Turkish Coffee Shortbread Recipe

At Blue Bottle, I generally avoid using coffee in my baked goods. Figuring our customers don't want to eat coffee while they're drinking coffee, I tend to make pastries with flavors that compliment coffee rather than coffee-flavored pastries. When tasked to come up with a cookie featuring coffee, I had the idea to modify our very popular Rosemary and Olive Oil Shortbread, using the flavor profile of a traditional Turkish coffee. Still extra buttery with the perfect shortbread texture, I've kept the salt level a little high, added finely ground coffee and just a touch of cardamom. A generous brushing of olive oil when just out of the oven gives the cookie an extra kick of flavor, a nice sheen, and an extra rich texture.

Turkish Coffee Shortbread Recipe
No Ratings
Prep Time
20
minutes
Cook Time
18
minutes
Servings
20
shortbread cookies
Follow up your coffee with a caffeinated pastry.
Total time: 38 minutes
Ingredients
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely ground coffee
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground greeen cardamom
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • olive oil
Directions
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sugar, coffee, salt, and cardamom and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then mix on medium speed until the texture is lighter in color and resembles mayonnaise, 4 to 5 minutes.
  2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then add the flour. Mix on low speed just until uniform in texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on low speed for 1 minute.
  3. Gather the dough into a ball, transfer to a piece of plastic wrap, cover with a second piece of plastic wrap, and flatten to form a rectangle measuring 7 by 10 inches and about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 5 days.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  5. Cut the dough into small rectangles measuring 1 by 2 inches, and place the cookies on the lined baking sheet, spacing them at least 1 inch apart.
  6. Bake for about 18 minutes, until golden around the edges, rotating the pan midway through the baking time. Brush the tops with olive oil immediately out of the oven.