Coffee Cake Cookies
My coffee cake cookies are soft, chewy, and topped with the most amazing cinnamon streusel. These bakery quality cookies are perfect for breakfast or dessert!
I love inventing unique and delicious cookies like my cookie monster cookies, Texas sheet cake cookies, and Copycat Gideon's cookies. These cookies are also inspired by the rare coffee cake cookie only available in the morning at Gideon's Bakehouse. Although readers have commented that they remind them more of the cookies from Gilmore Girls instead! The cookies are so chewy while still being sturdy enough to support the generous crumb topping. They're great for after school snacks, brunch, or bake sales. Can't get enough crumbs? Try my cinnamon coffee cake too!
Why This Recipe Works: A Sprinkle of Food Science
- Use Shortening AND Butter: Butter gives us a rich flavor while shortening prevents spreading and helps the cookies be thick enough to stand up to the streusel. This is because the shortening has a higher melting point because its 100% fat with no added water like butter.
- Use Brown Sugar: It keeps these babies soft and chewy for days!
- Chill the Streusel: When testing this recipe chilling the streusel led to the best crumbs that held up after baking.
Ingredient Notes/Shopping Tips
Ingredient Notes & Shopping Tips
- Flour: Be sure to measure this correctly. Spoon into your cup and level with a knife. Do not dip your cup in the flour. You'll overmeasure and end up with dry cookies.
- Butter: This should be softened not cold or melted. Your finger should leave an indent when pressed. Leave out at room temperature for around 1 hour. In a hurry? Boil water in a glass measuring cup, pour out the water, and quickly covered the butter with the hot cup.
- Cornstarch: Don't be tempted to leave out this small ingredient, it helps the cookies bake up super soft.
- Eggs: The extra yolk makes these so rich and chewy. Easily separate the yolk by cracking egg in a bowl and sucking it up with an empty clean water bottle.
- Shortening: I strongly suggest using shortening to prevent spread. However, if you don't like it or don't have any you can use all butter. But in that case I'd suggest chilling the dough for at least an hour. I like using Crisco baking sticks for easy measuring!
- Baking Powder: Be sure to use powder not soda. Replace every 6-12 months even if its in date as it loses its oomph over time.
- Eggs: Bring eggs to room temperature to help them incorporate smoothly. 30 Minutes at room temp should do the trick. In a hurry? Place in a glass of warm not hot water for around 3-5 minutes.
Krystle's Tips: Be a Smart Cookie
- Don't Overmix: Mix until the flour just disappears or the cookies can be tough and dense.
- Use a Cookie Scoop: Not only will this make them look pretty, but they'll bake at the same rate too.
- Use the Right Pan: Avoid dark or nonstick pans that can brown the edges too quickly. If this is all you have try lowering the oven temp. by 20-30 degrees.
- Don't Overbake: It's okay if the center still looks a tad underdone. It will firm up as they continue to bake/cool on the pan. Overbaking will make these cookies dry out.
Test Kitchen Mistakes
Learn from the mistakes we made when testing this recipe.
- Don't Skip Chilling the Streusel: It will melt instead of baking up into delish crumbs.
- Don't Skip Pressing Down on the Crumbs: Forgetting to do this can cause them to fall off after baking.
More of Our Favorite Cookies
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📖 Recipe
Chewy Coffee Cake Cookies
My coffee cake cookies are soft, chewy, and topped with the most amazing cinnamon streusel.
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Servings: 20 Cookies
Calories: 359kcal
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Ingredients
For the Streusel Topping
- ¾ Cup Butter Softened
- ⅓ Cup Brown Sugar
- ⅓ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
For the Cookies
- 10 Tablespoons Butter Softened
- ⅓ Cup Shortening
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar Packed
- ½ Cup White Sugar
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Cinnamon
- 2 Eggs Plus 1 Extra Egg Yolk
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Bean Paste or 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Cornstarch
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 3 ⅓ Cups All Purpose Flour
- ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine all streusel ingredients except butter. Cut butter in with 2 forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Refrigerate.
- In a large bowl combine butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Stir in baking powder, cornstarch, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and eggs.
- Gradually add flour a little at a time until just combined.
- Scoop dough onto prepared sheets. Make an indent in the center of each cookie and add 2 tablespoons of streusel. Press down lightly.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 3-5 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.
- Before serving lightly dust with powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 286mg | Potassium: 104mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 412IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2mg
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These coffee cake cookies are soft, buttery perfection! The cinnamon streusel topping makes them impossible to resist.
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
These cookies are DELICIOUS!!!! They're a perfect mid-afternoon snack with a cup of tea!