If you’re a coffee elitist like me, you balk at using beans more than two weeks past the roasting date. But what if you don’t finish it all? I usually pawn them off to friends who aren’t as picky as me. All that coffee gone to waste. Why not put the beans in food?

I’ve always loved baking. And what’s bettter than adding coffee to the mix? Coffee-flavored food items (ice cream, cheesecake, chocolates) seem to run high on my list of favorites. If given the choice between a mocha cheesecake and a fruity one, I pick the mocha. Anyway, I’ve been craving some snickerdoodles lately and finally had some time to make them. Never made them before, but hey, why not add some coffee, too? So here’s my recipe for some yummy snickersprodoodles.

snickersprodoodle snickersprodoodle

The key to making these is to put enough coffee so as to enhance the sweetness of the cookie and not let the bitterness suffocate it. I had some leftover Organic Guatemala from Kickapoo Coffee to use. Also, I love cinnamon way more than I should. So the topping will include more coffee and cinnamon than a normal person may like.

Ingredients (makes 3 dozen)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
—-
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp ground coffee (espresso grind size)

Instructions

1. In large bowl, mix sugar, butter, and eggs. Stir and fold until mixture is creamy.
2. Add cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix.
3. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, combining thoroughly each time before adding more. At this point, the dough should be soft, but solid.
4. Cover dough a with a damp paper towel and store in fridge for half an hour.
5. In small bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, and ground coffee. Adjust to preferred taste.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Lightly grease cookie sheet with preferred substance (oil, butter, spray, etc.).
8. Remove dough from fridge. Roll dough into small balls (1 1/2″ in diameter), roll dough in topping mixture, and set on cooking sheet. Give 2″ between cookies for space to spread.
9. Bake for approximately 10 minutes.

snickersprodoodle vs snickerdoodle

snickersprodoodle vs snickerdoodle

[edit 02.16.10] If you’re like me, you like cookies fresh out of the oven. So… the day after (today)… they tasted a little too hard. Easy solution: pop them back in the oven, a little one will do, and they’ll come out just as fresh as the day before.