Coffee & Cheese Cookies: A Unique Kaffeost-Inspired Treat

For most of my life, I hated coffee. I was a tea girl, through and through. Little did I know that trips to South America and Europe would eventually introduce me to coffee I actually enjoyed.

One of those introductions came courtesy of Andrea, an Italian exchange daughter. When I mentioned that I didn’t care for American coffee, she promptly brought us Italian coffee and a moka pot. Five years later, I still have the moka pot. (Though I’ll admit that somewhere along the way I eventually gave in and bought an espresso machine.)

When my family later visited Andrea in Italy, we got a firsthand look at the country’s coffee culture. Cafés easily found. Road trips included coffee breaks. And ordering a macchiato in the afternoon earned me more than a few puzzled looks.

Kaffeost has nothing to do with Italy, but that experience helps explain why I’m creating a series of coffee-inspired cookies, beginning with a recipe inspired by a European coffee tradition. As I learned more about coffee, I discovered kaffeost—a Scandinavian specialty whose name literally translates to “cheese coffee.”

That isn’t to say I’ve never encountered Scandinavian culture before. Growing up in Michigan, I knew a Scandinavian exchange student. Our most memorable interaction involved standing outside in the middle of winter to see who could last longer without a jacket. It may not have been the pinnacle of cultural exchange, but it wasn’t entirely devoid of it, either. By the end of the contest, we’d gone from acquaintances to friends, and he learned that Americans are not, in fact, all wimps.

But I digress.

So, what is kaffeost? It’s a traditional Scandinavian drink—and sometimes dessert—in which cubes of leipäjuusto, a baked fresh cheese, are placed in a mug and topped with hot coffee. The cheese softens as it soaks up the coffee, creating a combination that sounds unusual to most Americans.

When I developed this cookie, I didn’t use leipäjuusto. At the time, I was rather enamored with goat cheese and wanted to create a cookie inspired by kaffeost rather than one that recreated it as literally as possible. Looking forward, however, I suspect I’ll eventually revisit the concept and see just how faithfully I can translate kaffeost into cookie form.

In the meantime, I’ll happily continue experimenting—and drinking plenty of coffee along the way.

Kaffeost-Inspired Coffee Cookies

Recipe by Sarah

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Kaffeost is traditionally made with cheese, which inspired the use of goat cheese here. It adds a subtle tang that enhances the coffee flavor without making the cookies taste overtly savory.

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Ingredients

• Kaffeost-Inspired Cookie Dough

• 1 cup Butter

• 1 1/4 cups Sugar

• 4 oz goat cheese

• 1 Egg

• 1 Egg yolk

• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

• 3 cups Flour

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Instant espresso powder

• 2 teaspoons Baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

• Goat Cheese Glaze

• 4 ounces goat cheese

• 1-3 tablespoons Milk

• 1 1/2 cups Powdered sugar

• 2 tablespoons orange juice (optional; use less milk if you decide to use orange juice)

Directions

• Kaffeost-Inspired Coffee Cookie Dough
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, instant espresso, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer, beat together goat cheese and butter until smooth. Do not add the sugar until the goat cheese and butter are combined. Seriously. It will take a lot longer for it to get smooth if you don’t combine the goat cheese and butter first.
• Once the goat cheese and butter are combined, add the sugar and beat again, for about 2 minutes.
• Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.
• Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. You’ll see brown flecks from the instant espresso throughout. Those do not need to be fully incorporated or you will overmix the dough. If the dough is sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it is smooth, soft, and manageable. It should not stick to your fingers.
• Goat Cheese Glaze
• Add all glaze ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined. You can adjust the amount of powdered sugar and/or milk to reach your desired consistency.
• Assembly
• Preheat the over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, and then transfer to a cookie sheet to cool completely.
• After the cookies have cooled completely, drizzle with goat cheese glaze and let cookies stand until dry.