are filled with Nutella, which I am currently obsessed with baking into things.
And I liked them. A lot. The cookie was kind of crunchy and bittersweet, with hints of coffee and chocolate. Then there is all that chocolate hazelnut Nutella lava in the center. Match made in heaven! And they go brilliantly with a cup of coffee in the morning.
- 110g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tsp finely ground instant coffee
- 1 cup plain flour
- ¾ cup icing sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ tsp vanilla
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and line 2 trays with baking paper.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and instant coffee until light and fluffy.
- Meanwhile, sift together the flour, icing sugar, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
- Add the vanilla to the butter and beat well. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the dry ingredients, slowly, beating on a low speed until just incorporated.
- Turn off the mixer and knead the dough a little, just until it is smooth and shiny.
- Roll teaspoons of the dough into balls and place on baking trays, an inch apart. Use the end of a wooden spoon (or similar) to make a thumbprint indent in each cookie.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- When the cookies have cooled slightly, fill each thumbprint with ½ - 1 tsp of Nutella. Use a toothpick to swirl it. Makes 20 cookies.
Adapted from Tutti Dolci, whose recipe comes from Cooking Light.