Let me say from the outset that this is not a treat for the faint of heart. Despite its delicate appearance — light cookies with distinctive cracked tops encasing a smooth icing centre — this coffee sandwich cookie is an absolute flavour bomb.
The exterior is rich, dark, and chocolatey, steering into bittersweet territory thanks to the coffee delivering a boost in both depth and darkness. The buttercream filling rises to the chocolate challenge and matches its intensity with a counterpoint hit of coffee-infused sweetness.
If you're a bit of a coffee snob, and won't go within ten feet of anything that's not freshly ground or shun beans that don't have a distinct back story, I'm afraid your favourite brew just won't give you what you need for this bake. Instant is the only way to go — its concentrated caffeinated power gives you a strength of coffee flavour that's needed to make it front and centre of your cookie experience.
One final tip, instead of rubbing the butter in to the mixture, you can save yourself some time on this step by giving the butter and flour mixture a quick blitz in a food processor to get that same crumby consistency.
MAKES
10
PREP
35 minutes
COOKS
15 minutes
Filling