Do you know what makes me feel like I’m failing as a mother more than any other thing…? My dislike for coffee. There, I said it. I’m not a coffee fan. So the process of making these Coffee Kisses was an interesting one!
I have tried to like coffee, I really have. There’s one thing I love about coffee and that is the smell. I have fond memories of being a teenager at my first “real” job working in a florist-come-coffee-shop. Making cappuccinos, lattes, americanos…and often being told they were the delicious, yet never being able to stand the bitter taste that coffee has always had to me.
I much prefer a cup of tea or my go-to drink, a Diet Coke! But in my recipe searches, one little biscuit kept grabbing my attention; Coffee Kisses. I think it’s perhaps the cute name that sold me on them, despite knowing I probably wouldn’t be all too keen on the flavour.
However when you bake and recipe test for a living, it’s unsurprising just how many willing volunteers you be-friend along the way!A plea on our Mums group chat resulted in a number of keen taste-testers who assure me that these Coffee Kisses are quite amazing.
I baked an entire batch, took them to soft play and came home empty handed. Something that came at the hilarity of friends literally taking home extras for their evening cuppa, wrapped in napkins and tied in nappy bags – unused I should add!!
If that’s not a sign of a good biscuit, I’m not sure what is.
Ingredients:
Instant Coffee
You can use coffee extract should you have some but otherwise a spoonful of instant coffee and a little bit of boiling water will give you the same effect.
Self-raising Flour
Biscuits will often use plain flour for a crumbly texture but these little biscuits need a little rise in them which self-raising flour provides.
Caster Sugar
Any biscuit needs a bit of sweetness and Coffee Kisses are no exception.
Butter or Margarine
Either will do and it’s personal preference to which you choose. I opt for margarine as a way to omit the dairy but whatever you choose, just be sure it’s at room temperature before baking.
Free-range Egg
Egg works as the binder in this recipe. I don’t tend to stress too much about the size of eggs, as long as they’re free-range.
Coffee Kisses are perfect for:
• Mum and baby groups
• PTA meetings
• Upgrading your mid-morning cuppa
• Community coffee mornings
Ingredients
For the Biscuits
- 170 g Self-raising Flour
- 85 g Caster Sugar
- 85 g Butter or Margarine (softened)
- 1 Free-range Egg (beaten)
- 1 tbsp
Instant Coffee - 1 tsp Boiling Water
For the Buttercream
- 100 g Butter or Margarine
- 200 g Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp
Instant Coffee - 1 tsp Boiling Water
Instructions
For the Biscuits
- Preheat your oven to 180°c (160°c for fan assisted ovens or Gas Mark 4) and line a couple of baking sheets with grease-proof paper.
- In a mug dissolve your coffee with the boiling water, stir well and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and sugar before rubbing in the butter/margarine with your fingers, until you get a sandy consistency.
- Add the egg to the cooled coffee and beat with a fork. Add to the bowl and bring the ingredients together to create a soft sticky dough.
- Roll about a teaspoon of the dough into a ball and place on your pre-lined baking sheets. Repeat with the rest of the dough to make about 30 balls, leaving some space between each as they will spread a little while baking.
- Bake in your pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until the balls resemble small biscuits and are dry-looking on top. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for a short while before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Buttercream
- Whilst the biscuits cool you can prepare your buttercream filling. As with the biscuits, prepare your instant coffee with the boiling water and set aside.
- In a bowl, mix the icing sugar and butter/margarine before adding the coffee and beating until light and fluffy.
- Either spread or pipe the icing onto half the biscuits, before sandwiching them to the remaining half.
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This sounds gorgeous.I’m actually considering making this.
Thank you for sharing.
My teen son made these this week … they taste exactly as I remember them from when my mum (from Edinburgh) made them when we were wee! Thank you so much for the memory :)
The coffee flavour is subtle and we are coffee lovers so next time we will try a slightly stronger brew, and we clearly should have left them in the oven slightly longer because they were slightly cakey BUT yummy all the same :)
Coffe kisses are the first thing I remember baking with my mother. My grandchildren loved making an eating them and today I have made them for my grandson Max to eat while having a break on his tractor , he is doing an apprenticeship Farming. My other four grandchildren in their thirties still love them when visiting or I take a batch when ever we visit them. Happy days!!!
Turned out just like the picture, tastes like coffee cake! Thanks again for a great recipe
This was one of the first recipes from my Granny’s Bero baking book that I made with her. I think her book cost 6d (pre-decimalisation). In my Granny’s day we used Camp coffee, not instant coffee – she didn’t drink coffee Takes me right back when my daughter and I make them. In the original recipe you made 80 each the size of a marble, however the latest Bero book recipe is bigger and less, same as above. Happy days indeed!!
How can I show you the photo of my biscuits
These coffee kisses are in the bero baking book from about 25 years ago , have made them loads of times,,delish!,,,
First try and they’re delicious!! Will definitely be making again. Thank you!
Used to make these all the time from my bero cook book. Now my granddaughters are making cinnamon rolls from the cookbook. I’m just lending them the cookbook but happy they are using it.
Can these be stored? Will the icing not make the cookies go soft?
Thanks for the recipe, want to make them but before hand and then store.
Hello, may I ask how to make the biscuits more flat? And in the icing showed me little crumbles. It is not that soft and smooth as the one on the picture.
Thank you very much! :)))
My granny and I used to make “chocolate kisses” which are virtually the same as your recipe but with cocoa powder replacing the coffee. Everyone loves them. I used to sometimes make the buttercream plain vanilla but I will now experiment with coffee kisses and coffee & chocolate kisses. Thank you, I love all of your granny’s recipes!
Can I use camp coffee essence instead of instant coffee.
Thank you
Deirdre
Yes, it says above you can.
“You can use coffee extract should you have some but otherwise a spoonful of instant coffee and a little bit of boiling water will give you the same effect.You can use coffee extract should you have some but otherwise a spoonful of instant coffee and a little bit of boiling water will give you the same effect.”