Spiced Coffee Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I saw these cookies on the blog In Katrina's Kitchen and I just had to give them a try. These buttery gems will delight those who like to nibble on simple European-style cookies as they sip their coffee or tea. They are soft spice cookies that are flavored with cinnamon, cloves and, believe it or not, fresh, unused coffee grounds. The coffee is what makes these cookies unique and interesting.It is important that you use real, unbrewed, coffee grounds when you prepare the cookies. Powdered coffee or crystals will not impart the flavor that you want these cookies to have. Katrina suggests that you use bread flour to make the cookies. She reasons that the extra protein in bread flour helps to bind to all of the butter in these cookies. If you use all-purpose flour you will need to add 3 to 4 more tablespoons of flour to your ingredient list. I must admit my cookies, which mounded,  do not look like hers which are flatter and resemble crackle cookies. Normally, I'd be upset, because mine are not pretty, but I so liked the cookies that I wanted to share them with you. It takes minutes to make the cookies and unless you have a raging sweet tooth, I think you'll love them. Here is how they are made.


Spiced Coffee Cookies...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of In Katrina's Kitchen

Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh (unused) coffee grounds

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment or Silpat liners. Set aside.
2) Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
3) Cream butter and sugar in bowl of a stand mixer until light in color, fluffy and airy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated. Add vanilla.
4) Slowly add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in coffee grounds and mix until fully distributed throughout dough.
5) Place dough, in 1-inch balls, about 2-inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned on edges but still soft in middle. Cook for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, and then cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 32 to 36 cookies.

Notes:

I prefer bread flour in cookies (and lots of recipes) versus all-purpose. The extra protein in bread flour helps to bind to all of the butter in these cookies. All-purpose flour can be subbed for the bread flour, just add 3-4 more tablespoons. Make sure to use actual (unused) coffee grounds in this recipe, not instant coffee or instant espresso. Both will just dissolve in the recipe and you won't get the rich coffee flavor that I loved most about these cookies.

                    

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