Vanilla Cappuccino Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients

Featured ingredient: Vanilla Cappuccino Coffee 10 oz. Bag Ground

Cookie:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons finely ground Door County Vanilla Cappuccino coffee
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Vanilla Cappuccino Buttercream Icing:

• 1-1/4 cups sugar (divided usage)
• 1/4 cup Door County Vanilla Cappuccino Coffee
• 5 egg whites
• 2 cups (4 sticks or 1 pound) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Marich Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans, for garnishing

Instructions

To make cookies:

1. Beat the butter, 1 cup powdered sugar and the cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. With the mixer speed set to low, add the vanilla and the egg and beat just until combined.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, ground Door County Vanilla Cappuccino coffee, baking powder and salt. On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until a soft dough has formed.
3. Place a rectangular sheet of parchment or wax paper on a clean surface. Pat ½ of the dough out into a rectangular shape on top of it. Cover with another sheet of parchment and roll the dough to ¼ to ½ inch thickness.
4. Do that same process all over again with the other ½ of the dough. Then remove the top sheets of parchment and transfer the dough to two baking sheets. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Cut the dough into rounds using a cookie or biscuit cutter that is approx. 2-1/2 inches round. Transfer the cutouts to baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
7. Gather the scraps, roll again and cut out more rounds until you cannot make any more. If the dough scraps get too soft, refrigerate those dough scraps to reroll.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on your own oven and the thickness of the cookies you’ve made. It’s very important not to let your cookies get browned, which means you will need to start checking for doneness before the timer goes off.
9. The finished cookies will have slightly golden brown bottoms, but they will feel very soft and under-baked until they have completely cooled. Keep the cookies on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before icing and sandwiching them.

For Vanilla Cappuccino Buttercream Icing:

1. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until medium peaks form. Slowly add ONLY 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes total. Let sit while you cook the sugar syrup.
2. In a small, heavy saucepan, stir together the remaining 1 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup cold water to combine. Heat the mixture on medium-high heat. Cook the sugar mixture until the temperature registers 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
3. With the mixer running again, slowly and carefully pour the hot syrup into the meringue. Continue beating at high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and beat until the meringue has cooled to room temperature and the bowl is cool to the touch. This takes about 15 minutes.
4. Begin adding the butter two to three cubes at a time. Increase the mixer speed to high; add the Door County Vanilla Cappuccino Coffee and beat until the butter and liquids are fully incorporated.
5. Transfer the buttercream icing to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe a layer of frosting onto each cookie and top another cookie. Press lightly to bring the icing to the edge of the sandwich cookie.
6. Decorate the top as desired with the icing and then top with a Marich Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean right in the middle.

Note: If you have any leftover icing, you can refrigerate for up to a week (or freeze for a month) for another usage. Depending on the sandwich cookie thickness, this recipe makes approximately 3 dozen sandwich cookies.