Tiramisu Snickerdoodle Cookies
There are few cookies that I love more than snickerdoodle cookies, those soft, crinkly discs of joy that are rolled in cinnamon sugar for a sweet and spicy kick, and often have a bit of cream of tartar added for a mild tang meant to offset the sweetness. Honestly, it really is hard to think of anything better than such a classic…or is it?
Today, I thought I’d give a flavorful Italian twist on these classics using the cocoa, coffee and mascarpone flavors of the all mighty tiramisu!
The plan is quite simple, I’ll make a classic snickerdoodle cookie dough but will swap some of the butter for mascarpone cheese for richness and softness, I’ll flavor the cookies with some instant coffee and coffee extract, and finally I’ll roll the cookies in sugar and cocoa powder before baking.
It’s going to be amazing!
Makes 18 cookies
3 cups flour
1 tbsp instant coffee (If you’re worried about caffeine, then instant decaf is perfectly fine)
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
A large pinch of salt
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
4oz mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar plus 1/3 cup sugar for the coating
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coffee extract
1 tbsp natural cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 C and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, instant coffee, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt to combine. Set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter, mascarpone, and 1 1/2 cups sugar with an electric beater for about 3 minutes, starting on low then increasing to medium as the butter and sugar start to cream together, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl now and then. It should look pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time and beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla and coffee extracts. Add all of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined into a smooth dough.
For the coating, combine 1/3 cup of sugar with the cocoa powder.
Use a 2-ounc ice cream scoop, or a spoon, to dish out the dough into 18 golf ball sized portions. Roll each portion into a ball, then roll each cookie dough ball into the sugar-cocoa mixture to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet, spacing the dough balls out by about 2 inches, and use fingers to gently press down and flatten a bit.
Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes, or until they are set on the edges but the center is still very soft. Allow each batch of cookies to cool for a few minutes in the pans before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
