I developed these cookies to highlight the bittersweet pairing of coffee and cocoa, using a deliberately small amount of sugar so the deep, roasted flavors come through. If you prefer a sweeter cookie, increase the granulated sugar in the dough to 100 grams (about ½ cup). I like to roll slice-and-bake dough in turbinado sugar for a crunchy, caramelized edge; it adds great texture and contrast to the tender cookie centers. These cookies also take well to powdered sugar stenciling for an elegant finish.
This is a classic slice-and-bake recipe, so the dough benefits from an overnight chill. Chilling firms the dough, concentrates the flavors, and makes thin, even slices easier to cut. The result is a batch of crisp, thin cookies with a concentrated cocoa-coffee flavor that pairs beautifully with tea or black coffee.
📖 Recipe
Bittersweet Cocoa Coffee Cookies
Ingredients
- 281 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 10 grams extra-dark cocoa powder
- 1.25 mL fine kosher salt (reduce if using table salt)
- 22.5 mL ground coffee beans (use ground coffee, not instant)
- 173 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
- 50 grams granulated sugar (increase to 100 g if you prefer sweeter cookies)
- 5 mL pure vanilla extract
- 45 mL whole milk (3.25% fat)
- 50 grams turbinado sugar, for rolling
- Icing sugar, to stencil or dust on top before serving
Instructions
- Whisk the all-purpose flour together with the cocoa powder, salt, and ground coffee. Set this dry mixture aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the room-temperature unsalted butter with the granulated sugar until light and smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated. Then add the milk and beat briefly until a cohesive dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and press or pat it into a log approximately 7½ inches long. For square cookies, press the dough into a rectangle about 1 ¾” x 1 ¾” cross-section so slices are square.
- Roll the log in turbinado sugar, pressing the sugar into all sides so it adheres. Wrap the sugared dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Chilling helps the dough firm and develop flavor.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Unwrap the chilled dough and slice into pieces about ¼” thick. You should get roughly 30 thin cookies. Arrange the slices on the prepared baking sheets with space between them.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the surface of the cookies looks dry and set. Thin cookies will crisp as they cool.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, stencil or dust the cookies generously with icing sugar for an attractive finish. A stencil or patterned cutout will leave a decorative powdered-sugar image on each cookie.
Notes
- This recipe uses fine kosher salt; if you use table salt, use about half the called amount to avoid over-salting.
- Choose an unsweetened dark cocoa powder for the best bittersweet chocolate flavor. A higher-quality cocoa will deepen the chocolate notes without adding sweetness.
- Turbinado sugar is a coarse raw cane sugar that gives the cookie edges a pleasant crunch and a slight caramelized sheen when baked.
- For a stronger coffee aroma, choose a dark-roast coffee and grind it to a fine texture before incorporating it into the dry ingredients. Be sure you are using ground coffee beans—not instant coffee—to preserve texture and flavor balance.
- Dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours before baking; for longer storage, freeze the wrapped log and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before slicing.
Nutrition
Calories: approximately 90 kcal per cookie. Nutrition values are estimated and should be used as a guideline only.
