Chocolate dipped salted espresso shortbread cookies are a little sweet, a little savory a little bitter and a little salty but totally well balanced bites of cookie goodness. Easy to make slice and bake shortbread cookies perfect for chocolate and coffee lovers alike.
I love making shortbread cookies around the holidays since the dough comes together quickly and can be made in a variety of flavors. These are even quicker since I made them slice and bake instead of rolling out and cutting with cookie cutters.
This was inspired by my coffee sugar cookies, as well as the slice and bake shortbread cookies from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook, Baking with Dorie, and inspired by Thalia Ho's rye chocolate chip cookies from her book, Wild Sweetness.
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Ingredients
These are a pretty straight forward espresso shortbread cookie recipe with a few changes. I used rye flour in place of some of the all purpose to give it a richer, nuttier flavor and I used the most amazing Coffee Bean Salt from Pure Alaska Sa Salt Co.
- All Purpose Flour
- Dark Rye Flour - I use Bob's Red Mill
- Brown Sugar - I use Zulka
- Confectioners Sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Espresso or coffee powder ( I love Delallo Espresso Powder)
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla extract
- Coffee salt
- Chocolate - baking chips, feves, pieces - chopped ( this is used for both the chips in the dough and melted for dipping)
- Turbinado sugar - sugar in the raw
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
I use two bowls for this recipe. One for the "dry" ingredients and the chopped chocolate, the other for creaming the sugars and "wet" ingredients and to combine everything together. This dough comes together very quickly.
In a medium mixing bowl add the flours, espresso or coffee powder and coffee salt
Whisk well to combine.
I used Callebaut baking disks - they look like chips but bigger, roughly chop them
Add to the flour. You want both larger pieces of chocolate and the little shards.
I like adding the chips to the flour so once all the dough is mixed together its done and doesn't get over mixed if adding the chocolate in last.
Cream together the butter and sugars, egg yolks and vanilla extract.
Mix until just combined. The dough is sticky but not so sticky you can't roll into a log.
Divide the dough in two and wrap either in plastic wrap, wax paper or parchment paper and freeze until solid.
Hint: Use a ruler to get evenly spaced marks to cut the cookies. As you cut, I use a serrated knife since the dough is frozen, roll the log a quarter turn as you cut so the cookies stay round and not end up flat on one side.
Use a ruler to cut the dough.
Turn the dough as you cut so the slices stay as round as possible.
Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet to bake. You can place the cookies pretty close to one another since they don't spread.
Equipment
Here are the items I used to make these cookies:
- Food Scale - a must own for any baker!!
- Mixing bowls
- parchment paper (can use wax paper for rolling the dough)
- wire cooling racks
- Bowl for melting and dipping chocolate
Storage
Store the espresso shortbread cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag between sheets of wax paper up to three months. The cookies will stay the freshest while frozen.
Top tip:
Since these cookies have salt in them as well as sprinkled over the chocolate, I added a sprinkling of turbinado sugar to balance out the saltiness and add a little sweetness. The caramel flavor of the raw sugar works really well with the coffee salt.
Weighing ingredients Vs using cups:
I use my food scale and weigh out ingredients in grams because this is the most accurate way to get the best quality baked goods. Cups aren't accurate because not only are all cups not the same the sizes vary from brand to brand as well as from different countries. I have done tests with different brands of measuring cups and they all came out with different weights after I did the spoon and level as well as scoop method and then weighed in grams.
Baking is a science and science needs accuracy. Weighing is accurate and precise. Not to mention a lot easier. Another issue with cups is that I have no control over how people use measuring cups to measure dry ingredients especially flour. You could pack in way too much which would result in a sub-par baked good. Too much flour could throw everything off. Same with not enough. Not to mention also some ingredients are difficult to measure in cups such as nuts, dried fruit, chocolate etc. This is why weighing in grams is the most accurate.
I also use grams for most liquid measure since 100 grams equals 100 ml of water. Smaller amounts of items measured in teaspoons I usually leave as teaspoons, tablespoons are sometimes listed in grams as well but for the most part the different tablespoons I have used have all resulted in the same amount. Aside from cute, decorative ceramic tablespoons and teaspoons are never accurate. Those are better as decoration than for being used for baking.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
More shortbread cookies:
More shortbread cookies to try:
More desserts with coffee:
Chocolate Dipped Salted Espresso Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 170 g all purpose flour
- 120 g dark rye flour
- 1 teaspoon coffee salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons coffee or espresso powder
- 150 g chocolate, chopped (dark, semi sweet - chips, feves or bar)
- 225 g unsalted butter, room temp
- 100 g confectioners sugar
- 66 g brown sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dipping and sprinkling:
- 150 g chocolate for dipping
- Coffee salt
- Turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Keep in mind that times are approximate - I chill the dough overnight - you can chill for just 4 hours before baking if you like. Baking depends on how many cookies you can bake at once.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, salt, espresso powder. Add in the chopped chocolate and stir well.
- In a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the yolks and vanilla and mix again until well combined. Scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed.
- Add in the flour mixture and stir until combined and no flour streaks remain.
- Divide the dough into two pieces and roll out into 7-8 inch (18-20 cm) logs. Wrap tightly with wax or parchment paper, twisting the ends closed and freeze for a few hours up to overnight. I prefer to freeze the dough overnight.
- When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 Deg F (180 c) and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Measure out ½ inch (1.3 cm) slices in each log and slice all the way through, turning a quarter turn every so often to keep the slices round. Reshape slightly round if needed.
- Place on the prepared sheets an inch or so apart and bake for 14-16 minutes until slightly puffed and set, do not over bake.
- Let cool for 5 minutes then cool completely on a wire cooling rack
- Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or microwave safe bowl, and pour into a bowl that will make the chocolate deep enough for the cookies to be half dipped.
- Set out a baking sheet with wax paper. Dip each cookie halfway into the chocolate then sprinkle with little coffee salt then a little turbinado sugar.
- Set in the freezer to harden the chocolate.
- Keep the cookies stored in an airtight container or freezer safe bag in the freezer for maximum freshness and so the chocolate doesn’t melt.
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