Mini Tiramisu Cookies with Mascarpone Frosting
This is the perfect bite-sized cookie that blends the iconic tiramisu flavors in one - chocolate, coffee and mascarpone. A dream come true! These mini tiramisu cookies are pillowy soft, topped with a mascarpone frosting that is sweet and velvety and then dusted with cocoa powder. All the magic of a tiramisu in a mini cookie - I promise you can't just have one!
Servings: 40 mini cookies
Calories: 145kcal
Ingredients
For the Tiramisu Cookie Dough
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup ricotta, drained see note below
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste see note below
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup instant espresso powder see note below
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus more for dusting over frosted cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the Mascarpone Cream Frosting
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
For the Mini Tiramisu Cookies
- In a medium bowl, mix the softened butter, drained ricotta, vanilla bean paste and egg together using a handheld mixer until just combined. Then add the granulated sugar gradually until well incorporated.
- Gradually add the instant espresso, unsweetened cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt to the butter-ricotta mixture until well incorporated.
- Let the dough rest for an hour in the fridge, covered or in an airtight container.
- Once the hour is up, pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Scoop small balls of the cookie dough, roll and flatten with your hand before placing on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes - don't over bake! Cookies will be soft when they're done but let them cool completely before frosting.
For the Mascarpone Frosting
- In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, salt and vanilla bean paste together with a handheld mixer. Gradually add the powdered sugar until fully incorporated.
- Add the heavy cream to the mascarpone mixture and beat with the handheld mixer until stiff peaks form (about a minute or minute and a half). Make sure not to overmix!
- Pour the mascarpone frosting in a piping bag (or zip top bag). Use a piping tip if you'd like!
- Top the cooled tiramisu cookie with the mascarpone frosting. Try making a circular design by starting at the center of the cookie and keep piping in a circular motion. Then, add unsweetened cocoa powder to a small sift and dust the frosted cookies to finish.
Notes
- Drain your ricotta. Put your ricotta in the middle of a paper towel and then fold the paper towel in half for about 5 minutes and then flip the paper towel so the other side of the ricotta drains, too. This way, the paper towel absorbs the excess moisture from the ricotta quickly and efficiently! If your ricotta is very wet, drain it for about 45 minutes to an hour, flipping halfway, instead of 10 minutes like the recipe calls for. Or, bake for about 15 minutes instead of 11 minutes. I usually use Polly-O ricotta because it's relatively dry but still creamy while Trader Joe's ricotta is very wet and takes a while to drain.
- Vanilla bean paste. You can absolutely use vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean paste. Feel free to use a 1:1 ratio!
- Instant espresso powder. It's important to use instant espresso powder and not just ground espresso. I like using decaf instant espresso powder so you can have the cookies day or night without worrying about too much caffeine.
- Don't overmix! You'll want to make stiff peaks with the mascarpone frosting. But be careful in this step because if you under beat the cream, the frosting will be too runny and if you over-beat the cream, the frosting will be too stiff and the cream may separate. As a good rule of thumb, constantly check on your frosting and stop beating immediately after you get stiff peaks.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 mini cookie | Calories: 145kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 130mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @AFabulousBite or tag #AFabulousBite!
