My husband and my mom were super sad when Trader Joe’s discontinued their Kona Coffee Cookies, and volunteered me for the task of making a copycat recipe. And I have to say, even though I’m not a huge coffee fan, these cookies are absolutely delicious. It was a toss up whether to call these a dessert or a breakfast item!
This recipe makes a fairly small batch, and can easily be multiplied to suit your needs.
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Coffee Glazed Shortbread Cookies
A copycat recipe for Trader Joe’s Kona Coffee cookies
Add the unsalted butter to the mixing bowl of a KitchenAid or hand mixer. Mix on low for a couple of minutes, until the butter is smoothe and creamy.
Add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and coffee grounds, and mix until uniform at low speed. Once incorporated (scraping down the sides as necessary) increase the speed on the mixer to medium for 4-5 minutes. This will whip some air into the butter mixture, and the color should lighten significantly (think chocolate chip ice cream).
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until well combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Place plastic wrap on a clean work surface, and gather your dough into a ball in the center of the plastic wrap. Place another sheet of plastic wrap on top, and roll or press until you have a rectangle, approximately 1/4-1/2 an inch thick.
Refrigerate your dough for 2-4 hours (or overnight if you’re preparing in advance).
Baking the cookies
Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
Take the dough from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap (save it, as I found it was quite helpful with re-rolling dough as necessary). You can either cut the dough into small rectangles, or use a cookie cutter to press out your preferred shapes. Aim for 1-2 inches in diameter for your cookies. Recombine any extra dough and re-roll as necessary to make the maximum amount of cookies.
Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with either parchment paper or a Silicone Baking Mat, leaving 1-2 inches in between cookies.
Bake for 16 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. You’re looking for the edges of the cookies to be golden brown, so adjust baking time as necessary.
Remove the cookies, and allow to cool slightly before moving to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before adding the glaze.
Glazing the cookies
Prepare the glaze. (NOTE: The glaze solidifies relatively quickly, so it should not be prepared in advance. Best saved for right before you glaze the cookies). Mix the powdered sugar, coffee, and espresso powder. Whisk until you have a nice caramel color.
Using the whisk or a spoon, glaze the cookies as desired.
Lay cookies on a piece of parchment paper while the glaze hardens.
Notes
While it’s possible, this isn’t the best cookie dough for preparing in advance and freezing. This dough can be frozen, and cooked later, though note that the dough freezes hard. I would recommend either chilling them and getting the shapes prepared before freezing, or giving yourself plenty of time for the dough to thaw.
