You can keep a roll of this dough in the freezer for several weeks and use it as needed. Adapted from “Coffee,” by Betty Rosbottom, makes about 25 cookies.
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon powdered instant coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
GARNISHES
1/2 cup ground coffee
1/4 cup good-quality cocoa powder
1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
1/4 cup whole coffee beans
Directions
In a small bowl, dissolve coffee in vanilla and set aside.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter in a large bowl until smooth, 1 minute or more. Add sugars and cinnamon. Beat well to incorporate, about 3 minutes. Add egg and beat until blended. Beat in coffee and vanilla mixture. Reduce speed to low, and add flour. Beat, stopping machine and scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula if needed, only until mixture is smooth and holds together, about one minute or less.
Place dough on a long piece of waxed paper, shape it into a long roll about 2 inches wide and 10 inches long. Use waxed paper to wrap dough. Place roll in freezer until dough is firm, about 25 minutes. (If you want to keep dough frozen, wrap it in plastic wrap rather than waxed paper, then tightly in foil. It can be kept frozen for up to 1 month; when ready to use, remove and defrost it overnight in refrigerator.)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust 2 oven racks to divide oven into thirds.
Mix coffee and cocoa in a shallow plate. Save about 2 tablespoons almonds and grind or pound remaining almonds. Place in another plate.
Unwrap dough and cut in half. Roll one half in coffee and one in almonds. With a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4- to 3/8-inch-thick slices. Place slices 1 inch apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Place an almond or coffee bean in center of each cookie.
Bake until cookies are lightly colored, 18-20 minutes. Reverse baking sheets, top to bottom and back to front, once during cooking time. Be careful not to underbake cookies, as they should be very crisp when cooled. Remove and cool cookies on a cooling rack.
