Coffee Walnut Teardrop Cookies
January 10, 2017
For centuries, the French and English have blended the flavours of roasted coffee and toasted walnuts in cakes and cookies. The Finer Cookie continues this tradition with these Coffee Walnut Teardrop Cookies. Rolled thin and crisp, they’re best nibbled along side a steaming brew. A pinch of sugar tempers the bitterness. Enjoy every drop, then tell me your thoughts in the section below.
I found this recipe in Alice Medrich’s Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt in Your Mouth Cookies. This book is full of great cookies. Thanks Alice!
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Ingredients
- 2 cups 255 grams 9 ounces all-purpose bleached flour
- 1 cup 99 grams 3.5 ounces walnuts
- 3/4 cup 149 grams 5.25 ounces granulated white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon 1/4 teaspoon 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons 2 teaspoons 2 teaspoons freshly and finely ground medium-roast (not espresso-roast) coffee beans
- 12 tablespoons 171 grams 6 ounces cold, unsalted butter
- 4 teaspoons 4 teaspoons 4 teaspoons brandy
- 1 ½ teaspoons 1 ½ teaspoons 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
Mise en Place the Cookie Dough
- What is mise en place and how could it benefit you? See The Finer Cookie’s post How to Mise en Place.
- In a food processor, pulse the flour, walnuts, sugar and salt until the walnuts are finely ground.
- Add the ground coffee and process until combined well.
- Measure the butter and cut into small chunks. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
- Combine the brandy and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside. Optional: Wrap in plastic to keep from evaporating.
- Count the whole coffee beans and place in a small bowl. Set aside.
Assembling the Cookie Dough
- Add the cold butter to the flour/nut mixture in the food processor.
- Pulse until the mixture until crumbly.
- Add the brandy and vanilla and pulse until the dough begins to form and hold together when pinched between your fingers.
- Dump the dough onto a clean surface.
- Gather it into a ball and divide the dough in thirds.
- Form each third into discs and set in the fridge until firm, or overnight.
For Slice and Bake Cookies
- Remove the log from the fridge and set on a cutting board to allow it to soften slightly.
- Line two baking trays with parchment or a baking sheet.
- With a serrated blade, slice the dough into 1/8″ to 1/4″ thickness and place on your baking tray at least 1 inch apart.
- Press a whole coffee bean into each cookie.
For Roll and Cut Cookies
- Remove the two discs from the fridge to soften a bit before rolling.
- Line two baking trays with parchment or a baking sheet.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Ready the rolling pin and cookie cutter. I chose my teardrops.
- Spread your pastry cloth, or plastic wrap, or two sheets of parchment paper/wax paper. The idea is to use as little flour as possible to keep the cookies crispy and tender.
- Or roll the dough between the paper or plastic 1/8″ to 1/4″ thickness, then peel back the plastic or paper and cut out your shapes.
- Using an offset spatula, transfer the cookies to the baking sheet. Set about 1 inch apart.
- NOTE: The dough will continue to soften as you roll. If it becomes too soft, transfer the scraps to a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 10-20 minutes. Try to avoid overworking the dough as it will encourage gluten formation and produce a tough cookie.
- Press a whole coffee bean in the center of each unbaked cookie.
Bake the Cookies at 350F for 8-12 minutes
- In a 350F oven, bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes, depending on the thickness.
- Cookies are baked when the edges are toasty and light in the center. Over baking will produce bitterness.
- Cool completely on a rack and store in an air tight container.
