for our Thanksgiving dinner last week, the desserts were taken care of by other family members, so i didn’t need to bring one. but, y’all know me – i can’t pass up the opportunity to make sweets for a group! i bookmarked these delicious-sounding sandwich cookies a while ago + knew that this was the perfect occasion to make ’em. you can’t have too many desserts on Thanksgiving, right?
so, how were they? soooo good, definitely one of the top three cookies i’ve ever made. the chocolate cookies are amazing – super soft + almost cake-like, with a rich, deep chocolate flavor. and the mocha buttercream filling is divine – light + fluffy, with a delicious mocha flavor that perfectly complements the rich, complex cookies. put it all together + they are absolute cookie perfection. they get even tastier + softer after a day or two, which makes any leftovers even more delightful. so, if you’re looking for a new cookie to make this holiday season, you must try these!
Chocolate Mocha Sandwich Cookies
makes about 4 dozen cookies, adapted from fine cooking
ingredients
For the Cookies:
1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
6 Tbs. packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extractFor the Mocha Filling:
1 Tbs. instant espresso
4 Tbs.(2 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 Tbs. (2 oz.) cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifteddirections
Make the cookies:
in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, + salt – set aside. with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter + sugars on medium speed until light + fluffy, about 2 minutes. add the egg + vanilla + continue beating until smooth, about 30 seconds. reduce the speed to low + slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until the dough is just combined. divide the dough in half. wrap one half of the dough in plastic + refrigerate.
roll the other half of the dough between two sheets of parchment to an even 1/8-inch thickness. slide the dough onto a cookie sheet + freeze until cold + firm, about 30 minutes. repeat with the remaining dough.
position a rack in the center of the oven + preheat the oven to 350°F. line two cookie sheets with parchment.
using 1-1/2-inch round cookie cutters, cut out the dough + arrange the rounds 1 inch apart on the prepared sheets. if the dough gets too soft, return it to the freezer for a few minutes. carefully press the scraps together, reroll, + cut. Repeat with the other half of the dough, + then gather all the scraps together, reroll, + cut one more time.
bake in batches, two sheets at a time, until the tops look dry, about 6 minutes. let the cookies cool on their pans for a minute + then let them cool completely on racks.
Make the Mocha Filling:
in a small bowl, dissolve the espresso in 2 Tbs. hot water. let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
with a mixer, cream the butter + cream cheese on medium speed until light + smooth, about 1 minute. reduce the speed to low + slowly add half of the sugar, mixing until just combined. add the coffee mixture + vanilla, + mix until just incorporated. gradually mix in the remaining sugar + the cocoa. increase the speed to medium + beat until the filling is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes more.
to assemble, transfer the cooled cookies to a work surface, flipping half of them over. with an offset spatula or butter knife, spread a thin layer of the filling onto each turned-over cookie. set another cookie on top of each filled cookie, pressing gently to spread the filling.
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These look amazing -like something you’d find in an upscale bakery!
aww, thank you danielle – that just made my day!
OMG! These look delicious. I’m a huge fan of anything with chocolate + mocha. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I’ll be pinning this!
Mmmm, chocolate and mocha – does it get any better than that? These are gorgeous Amy – your treats always look so perfect
oh wow- these look SO gourmet. great job, amy! i love the idea of a mocha filling.
oh my yum!! love cookies with a frosting center, definitely making these!
Sandwich cookies are my favorite…because you get to eat two cookies and call it one. 😉 These are gorgeous–love the pristine cuts you have here. Wow!
Oooh yum, I keep seeing “mocha” recipes and one day I really am going to give in and make something with coffee and chocolate!! Think it may have to be these as they look delicious
This was the first “mocha” recipe I’ve made + we all loved it! And most of the family (including me) doesn’t even drink coffee, so that’s saying a lot. =)
Amy, these are so beautiful!!! Perfect to gift cookies, too!
wow, these are absolutely perfect! even with a cookie cutter, mine never come out so uniform
wow what perfect circles…amy, all your dishes look picture perfect! I am afraid mine would come out a bit odd shape but with your recipe the taste would be there!
honestly, i was surprised that they came out so pretty – i was worried that they might be a bit lumpy + bumpy, too, but they didn’t. hooray for cookies that both look AND taste amazing!
They are so perfect, like a non-human made them with precision! Great job and I bet they taste fantastic.
Bahaha, I believe that’s officially the first comment I’ve ever received with the term “non-human” in it. Like!
Your cookies are too perfect–just gorgeous! And I love the combination of the chocolate and mocha–heaven!
Holy cow. These are the edgiest cookies ever. If that makes any sense! Good job. They look amazing and I’m also into coffee flavored stuff at the moment. And I understand you bringing dessert anyway. I don’t care what I’m assigned (as long as it’s not vegetables) – I will definitely be bringing dessert, too!
Love this! These are like oreos on crack, and probably taste 100000000x better!
This looks and sounds like heaven 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Perfect cookies Amy! Just perfect. I’ll take the whole batch please!
I love the thought of coffee IN my cookies!
These cookies look incredibly delicious.
Stunning photos! And the cookies sound incredible!
I love that you added espresso to the filling. I bet these are amazing and tough to stop eating at just one!
yes! they are crazy addictive. =)
These look delightful, I think even the boys will eat them.
These cookies are totally gorgeous – they look perfect!
These look like they came from a bakery – complete perfection Amy! You are a pro at making your goodies look so neat and perfect. I get weak at the knees for anything mocha. And remaining soft (or getting softer) after a few days? That is a cookie miracle. I aim for that with each batch.
Ooh, I so wish you lived closer – these would’ve been totally your type of cookie, + i’m always up for sharing! =)
I want to know the secret to make such perfect cookies! These are Fabulous! Better than Magazine Quality! Just plain Lovely.
These look like they’re straight out of a cooking magazine or a gourmet bakery, Amy! Totally pretty and they look so plush and tasty! I love that the cookies have a soft, cake-like texture.. definitely something I enjoy about cookies but something that intrigues me in a sandwich cookie
and that mocha filling looks sinful!
gorgeous! kind of want to try these with a few other fillings too!
Love the idea of trying these with different fillings – i bet they’d be great with a peppermint buttercream, or a coconut buttercream, or a biscoff buttercream. ooh, the possibilities are endless!
Perfectly gorgeous cookies Amy!! Seriously!
I don’t drink coffee either, but I will take your word that non-coffee drinkers will like them
And most of all I love that you said the cookies are soft, that sold me… I kinda hate hard cookies
Wow, Top 3 hey?? These are beautiful!
Top 3 for real! And I’m picky about cookies, so that’s saying a lot! =)
Ok, you are way too talented. These look lovely!
Amy, these look perfect! Awesome cookie exchange cookies
I realized a bit too late that i should’ve waited to post these + used them for the Food Blogger Cookie Swap/post! Oh well, just an excuse to make yet another type/batch of cookies!
I love espresso so the fact that I can now eat it in cookie form is pretty much perfect
What gorgeous cookies! And in one of my favorite flavors too. I love mocha. My brother and I have a cookie website (www.best-ever-cookie-collection.com) where we are hosting a cookie contest and we would love to have you enter one of your cookie recipes for a chance to win, if you are interested. Hope you stop by and check it out.
Warmly,
Martha
Instead of using 1 tbs of instant espresso with 2 tbs of water, can’t i just use 3 tablespoons of regular espresso? Like from starbucks?
Hi Nancy, Yes, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of purchased espresso (because remember that it’s only 2 tablespoons of liquid that i’m making, not 3), BUT, it won’t be nearly as strong as the homemade version. the homemade version is reeeeallly strong – too strong to drink, even, which is how you’re able to get that great mocha flavor in the buttercream. by substituting purchased espresso, you’ll get a milder mocha flavor, but it’ll still work!
Your cookies look absolutely perfect! Can’t wait to see what you have for the GFB cookie swap 😉
These sound like the perfect pairing with the beer I just reviewed Amy. Care to do a swap with me…cookies for beer???
That sounds like a fabulous swap to me!
Wow…these cookies look perfect! Perfect circle shaped and no domes, I was surprised to hear the texture is cake-like.
But I assume the freezing is the secret to these cookies keeping its shape?
honestly, i’m not sure what the secret to the perfect shape is – i just followed the recipe + they turned out just right. =) but yes, my assumption is that it has to do with the freezing. =)
Those are just gorgeous! I love a chocolate sandwich cookie, but these are almost to pretty to eat!
I am making these sans coffee and they are DELICIOUS!! Happy Cookieing!
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