Cappuccino-Chocolate Bites
- Comments()
- Yield Makes about 2 1/2 dozen
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon finely ground espresso beans
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
- Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Directions
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Whisk flour, espresso, and salt in a bowl. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, and mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture; mix on medium-low until dough comes together. Shape into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Roll between sheets of parchment to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 1 1/8-inch cutter; space 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Reroll scraps; cut out. Freeze 10 minutes.
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Bake until set but not browned, about 9 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely.
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Bring cream to a simmer. Pour over chocolate; stir until smooth. Press plastic wrap onto surface; refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Whisk to soft peaks; transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip. Pipe about 1 teaspoon filling on bottoms of half the cookies; sandwich with remaining cookies. Dust with cocoa and confectioners' sugar. Cookies can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 day.
Also, the store I went to did not have espresso beans, so I just used a ground chocolate-cappucino coffee (the kind that comes in a bag) and it worked well. I didn't bother to dust with cocoa powder as there was already chocolate flavor in the dough.
I made these today and they are delicious! I am a big coffee and espresso fan. 1& 1/8 inch diameter cookies are pretty small. When I took the dough out of the fridge, it was too hard to roll out even after 10 minutes, so I sliced it with a sharp knife, but they came out 2-3" in diameter. Next time I'll shape the dough into a roll about an inch in diameter to slice the cookies.
I made these last year and though they sounded great, no one liked the dough flavor and it made far less than the recipe stated. I made a different Martha butter cookie recipe and added the espresso beans (delicious!) and then used this filling recipe. They were wonderful and something different.
I can't speak to the flavors in this version of the recipe (I swapped in cocoa powder and a cream cheese filling) but I did have a few problems.
There is no measurement for the amount of salt to add, though salt is listed in the directions. Based on similar recipes, I used a little more than 1/8 tsp.
Also, the quantity is off. I doubled the recipe and got about 20 sandwich cookies. They are 1/8" thick and cooked in 8.5 minutes, so they were made properly.
Regardless, they turned out great!
ADavis, I was thinking about using instant espresso as well, but I opted for the real thing, because instant espresso will melt into the batter. The purpose for the freshly ground espresso is not only the flavor, but the texture as well. I am wondering how this recipe turned out 2 1/2 dozen cookie sandwiches, when I only got about 7!
You can find this exact recipe on epicurious with the salt (which is 1/8 tsp)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/CAPPUCCINO-CHOCOLATE-BITE...
Re: 1st step - how much salt?
....But using 'all natural' ingredients, not artificial.
These sound yummy, but it would be great if Martha could also put out a recipe that can substitute lower calorie ingredients for the butter
Do you think I can use instant espresso rather than grinding beans?
HOLY COW, these sound FANTASTIC!