And by crunch, we mean a cookie crunch. Cookies go well with coffee, we all know that. So what happens when you put the coffee in the cookie? Good question said Chris Taylor and Paul Arguin. They wrote the new cookbook, Fabulous Modern Cookies. Both stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about their Coffee Bean Crunchers. It's not a traditional Christmas flavor to be sure, but both told Tonia that it's more of a refined taste, probably for an adult palate. It's a rolled cookie that packs a bold kick, and would be perfect for an office party!
Unbleached all-purpose flour - 3 cups /425 grams
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Unsalted butter, at room temperature - 16 tablespoons/227 grams
Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup /100 grams
Light brown sugarPacked - 1/2 cup /100 grams
Egg, at room temperature - 1 large /50 grams (weighed without shell)
Instant espresso powder - 2 teaspoons
Pure vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
Whole roasted coffee beans - 1/2 cup/ 35 grams
Directions
1. Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Combine the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, and cream together on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, espresso powder, and vanilla until the mixture is uniform.
3. Reduce the mixer to low speed, and mix in the flour mixture until combined and no dry flour is visible. Scrape the sides of the bowl and the beater with a silicone spatula to make sure all ingredients have been incorporated.
4. Place the coffee beans in a bag, such as a 1-quart resealable storage bag. Crush the beans coarsely, using a heavy object, such as a rolling pin or the bottom of a small pan. The goal is to still have small, crunchy nuggets of coffee bean that are smaller than 1/4-inch chunks but not a fine powder. Stir the crushed beans into the cookie dough, using a silicone spatula.
5. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half of the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper. Stack the paper-covered sheets of dough on an 18-by-13-inch baking sheet, and refrigerate until cold and firm throughout, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
6. Position two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 350F. Line two 18-by-13-inch baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
7. Use a coffee bean shaped cookie cutter (or any shape) to cut your desired shapes from the dough and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between cookies. If you don’t have a coffee bean–shaped cutter, find an oval or ellipse that seems reasonably close. Drag the back of a butter knife through the center of the cookie to draw that central coffee bean line. (Be sure to use the back of the knife—you just want to draw a line, not cut through it.) These cookies keep their shape well, so you can crowd the pan a little more than with cookies that spread more during baking. But keep them about 1 inch apart for proper heat circulation.
8. Bake until the edges are just starting to brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Halfway through baking, rotate the pans from front to back and top to bottom. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Large (over 4 inches) or delicate shapes should be allowed to cool completely on the sheets to prevent breaking. Repeat with the remaining dough, rerolling the scraps of dough, if necessary, once the baking sheets have completely cooled, or prepare additional baking sheets. After cooling, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
