Coffee Kisses
Coffee Kisses are classic coffee biscuits, sandwiched together with a smooth coffee buttercream filling. They’re easy to bake, full of coffee flavour, and ideal for any coffee lover looking for something a little bit special with their cuppa.
Do you know what makes me feel like I’m failing as a mother more than any other thing…?
My dislike of coffee.
There, I said it. I’m not a coffee fan. So the process of making these Coffee Kisses was an interesting one!
I have tried to like coffee, I really have. There’s one thing I love about coffee, and that is the smell. I have fond memories of being a teenager at my first “real” job working in a florist-come-coffee shop. Making cappuccinos, lattes, and Americanos… and often being told they were delicious, yet never being able to stand the bitter taste that coffee has always had to me.
I much prefer a cup of tea or my go-to drink, a Diet Coke! But in my recipe searches, one little biscuit kept grabbing my attention: Coffee Kisses. I think it’s perhaps the cute name that sold me on them, despite knowing I probably wouldn’t be all too keen on the flavour.
However, when you bake and recipe-test for a living, it’s unsurprising just how many willing volunteers you befriend along the way! A plea on our Mums group chat resulted in a number of keen taste-testers who assured me that these Coffee Kisses are quite amazing.
I baked an entire batch, took them to soft play and came home empty-handed. Something that came at the hilarity of friends literally taking home extras for their evening cuppa, wrapped in napkins and tied in nappy bags – unused, I should add!!
If that’s not a sign of a good biscuit, I’m not sure what is.
Top Tips for Coffee Kisses:
• Use Instant Coffee or Coffee Syrup: Coffee Syrup is great, but unless you plan to make a lot of these, some instant coffee with a splash of boiling water works just as well. You also don’t want to use an entire cup of coffee – you a little instant with water to dissolve it, which will give you the flavour without adding too much moisture.
• Soft Butter Makes a Difference: Make sure your butter (or margarine) is softened, or at least room temperature before you start. This helps the biscuit dough come together smoothly and gives you a lighter, more even coffee buttercream.
• Keep the Biscuit Sizes Even: Rolling the dough into evenly sized balls helps the biscuits bake at the same rate and makes sandwiching them much easier later. A teaspoon or small cookie scoop works well.
• Don’t Overbake: Coffee kisses should be set and lightly golden, not dark. They’ll still be soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool. Overbaking can also make them dry.
• Cool Completely Before Filling: Let the biscuits cool fully before adding the coffee buttercream. Filling them while warm will cause the buttercream to melt and the biscuits to slide apart.
• Pipe for a Neater Finish: Piping the buttercream (rather than spreading) gives a more even filling and helps the biscuits sit neatly together. Plus it looks pretty, too!
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Coffee Kisses
INGREDIENTS
For the Biscuits
- 1 tbsp Instant Coffee
- 1 tsp Boiling Water
- 170 g Self-raising Flour
- 85 g Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar)
- 85 g Block Margarine or Butter (softened)
- 1 Free-range Egg (beaten)
For the Buttercream
- 1 tbsp Instant Coffee
- 1 tsp Boiling Water
- 100 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature)
- 200 g Icing Sugar (Powdered Sugar)
EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
For the Biscuits
- Preheat your oven to 180°c (160°c for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 4 or 350°F) and line a couple of baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
- In a mug dissolve your coffee with the boiling water, stir well and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and sugar before rubbing in the butter/margarine with your fingers, until you get a sandy consistency.
- Add the egg to the cooled coffee and beat with a fork. Add to the bowl and bring the ingredients together to create a soft sticky dough.
- Roll about a teaspoon of the dough into a ball and place on your pre-lined baking sheets. Repeat with the rest of the dough to make about 30 balls, leaving some space between each as they will spread a little while baking.
- Bake in your pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until the balls resemble small biscuits and are dry-looking on top. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for a short while before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Buttercream
- While the biscuits cool you can prepare your buttercream filling. As with the biscuits, prepare your instant coffee with the boiling water and set aside.
- In a bowl, mix the icing sugar and butter/margarine before adding the coffee and beating until light and fluffy.
- Either spread or pipe the icing onto half the biscuits, before sandwiching them to the remaining half.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won’t always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
- Storage: Store the filled Coffee Kisses in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If your kitchen is warm, keep them in the fridge and bring them to room temperature before serving. The texture may change as the days pass, but the flavours will still be delicious.
- Freezing: The baked biscuits freeze well without the buttercream. Defrost fully, then fill with freshly made coffee buttercream before serving.
- Make ahead: You can bake the biscuits a day in advance and store them in an airtight container until ready to assemble with the buttercream.
- Coffee Syrup: Instant coffee dissolved in a small amount of boiling water gives the best flavour without adding too much moisture. Coffee syrup can also be used, but instant coffee is more economical – unless you plan to bake these regularly.
Coffee Kisses are coffee-flavoured biscuits, sandwiched together with a smooth coffee buttercream filling. They’re a classic old-fashioned British bake, often served with tea or coffee.
Yes, coffee syrup can be used and works well for flavour. However, if you don’t bake with it often, instant coffee dissolved in a small amount of boiling water is just as effective. This gives you a strong coffee flavour without adding too much moisture to the biscuit dough or buttercream.
Yes. Espresso powder can be used for a stronger coffee flavour. Use slightly less than the amount of instant coffee in the recipe, as espresso powder is more concentrated.
I mean, yes, you could… You can replace the coffee with vanilla or cocoa powder for a different flavour. But they would no longer be traditional Coffee Kisses. If avoiding caffeine, decaffeinated instant coffee works well.
Free-from & Vegan:
Gluten-free: Coffee Kisses can be made gluten-free by using a gluten-free self-raising flour, in place of “normal” self-raising flour. The biscuits may be slightly more delicate, though, so allow them to cool completely before filling with the coffee buttercream.
Dairy-free: Use a dairy-free block margarine in both the biscuits and the buttercream. Many dairy-free margarines work well, but choose a firm block style rather than a soft spread – the latter will be too soft.
Egg-free: This recipe relies on an egg for structure, so I haven’t tested an egg-free version. Egg substitutes may work, but results can vary, and the texture would probably also be different.
Vegan: To make Coffee Kisses vegan, use a dairy-free block margarine and replace the egg with a suitable egg replacer. I haven’t tested this version myself, so results may vary – but it should hopefully work with a commercial egg replacer designed for baking.
N.B. Any advice or suggestions to make recipes “free-from” or vegan are purely that – suggestions. Please be careful to double-check all ingredients individually, taking extra caution when serving to those with allergies & intolerances.
For more info on common food allergies, please see food.gov.uk | For more info on coeliac disease, please see coeliac.org.uk | For more info on a vegan diet, please see vegansociety.com
Originally published in February 2020. Updated in December 2025.
With thanks to Naomi Seiler for the updated photos.
Has anyone made this GF how was the texture? Did you use anything else for replacement?
Tried this yesterday (without filling personal choice) but biscuits alone were so delicious! Amazing recipe husband loves it too. Thank you xx
My name is Methuselah and I have just baked for the first time, and my first attempt was these. Slight issue with the quantity. I got 5 massive coffee kisses instead of 15 wee ones. Tasted decent though. :)
Love this recipe
I love your recipes but am in America and can’t figure out the grams system.
Hi Joan, I’d really recommend you get yourself a digital food scale which can measure in grams (most of them can switch between grams and ounces which is handy). There are so many gorgeous recipes on this website and many others based in Europe but as we don’t use the cup measurements over here you will hardly ever see them mentioned. On Amazon they have quite a few options from about $10-$20 (you don’t need anything too fancy).
If it’s any consolation, I often see US recipes which I’d love to try but can’t figure out how much a cup of something should weigh – I’ll have to get myself a set of those! :)
Hi Joan. A kitchen scale is available at most Big Box stores and I really recommend you get one. Measuring by weight is vastly more accurate than using cups/spoons. And once you get the hang of it, way faster. I’m here in Michigan and after years of working as a Baker for a living, I don’t ever want to be without my scale!
In reply to Joan regarding gram vrs cups I google all inquiries. You cam find charts for the most common measurements.