Capture the essence of classic coffee cake in a single, irresistible bite! These tender Coffee Cake Cookies feature a soft, cinnamon-spiced base topped with a sweet, crumbly streusel and a beautiful sweet glaze. They are the perfect morning treat or afternoon pick-me-up to enjoy with your favorite cup of coffee. As a highly rated staple on inasrecipes.com, this recipe proves that you don’t need a fork to enjoy your favorite bakery-style crumb cake.
Soft Red Velvet Cookies with Vanilla and Cocoa
Table of Contents
The Baking Science: Amylose Softening & Streusel Ratios
Translating a soft, tender cake into a cookie that holds its shape requires careful manipulation of flours and fats:
- Cornstarch Tenderization: Adding 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to the cookie dough dilutes the glutenin and gliadin proteins present in all-purpose flour. Cornstarch is pure starch (amylose and amylopectin) without protein. This yields a finer, more tender crumb that mimics the texture of cake while still maintaining the structural integrity of a cookie.
- The Extra Egg Yolk: Egg yolks contain natural lecithin, a powerful emulsifier that binds the water in the egg whites and milk with the butter fat. Using one whole egg plus an extra yolk increases the fat-to-water ratio, creating a richer, slightly fudgy interior that prevents the cookie from drying out under the streusel.
- Streusel Hydration Dynamics: The streusel topping relies on a specific ratio of melted butter to flour (3 tablespoons butter to ½ cup + 2 tablespoons flour). Melting the butter ensures the flour coats the fat molecules entirely, creating distinct, buttery crumbs that bake into a crisp topping rather than melting into a flat puddle on top of the dough.
The Recipe: Coffee Cake Cookies
Prep time: 20 min | Bake time: 12–14 min | Yield: 16–18 large cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 tbsp whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp salt
For the Streusel Topping:
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1.Preheat and Prep:350°F (175°C).
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2.Make the Streusel Topping:Use a fork to mix.
In a small bowl, whisk together the ½ cup + 2 tablespoons of flour and ¼ cup of light brown sugar. Pour in the 3 tablespoons of melted butter and toss with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse, crumbly sand. Set aside.
3.Cream the Butter and Sugars:3 minutes until fluffy.
In a large bowl, beat the room temperature butter, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
4.Add Wet Ingredients:Mix on medium speed.
Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat until perfectly smooth and well combined.
5.Combine Dry Ingredients:Whisk to remove lumps.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt.
6.Form the Dough:Mix on low speed.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed just until combined. Be careful not to overmix, which will make the cookies tough.
7.Scoop and Top:Press streusel onto tops.
Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon portions and roll into smooth balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Gently flatten the tops of each dough ball slightly with the palm of your hand. Generously press a spoonful of the streusel mixture into the top of each cookie so it sticks.
8.Bake the Cookies:12–14 minutes.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers look just set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
9.Glaze and Serve:Drizzle over cooled cookies.
In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of milk until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add the second tablespoon of milk. Drizzle the glaze generously over the completely cooled cookies.
Pro Tips
- Spoon and Level the Flour: Never scoop your measuring cup directly into the flour bag, as this packs the flour and results in dry, dense cookies. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
- Melted Butter is Mandatory: For the streusel, using melted butter rather than cold butter is essential to properly bind the crumbs together so they don’t blow off the cookie in the convection of the oven.
- Let Them Cool Before Glazing: If you drizzle the glaze while the cookies are still warm, the powdered sugar will melt, become transparent, and run completely off the sides of the cookie.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What are some common questions about cookies?
Some of the most common questions bakers ask about cookies include:
- “Why did my cookies spread?” (Usually due to butter that was too warm, expired baking soda, or placing dough on hot baking sheets).
- “Do I have to chill the dough?” (Chilling solidifies the fat, which controls spreading and deepens flavor).
- “How do I keep cookies soft?” (Store them in an airtight container with a small slice of sandwich bread; the cookies will absorb the bread’s moisture).
Why is coffee cake called coffee cake?
In American baking, “coffee cake” refers to a sweet, crumb-topped cake that is intended to be eaten alongside a cup of coffee—it does not actually contain coffee as an ingredient. The tradition stems from 17th-century Northern and Central Europe, where sweet yeast breads were commonly served as an accompaniment to coffee beverages.
What are coffee cookies called?
Cookies that are actually flavored with brewed coffee or espresso powder are simply called espresso cookies or mocha cookies. If you are referring to the hard, twice-baked Italian cookies intended for dipping into coffee, those are called Biscotti (or Cantucci).
What are 10 interesting facts about cookies?
- The word “cookie” comes from the Dutch word koekje, meaning “little cake.”
- Ruth Graves Wakefield accidentally invented the chocolate chip cookie in 1937 at the Toll House Inn.
- Early cookies were initially baked as small test portions to check the temperature of wood-fired ovens before baking full cakes.
- Animal crackers originally had string attached to their boxes so they could be hung as Christmas tree ornaments.
- The world’s largest chocolate chip cookie was baked in 2003 and weighed over 40,000 pounds.
- Oreos are the best-selling cookie in the world, with over 450 billion produced since 1912.
- The Girl Scouts have been selling cookies to fundraise since 1917.
- Macarons (French almond meringue sandwiches) and macaroons (coconut mounds) are entirely different cookies.
- Fortune cookies were actually popularized in California by Japanese immigrants, not in China.
- The official state cookie of Massachusetts is the chocolate chip cookie.
Coffee Cake Cookies
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: 16–18 large cookies 1x
Description
Soft, cinnamon-scented coffee cake cookies topped with buttery brown sugar streusel and finished with a sweet vanilla glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 tbsp whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ½ cup + 2 tablespoons of flour and ¼ cup of light brown sugar. Pour in the 3 tablespoons of melted butter and toss with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse, crumbly sand. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the room temperature butter, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat until perfectly smooth and well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed just until combined. Be careful not to overmix, which will make the cookies tough.
- Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon portions and roll into smooth balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Gently flatten the tops of each dough ball slightly with the palm of your hand. Generously press a spoonful of the streusel mixture into the top of each cookie so it sticks.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers look just set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of milk until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add the second tablespoon of milk. Drizzle the glaze generously over the cooled cookies.
Notes
Do not overmix the cookie dough after adding the dry ingredients, as this can make the cookies tough. Let the cookies cool completely before drizzling with the vanilla glaze.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 39g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 55mg