Espresso Snickerdoodles are heavenly little snickerdoodle cookies with just a hint of espresso.
Anyone that has read Cosmopolitan Cornbread for any length of time, knows that I have a love affair with all things coffee.
So of course you should know that I would share a cookie recipe with coffee in it. Though not just coffee…espresso!
On a completely unrelated note: I struggle every time I type or write the word “cookie.” Did you know that the original spelling of a single cookie was c-o-o-k-y? Cookies with the “i-e-s” was plural.
One cooky… three cookies.
Ever since I learned that, I want to type it as cooky with everything in me!
To Make this Recipe You will Need:
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- cream of tartar
- instant espresso granules
- vegetable shortening, preferably organic
- butter
- vanilla extract
- eggs
- granulated sugar
- cinnamon
- mortar and pestle (see instructions)
- mixing bowls
- cookie scoop
- parchment paper
- baking sheet
- cooling rack
To begin, preheat your oven to 350°(F).
To make these precious little cookies, you will need some instant espresso granules. Not the ground beans, but the instant kind.
Because the granules are rather coarse, you’ll want to grind them into a powder that is a bit more fine. You can use a mortar and pestle, but if you don’t own one, simply mash them with the back of a spoon in a bowl.
It’s okay if you have some pieces that are a little larger. Those larger bits will only serve to give your taste buds an occasional little kiss of additional espresso flavor.
After you make the dough, you’ll roll ping-pong sized balls in a gorgeous cinnamon & sugar mixture with of course, more of that wonderful espresso powder.
A little trick I do when rolling cookie balls is to give them the tiniest little finger imprint on the top.
This flattens them ever so slightly so that when I slide the cookies in and out of the oven, none of them make their escape by rolling off the sheet. It would be tragic to lose even one of these innocent little cookies.
You May Also Like: Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies (Paleo)
A song from my childhood suddenly comes to mind.
“On top of spaghetti… all covered with cheese… I lost my poor meatball… when somebody sneezed…”
Don’t let this happen to you. Like I said – tragic.
Just look at those little bits of espresso peeking out of the cookies.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are just barely golden on the edges. Let them sit a minute, then transfer them to a rack to cool.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
Enjoy!
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Espresso Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 Tb instant espresso granules, not ground beans, divided
- 1/2 c vegetable shortening, preferably organic
- 1/2 c butter, unsalted, room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 c granulated sugar
- 1/3 c granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- To begin, preheat your oven to 350°(F).
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Set it aside for a moment.
- With your mortar & pestle, crush the instant espresso granules until they are a fine powder. It’s okay if you notices some larger bits once you added it to the cookie dough. Those won’t hurt a thing.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the espresso powder to the dry ingredients and give them a stir to combine everything. Set it aside for now.
- In your mixing bowl, beat 1 1/2 cup of the sugar, the butter, and the shortening together until they are nice and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time. When they are mixed in, add in the vanilla. Mix for another minute or so.
- Gradually add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Set the dough aside for just a moment.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar with the remaining tablespoon of espresso powder and the cinnamon. Give those a stir to combine.
- Take your cookie dough and scoop about a tablespoon into your hand, rolling it between your palms to form a ball of dough. It should be about the size of a ping-pong ball.
- Roll the ball of dough in the sugar mixture to coat it.
- Place the ball on your cookie sheet and ever so gently press down just a touch. You don't want your cookies to roll off the pan and onto your floor. Repeat the process until you have 12-16 cookie balls on your baking sheet, depending on how large it is.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are just barely golden on the edges. Let them sit a minute, then transfer them to a rack to cool.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
This recipe was originally written in 2015, updated in 2023.
I’d love these over a nice cup of hot tea!
Ooh, I have some instant espresso in my pantry right now. Will definitely be trying these. They look delicious.
Love this idea! I will definitely have to try these soon.
These are amazing- seriously. I can almost taste these flavors and I know I have to make them! <3
I love your kooky cooky quirks!!
LOL, thank you!
Cooky! I never knew! Thanks for sharing that and for sharing your recipe! They’ll be perfect with my coffee (coffy?) in the morning! ;-)
Yep, if you look in very old cookbooks, you’ll see it spelled that way quite often :) Coffy – I could go with that! LOL
Besides the lovely taste the espresso imparts, the speckles make for such pretty cookies! P.S. I love your tip!
I really like the idea of adding espresso!