Of course, I am a coffee hound! I am not sure what I would do if I could not get at least one cup in the morning before I start my day.
Espresso powder by Delallo is my go-to instant coffee flavor for cookies. Since I love Tiramisu, this is a cookie version without the ladyfingers or chocolate shavings. My goal was to combine the flavors of espresso, mascarpone, and rum.
A secret I learned a long time ago while working at a steak and sub shop is salt on coffee grounds. A couple of sprinkles from a salt shaker onto the coffee grounds before you brew will take the bitterness out. I usually only add about ¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt to my cookie recipes. But I put a whole teaspoon in the cookie dough for this recipe.
Honestly, I have never used rum extract, so I was unsure how strong a taste it was. The 1 teaspoon gives this cookie a slight taste of rum, and I like it that way. I did not want this to be a rum cookie (although that is not a bad idea), so moderation was the key.
Adding the mascarpone was my interpretation of adding cream to my cup of coffee. If you can't tell, I really like adding cream cheese or mascarpone to my cookie recipes. These cheeses not only give the cookie a softness but seems to blend flavors nicely.
Please let me know how you like these cookies in the comment section.
Espresso Mascarpone with a Hint of Rum Cookies
Barbara HallIngredients
- ½ cup Butter unsalted 1 stick
- 1-½ cups Sugar white 297 g
- 8 oz Mascarpone
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Rum extract
- 2 room temperature Eggs
- 2-½ cups All-purpose flour 300 g
- 1 tablespoon instant Espresso
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Pecan halves on top
Instructions
- Weigh or measure the sugar into a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, salt, baking powder, instant espresso powder and run a whisk through to blend.
- Using a stand or handheld mixer, add the butter and the sugar and blend on medium speed for about 4-5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Turn the mixer back on to a medium-low speed. I take a small bowl and crack the 1st egg into it to make sure there are no eggshells before adding it to the butter-sugar mix. Repeat with the second egg. I scrape down the sides again before adding the vanilla extract, rum extract, and the mascarpone. Blend till all the ingredients are blended. Take the bowl off the stand mixer and, using a good spatula, fold in the flour mixture about a third at a time. Check the bottom of the bowl for any flour that was not folded in during this process. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 375°, and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. I used a medium cookie scoop and got 2-¼ dozen cookies from this batch. Do not put more than 12 scoops on a pan. They do spread when they bake. Try and keep at least 2 inches apart from each scoop. Take a pecan half and push it down on the top of each cookie dough mound. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Keep a watch on them after 11 minutes; you want the edges to get a medium golden brown around the edges. Move them to a cooling rack once you take them from the oven.
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