The *softest* coconut espresso brown sugar cookie topped with a robin’s egg blue coconut espresso cream cheese frosting.
This post may contain affiliate links, please read the privacy policy for details. This post is sponsored by Papanicholas Coffee. All opinions are my own.
robin’s egg cookies
Coffee lovers I have the *perfect* Easter dessert for youuuuu. These here are my super soft brown sugar cookies that you’ll see in recipes like my blood orange cookies or twix cookies, but with a coffee twist. They’re flavored with coffee, coconut extract & shredded coconut in the cookies and in the frosting.
We’ll use a little bit of food dye to turn them a beautiful baby blue color (like a robin’s egg of course) And we don’t even have to speckle them because the coffee does all the speckling work for us.
If you’re not a fan of coffee don’t fret – you can easily just leave the coffee out for some a delicious coconut brown sugar cookie situation, or you can use decaf if you’re watching your caffeine intake.
Below you’ll find a ton of tips, tricks, and info that I hope is helpful for creating these beautiful bb’s. Happy baking! 🙂
why you’ll love these robin’s egg coconut espresso sugar cookies:
- They’re easy to make: you *do* need a hand mixer (or stand mixer – unless you’re looking for an arm workout) but the cookies come together super easily in one bowl, and the frosting comes together super easily in one bowl as well.
- Loaded with flavor: these aren’t just some average sugar cookies (not that those aren’t delicious) – they’re loaded with coconut and espresso flavor in the cookies themselves and in the frosting.
- They’re perfect for Easter: the perfect easter cookie doesn’t exi-
papanicholas coffee
I love PapaNicholas Coffee and am so honored that I get to work with them! I seriously use their coffee beans every single day and am so happy to be able to spread my love of their coffee to you! Today I partnered up with PapaNicholas Coffee for these robin’s egg cookies and used their Hawaiian Islands Espresso which is a light roast blend with Hawaiian Kona coffee, delightfully bright and floral with a smooth finish. I can’t recommend them enough, so please be sure to check them out! You can find their website by clicking here. And if you do end up purchasing their coffee be sure to use code FRESH20 which will get you 20% off any of their coffee!.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your egg and butter about an hour before starting the cookies, and the cream cheese about an hour before making the cream cheese frosting.
Mix the dough carefully:
When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.
Under bake for perfect cookies:
Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, and the cookies look just a little wet on top still, they are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
The secret to perfectly round cookies:
Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for robin’s egg cookies:
coconut espresso cookies:
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness. AP flour ranges from about 10-12% protein. If you use a flour closer to 10%, the cookies will be slightly less chewy. I use and love King Arthur Flour, which is 11.7% protein.
- Baking powder: for helping the cookies rise. Most baking powder is, but make sure your baking powder is “double acting.”
- Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
- Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies.
- Light brown sugar: for sweetness and for moisture.
- Coconut extract: for flavor.
- Coffee grounds: you can use coffee grounds or espresso beans (that you grind yourself) here. I used PapaNicholas Hawaiian Islands espresso!
- Egg: for binding and for moisture.
coconut espresso cream cheese frosting:
- Cream cheese: the tanginess from the cream cheese compliments the sweetness of the frosting and cookies so well.
- Unsalted butter: a little bit of butter helps thicken up the frosting.
- Salt: a little bit of salt helps balance the sweetness and bring out the flavor of the frosting.
- Powdered sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the frosting.
- Coconut extract: for flavor.
- Coffee grounds: you can use coffee grounds or espresso beans (that you grind yourself) here. I used PapaNicholas Hawaiian Islands espresso!
how to make robin’s egg cookies
Below are a few images of what the process of making these cookies looks like. As always you can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post 🙂
- Start by beating together the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Then beat in the egg, coconut extract, and shredded coconut.
- Add in your dry ingredients and mix until the dough is *just* combined. You’ll want to be careful to not over-mix here or you’ll risk the cookies being tough and chewy rather than soft.
- Once the cookies are done and have cooled to room temperature, frost them with the coconut espresso cream cheese frosting and enjoy!
robin’s egg cookies q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – I’ve tested this recipe up to quadrupling it with no problem. Please be sure to use grams for the best results.
can I make these cookies ahead of time?
Definitely – cookie dough really only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough balls. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again. I would recommend waiting to make the frosting until you would like to bake and frost the cookies.
store the coconut espresso cookies in the fridge
Because the frosting is made with cream cheese, these cookies do need to be stored in the fridge once they are frosted. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They are delicious cold, but if you’re not a fan of cold cookies, you can let them sit out at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before eating them.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Robin’s Egg Cookies
Ingredients
Coconut Espresso Sugar Cookies
- 150 g light brown sugar (¾ c.)
- 90 g unsalted butter room temperature (6 ⅓ tbsp.)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. coconut extract
- 40 g shredded sweetened coconut (⅓ c.)
- 160 g all purpose flour (1 ⅓ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. coffee grounds
Coconut Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting
- 110 g cream cheese room temperature (½ c.)
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature (4 tbsp.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 200 g powdered sugar (1 ⅔ c.)
- 2 tsp. coffee grounds
- ½ tsp. coconut extract
- light blue food dye
Instructions
Coconut Espresso Sugar Cookies
- If you are using espresso beans, blend them up in a food processor or coffee grinder until they are finely ground.
- Add the brown sugar and butter to a medium sized mixing bowl, then use a hand or stand mixer to beat the mixture together until it's light and fluffy (~2-3 min.)
- Add in the egg, coconut extract, and shredded coconut. Beat until well combined (~1 min.)
- Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and coffee grounds. Use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Cover the bowl then place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.*
- Once the cookies have chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone baking mat.
- Use a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop to dish out the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet, evenly spacing them apart to allow room for spreading.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the sides of the cookies just start to turn golden brown, and the top of the cookies looks just slightly wet. Let the cookies rest on the hot baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
- Allow the cookies to come to room temperature before frosting them.
Coconut Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter and salt until the mixture is smooth.
- Add in ½ of the powdered sugar and beat until combined, then beat in the remaining powdered sugar, followed by the coconut extract.
- Add in a little bit of blue food dye, stirring after each addition until you reach your desired color. Then, stir in the coffee grounds.
- Top each cookie generously with the cream cheese frosting, then serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.