Tiramisu Sandwich Cookies

If there is a way to further my love of tiramisu, the cookies pictured above would have to be it: Hand-held, portable morsels of mascarpone cheese-laden deliciousness.

It starts with a cookie that by itself is really nothing to speak of, but once they surround the sugary mascarpone cream cheese layer and a coffee spiked chocolate layer, they become something so very good.

Don't be put off by the number of steps or components. I baked the cookies one night, then made the fillings the next. Assembly took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

We also found that they tasted even better after an overnight in the refrigerator. The cookies softened, the mascarpone cheese hardened, and their flavors really developed.

Peabody (whose blog I discovered these on) did not include the chocolate layer, but having tried it both with and without it, my husband and I both preferred the cookies with the chocolate layer on it. But, if you're feeling lazy or want to remove a step, these still are quite tasty without it. We ended up with a lot of the chocolate filling leftover, so I've adjusted the original recipe below.

Tiramisu Sandwich Cookies

Yield: 16 Sandwiched Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

• ¾ cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• ½ tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 oz mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp. powdered espresso powder
• 2 tsp. coffee liqueur
• 1 ¼ cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ¼  tsp. salt

Cheese Filling Ingredients:

• 4 oz. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. coffee liqueur 

Chocolate Filling:

• ½ c. confectioners (powdered) sugar (plus more to thicken it as needed)
• 1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. coffee
• ½ Tbsp. coffee liqueur

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and cocoa in small bowl; set aside. Beat cheese and remaining sugar until fluffy. Add egg, espresso powder and coffee liqueur. Stir together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in small bowl; gradually add to cheese mixture; beat until well mixed.

Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets (I used my cookie scoop to keep the size consistent). Sprinkle with sugar/cocoa topping. Bake 8-10 minutes (I only went 9 on mine) minutes until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets while warm. Cool on wire rack.

For the cheese filling:
Using a stand mixer, or a bowl and electric beaters, beat together the mascarpone and cream cheeses, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and coffee liqueur, and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

For the chocolate filling:
Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl, adding powdered sugar to get it to a consistency where it will spread, but is not too stiff.

Match the cookies together by size. Spread cheese filling on the bottom half of cookies (I used a piping bag). Spread the chocolate filling on the top half of the cookie. Press together to make sandwiches. Store in refrigerator.

Source: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody and the Domino Sugar website