These peanut butter espresso cookies are made with a simple shortbread cookie dough infused with espresso powder and a touch of cocoa powder.
To celebrate National Peanut Butter Month, Peanut Butter & Co. challenged the Yum Squad with a #MysteryIngredient project. Those who wanted to participate were given one of four mystery ingredients to showcase the versatility of peanut butter.
Lucky for me, I am already a fan the peanut butter and espresso combination. In previous years, I made this “hyper monkey” smoothie. The smoothie was a mixture of espresso, chopped dark chocolate, milk, frozen banana and peanut butter.
Ingredients
Theses shortbread cookie sandwiches are made with simple, all natural ingredients. The recipe is customizable allowing you to swap in your favorite flavors to pair with espresso.
The cookies begin with an easy shortbread cookie dough infused with instant espresso powder and cocoa powder. See recipe notes for details regarding substituting instant coffee powder and other spices.
The peanut butter filling a standard American buttercream. Mix together smooth peanut butter, softened butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy. If desired, add a splash of vanilla extract for warmth.
Be sure to use smooth, homogenous peanut butter like Peanut Butter & Co Simply Smooth, Jif Natural Creamy, or Skippy Natural Creamy. No-stir peanut butter varieties work best.
The recipe makes about two and half dozen cookie sandwiches. This means you’ll have plenty to keep for yourself as well as enough to share with others.
Cookie Sandwich Assembly
Once you’ve baked the cookies, pair them together. I’m all about working quickly and efficiently! I find the best way to fill cookies (and macarons) is by laying them out like the photo above.
Place one cookie right side up and it’s paired cookie upside down. Filling all the upside down cookies and then use the remaining cookies to sandwich them together. It’s much faster than making cookie sandwiches one a time, filling as you go.
These peanut butter espresso cookies could be done at this point… but, they look sorta naked to me. They need a little bit more!
I melted some white chocolate and drizzled it over the tops of the cookie sandwiches. Before the chocolate set up, I sprinkled a little cacao nibs to emphasize the espresso flavors in shortbread cookie. Now these cookies are done and ready to be eaten!
Serving Suggestions
The espresso shortbread cookie is delicate yet full of espresso flavor, while the peanut butter filling is sweet and creamy. Together they make a wonderful pair that’s perfect with your morning glass of milk or afternoon cup of tea!
These homemade cookie sandwiches are best enjoyed the same day they are baked and assembled. Store assembled espresso cookie sandwiches in an airtight container at room temperature (away from direct light or heat) for up to four days.
Storing the assembled cookies in a covered container in the fridge will extend it’s shelf life. However, refrigeration will cause the shortbread cookies to loose their crispness. For optimal texture and flavor, enjoy the cookies within a week of baking.
More Cookie Sandwich Recipes
Peanut Butter Espresso Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Espresso Shortbread Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, (226 g), softened, room temp
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar, (60 g), sift if clumpy
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, (6 g)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (260 g)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, or kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Filling:
- ¾ cup smooth peanut butter, (200 g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened, (57 g)
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons confectioners' sugar, (75 g), sift if clumpy
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, or kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth.
- In another bowl, whisk together espresso powder, cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Add flour dry mixture to creamed butter mixture. Mix until almost combined. Add vanilla and continue to mix until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about ¼-inch. Punch out rounds using a 1 ½ inch circle cutter. Gather dough scrapes and press together. Roll to ¼-inch thickness and continue to punch out additional rounds. Place rounds on a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing rounds about an inch apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool in pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
- Peanut Butter Filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together peanut butter and butter until combined. Add confectioners' sugar and salt. Mix until filling is smooth.
- To assemble: Pair together espresso shortbread cookies. Place about 2 teaspoons of peanut butter filling on half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies. If desired, drizzle melted white chocolate over the tops of the cookie sandwiches and sprinkle with cacao nibs.
Notes
- Use smooth, no-stir, homogenous peanut butter for best results.
- Instant coffee powder may be used in place of espresso powder. You may omit cocoa powder if desired.
- Storing the assembled cookies in a covered container in the fridge will extend it’s shelf life. However, refrigeration will cause the shortbread cookies to loose their crispness. For optimal texture and flavor, enjoy the cookies within a week of baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
I’m wondering if I should be using natural (runny) peanut butter, or the peanut butter that is thicker and has sugar/oil etc. added to it? Thanks! Really looking forward to these. :)
I find that the recipe works best with homogenous peanut butter (the kind that doesn’t need to be stirred before using).
These sound delicious. Could they be frozen, with the filling inside?
Hi, I haven’t tested freezing these cookies yet.
Peanut butter & jelly sandwich on multigrain bread, GRILLED. Yum!
peanut butter icing over angel food cake
Peanut butter and banana is my favorite combo! So comforting.
I like peanut butter spread on a banana. It’s one of my favorite snacks. I’d love to try it with a flavored peanut butter like chocolate.
PB & Jelly