Description
These coffee autumn leaf cookies are buttery, crisp and delicately flavoured with coffee. Made from one batch of dough and divided into three beautiful shades of brown using cocoa and espresso powder, they’re a lovely treat for autumn. Perfect for enjoying with a cup of coffee or using as edible decorations for your seasonal cakes.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the base cookie dough
- 400 g all purpose flour
- 220 g unsalted butter, softened
- 160 g caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp water, hot
For the medium shade
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
For the dark shade
- 2 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder
Instructions
- Prepare the espresso: Dissolve 1 tsp espresso powder in 1 tsp hot water. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside to cool.
- Cream the butter and sugar: In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and caster sugar until light and creamy.
- Add the wet ingredients: Add the egg and vanilla extract, followed by the cooled espresso mixture. Mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients: Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until a soft dough starts to form. Use a spatula to give the dough a final mix, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to bring everything together. Avoid over mixing.
- Divide the dough: Weigh the finished dough, around 840 g and divide it into three equal portions, around 280 g each.
- Prepare the light-shade dough: Leave one portion plain. This will be your light coffee-coloured dough.
- Prepare the medium-shade dough: Add 1 tsp cocoa powder to the second portion. Using a spatula, gently fold and mix until the cocoa powder is evenly incorporated and the dough has a uniform brown colour.
- Prepare the dark-shade dough: Add 2 tsp cocoa powder and 1 tsp espresso powder to the third portion. Using a spatula, gently fold and mix until both powders are evenly incorporated and the dough develops a deeper chocolate-coffee colour.
- Chill the dough: Flatten each portion into a disc, wrap individually in cling film and refrigerate until firm enough to roll and cut.
- Create the three-tone patchwork effect: Once the doughs are firm, break each coloured dough into small, irregular pieces. Randomly arrange the pieces, alternating between the three shades of brown, then gently press them together. Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper until all the pieces are joined together and the dough forms a flat sheet. Fold it in half, turn it 90 degrees, and roll it out again to approximately 6 mm thickness, or to your desired thickness. This helps distribute the colours more evenly, with some of the edges between the shades becoming softly blended. (see Note)
- Cut out the leaves: Use autumn leaf-shaped cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Carefully transfer them to lined baking trays, leaving a little space between each cookie. If the dough starts to soften and becomes difficult to handle, place it back in the fridge for a little while to firm up before continuing.
- Re-roll the remaining dough: Gather the leftover dough pieces, arrange them together and gently press them together, just as you did when creating the three-tone patchwork effect. Roll the dough out again between two sheets of parchment paper to approximately 6 mm thickness, then continue cutting out the cookies.
- Create the leaf details: Use the back of a small knife or spatula to lightly score the surface of each cookie, creating a central line and smaller branching lines to mimic the natural veins of a leaf. Be careful not to cut too deeply into the dough.
- Chill before baking (optional): If the cut-out cookies have started to soften, refrigerate them on their baking trays for 10–15 minutes before baking to help them retain their shapes.
- Bake: Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C fan for approximately 12–15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies, until set with lightly golden edges. Mine took 13 minutes.
- Cool: Leave the cookies on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- When combining the three coloured doughs, gently press the pieces together rather than kneading them. This helps retain the distinct patches of brown.
- If making smaller leaf cookies, reduce the baking time as they will bake faster. Keep an eye on them to avoid over baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 78kcal
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 25mg
- Fat: 5g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 16mg