The short bake time in this recipe isn’t a typo—these cookies should be moist and fudgy in the center, almost like a brownie.
Ingredients
Makes 30 cookies
Cookies
1½
4
4
1
¼
¼
¾
¾
¾
½
1
1
½
⅓
1
1
Glaze and Assembly
4
1
1¼
Preparation
Cookies
Step 1
Preheat oven to 375°. Mix flour, chocolate chips, almonds, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
Step 2
Whisk coffee and cocoa powder in a large bowl until smooth. Add cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt and whisk until smooth. Whisk in egg, egg yolk, granulated sugar, oil, and zests.
Step 3
Stir in dry ingredients with a large spoon until just combined; do not overwork dough.
Step 4
Turn dough out onto a work surface. Divide in half, then roll each half into a 1½"-wide log. Flatten to 2" wide. Slice on a bias into 1"-wide cookies. Transfer to parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets, spacing at least 1" apart. Bake cookies until firm around the edges but still soft in the middle, 8–10 minutes. Let cool.
Step 5
Do Ahead: Cookies can be made 2 months ahead; store airtight and freeze.
Glaze and Assembly
Step 6
Melt chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a large saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let water touch bowl); stir constantly until chocolate is melted and smooth (you can also do this in the microwave). Whisk in powdered sugar and 5 Tbsp. boiling water until smooth.
Step 7
Dip tops of cookies into glaze and top with colored sanding sugar or sprinkles. Let cool until glaze is firm, about 2 hours.
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Reviews (14)
Back to TopDon’t cut down on the cloves! The genuine Italian recipe has the full amount of cloves. After a few days the flavors mellow and blend and the cloves aren’t so overpowering. Stick with the real deal, don’t water it down.
Erika
VT
12/23/2021
I made these with the recipe from the December 2020 magazine which called for 1/2 cup melted butter infused with the spices in place of the 1/4 cup coffee. I’m curious why the change? My buttery cookies are fantastic but I’m sure the coffee version would be a welcomed flavor too!
Cora
Waterford, MI
12/8/2020
I love this recipe. The cookies are easy to make, the spices are just right. I have included chopped cranberries as substitutes for the lemon and orange peals. It could be my oven, but I ended up baking them longer, 14 min.
HB
NH
12/3/2020
This recipe has a few issues going on for sure: 1) Cut cloves down to 1/2 or even 1/4 tsp 2) Melt the chocolate into the hot coffee - not dry into flour 3)increase flour by 1/2 cup - although I'm not 100% on this. The "dough" is a sticky mess for sure. I did see one other review that mentioned perhaps chilling the dough for a bit. That may work too.
Anonymous
Knoxville, TN
12/18/2019
i'm happy with how these turned out! they tasted very similar to cookies my mom made for the holidays when i was a kid! yes, the dough is kinda sticky, but once i floured my hands and work surface, i had minimal trouble with it. i was extremely happy with the balance of flavors! the glaze was far too sweet to eat on its own, but it was perfect on the cookies--really balanced flavors
bees???
9/15/2019
Cookies seemed easy and pretty. However, the dough was very very sticky, with the additional issues of the chocolate chips, so there was no “rolling into logs” or “slicing” to make nice neat cookies. Maybe the dough should have been chilled? And the chocolate chips chopped coarsely? But nothing in directions about either chilling or chopping the chocolate. Also the CLOVES were overwhelming, like you couldn’t taste any of the other flavors, just cloves. I won’t make these again.
ellentam
Westerville, Ohio
12/24/2018
My daughter is also allergic to nuts, and I"m wondering if I can replace them with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds?
weifen2477
12/20/2017
My husband is allergic to almonds. Which other nut could I replace them with without compromising the recipe?
Biancak
Los Angeles
12/9/2017