Indulge in Irresistible Vegan Coffee Kisses: The Ultimate Retro British Sandwich Biscuit Recipe

Prepare to be enchanted by **Vegan Coffee Kisses**, delightful little coffee biscuits that are lovingly sandwiched together with a luxurious, fluffy coffee buttercream. This exquisite retro British recipe is an absolute joy to create, requiring just a handful of simple, accessible ingredients. Perfect for any occasion, these moreish treats are the ideal companion to your favourite hot beverage, embodying a timeless charm and utterly delicious flavour.

Coffee kisses are a beloved staple in British baking, a classic sandwich biscuit whose origins trace back to the nostalgic era of the 1930s. This recipe, in its original form, was famously featured in an old Be-Ro flour cookbook and traditionally included an egg, rendering it unsuitable for a vegan diet. However, with the rising popularity of plant-based alternatives, a simple yet effective swap for some plant milk works absolute wonders, perfectly replicating the original’s texture and taste without compromising on flavour or integrity. This adaptation ensures that everyone can enjoy these delightful, historical treats.

These are truly irresistible and “moreish” little biscuits – a term affectionately used in Britain to describe food that makes you want to eat “more of it.” Distinctly British in their nomenclature, we call them biscuits, not cookies! Each one boasts a delicate, exquisitely balanced coffee flavour that is satisfying without being overly sweet. The beauty of this recipe also lies in its versatility: you can tailor the texture of your biscuits to your exact preference. Bake them for a shorter duration for a delightfully soft, melt-in-your-mouth experience, or extend the baking time slightly to achieve a satisfyingly crunchy bite. This customization ensures that every batch of vegan coffee kisses is perfectly suited to your palate.

Ingredient Details for Perfect Vegan Coffee Kisses:

Crafting these delectable vegan coffee kisses starts with understanding the role each ingredient plays. Using the right components ensures the best flavour and texture, elevating your baking from good to truly exceptional.

Instant espresso powder: For the most seamless integration and intense coffee flavour, I strongly advocate for instant espresso powder. Its fine consistency allows it to dissolve much more easily and thoroughly compared to coarser instant coffee granules. While granules can be used as an alternative, ensure they are fully dissolved to avoid gritty bits in your biscuits. Another excellent option is Camp coffee extract, which offers a rich, concentrated coffee flavour. If opting for Camp coffee extract, remember to slightly reduce the amount of plant milk in the recipe to maintain the ideal dough consistency, as the extract already contributes liquid.

Self-raising flour: Staying true to the historical British recipe, I’ve chosen self-raising (often called self-rising in other regions) flour. This type of flour already contains a leavening agent (baking powder) and a small amount of salt, which helps the biscuits achieve their characteristic delicate rise and tender crumb. If self-raising flour isn’t readily available, you can easily substitute it by combining plain (all-purpose) flour with a precise measure of 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder per 175g of flour. This simple trick ensures your biscuits still get the lift they need.

Vegan block butter: This is a crucial ingredient for both the biscuit dough and the rich buttercream, and selecting the correct type is paramount. You absolutely *must* use a solid block butter or margarine, specifically designed for baking, and steer clear of the softer, spreadable varieties that come in tubs. Spreadable margarines contain a higher water content and lower fat, which can lead to a dough that is too soft and difficult to handle, potentially resulting in tough or overly spread-out biscuits. For the buttercream, using block butter is even more critical; it provides the necessary fat and stability to whip up into a light, airy, and luscious frosting that won’t split or become oily. For exceptional results, I highly recommend popular brands like Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter, known for their excellent performance in baking.

Sugar: Precision in sugar choice is important for both texture and sweetness balance. For the biscuit dough, you’ll need fine caster sugar or granulated sugar. Both dissolve well and contribute to the biscuit’s structure. For the dreamy buttercream, icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar) is essential. Its superfine texture allows it to blend smoothly into the butter, creating a silky, lump-free frosting. I strongly advise against substituting these for other types of sugar or alternative sweeteners, as their chemical properties and granular size are integral to the success of both components of the coffee kisses.

Plant milk: A small amount of plant milk elegantly steps in to replace the egg found in the original, non-vegan recipe, acting as a binder and providing crucial moisture. My preference is unsweetened soya milk due to its neutral flavour and good consistency, but almost any type of non-dairy milk will work effectively. Popular choices include almond milk, oat milk, or cashew milk. However, a key exception to avoid is tinned coconut milk, which is too thick and has a very dominant flavour that would overpower the delicate coffee notes of the biscuits.

How To Make Vegan Coffee Kisses: A Step-by-Step Guide

(For precise measurements and comprehensive instructions, please refer to the detailed recipe card conveniently located at the bottom of this page.)

Making these vegan coffee kisses is a straightforward process, but paying attention to a few key techniques will ensure a perfect result every time. Follow these steps for truly delightful biscuits:

Step 1: Preparing the Dough Base. Begin by combining your self-raising flour and granulated or caster sugar in a spacious mixing bowl. Give them a quick whisk to ensure they are well incorporated. Next, introduce the cold vegan block butter, cut into small cubes, straight from the fridge. Using your fingertips, gently rub the butter into the flour and sugar mixture. The goal is to achieve a texture that resembles fine breadcrumbs, with no visible lumps of butter remaining. This ‘rubbing-in’ method is crucial for creating tender biscuits.

Step 2: Crafting the Coffee Infusion. In a separate small bowl, place the instant espresso powder. Pour in a single teaspoon of boiling water and stir vigorously until the espresso powder is completely dissolved, forming a dark, concentrated liquid. Then, add the plant milk to this coffee mixture and stir again to combine. This method ensures the coffee flavour is evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Step 3: Forming the Dough. Carefully scrape the prepared coffee mixture into your flour and butter mixture. Use a spatula to initially stir everything together until the ingredients just start to come together. Then, switch to using your hands. Briefly knead the dough—and I mean briefly! Over-kneading can develop the gluten too much, leading to tough biscuits. Continue until the dough is smooth, uniform in colour, and no longer looks patchy with dry flour streaks. It should be soft but manageable.

Step 4: Shaping and Preparing for Baking. Take small portions of the dough, roughly ½ Tablespoon in size, and roll them gently between your palms to form neat, uniform balls. Place these dough balls spaced well apart on your parchment-lined baking sheets. Ensure adequate spacing, as they will spread slightly during baking. Aim for consistent sizing to ensure even baking.

Step 5: The Baking Process. Bake your biscuit balls in the preheated oven for approximately 12-20 minutes. The exact baking time will dictate the final texture: shorter baking yields a softer biscuit, while longer baking results in a crunchier one. I personally find 15 minutes to be the sweet spot for a perfect balance of tenderness with a slight crisp edge. Once baked, allow them to cool on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes to firm up before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This prevents them from breaking.

Step 6: Whipping Up the Fluffy Buttercream. While the biscuits are cooling, prepare your coffee buttercream. In a clean mixing bowl, combine the softened vegan block butter (at room temperature for optimal whisking) with the icing sugar. Begin to whisk these two ingredients together using an electric mixer until they are light and creamy. In a tiny separate dish, mix the instant coffee powder with ½ teaspoon of boiling water until fully dissolved, then add this concentrated coffee liquid to your butter and sugar mixture. Continue to whisk for a good few minutes – at least 3-5 minutes – until the buttercream becomes incredibly light, airy, and fluffy, almost doubling in volume. This extended whisking incorporates air, giving the buttercream its luxurious texture.

Step 7: Assembling and Serving. Once your biscuits are completely cool (this is critical to prevent the buttercream from melting), it’s time to assemble your coffee kisses. Take half of the cooled biscuits and either spread a generous dollop of buttercream onto their flat undersides using a small spatula or pipe it on using a piping bag for a more elegant finish. Then, gently top each frosted biscuit with another plain biscuit, creating a perfect sandwich. Press lightly to secure. Arrange them beautifully on a serving plate and get ready to enjoy these delightful retro treats with your favourite cup of tea or coffee.

Why You’ll Adore These Vegan Coffee Kisses:

• Nostalgic Charm: They bring back the classic taste of a beloved British biscuit.
• Effortlessly Vegan: A simple plant-based swap makes this traditional treat accessible to everyone.
• Easy to Make: With straightforward steps and common ingredients, they’re perfect for bakers of all skill levels.
• Customizable Texture: From delightfully soft to satisfyingly crunchy, you control the bake.
• Perfect Pairing: The ultimate companion to your morning coffee or afternoon tea.
• Economical: Made with everyday pantry staples.

Top Tips for Vegan Coffee Kiss Perfection:

Achieving consistently fantastic results in baking, especially with delicate biscuits like these vegan coffee kisses, often comes down to a few expert tips and tricks. Follow these guidelines to ensure your biscuits turn out perfectly every time.

As with virtually all of my baking recipes, I cannot stress enough the importance of utilizing metric measurements in conjunction with a precise digital kitchen scale, rather than relying on cup conversions. Cups, while convenient, are a notoriously inaccurate measuring system, as the volume of ingredients can vary significantly based on how tightly they are packed. Using a digital scale to measure ingredients in grams guarantees far superior and more consistent results, ensuring your dough has the perfect balance of wet and dry components. Plus, it’s often a much cleaner and more efficient method than juggling multiple measuring cups!

**Cooling is Crucial:** This tip cannot be overstated: you absolutely *must* ensure that your freshly baked biscuits have cooled down completely and are at room temperature before you even think about sandwiching them with the coffee buttercream. Attempting to fill warm or even slightly warm biscuits will lead to a guaranteed disaster, as the heat will quickly melt the delicate buttercream, creating a messy rather than delightful treat. Patience here is truly a virtue.

**Butter Temperature Matters:** The temperature of your vegan butter is critical and differs for the two main components of this recipe. For the biscuit dough, always use cold vegan block butter, taken straight from the fridge. This ensures that when you rub it into the flour, it forms those lovely fine breadcrumbs and prevents the dough from becoming too soft and sticky, often eliminating the need for chilling before shaping. Conversely, for the luxurious buttercream, you want to use softened, room temperature vegan block butter. This warmer, more pliable butter will whip up beautifully with the icing sugar, incorporating plenty of air to create that desirable light, airy, and fluffy texture.

**Dough Troubleshooting:** If, after combining all your ingredients, you find that your biscuit dough feels too soft or sticky to handle and shape into neat balls, don’t despair! This can sometimes happen depending on the specific vegan butter or plant milk used. Simply wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm or parchment paper and pop it into the refrigerator for approximately 30-60 minutes. This chilling period will allow the fats to firm up, making the dough much easier to roll and shape without sticking to your hands or the work surface.

**Optimal Storage:** Once assembled, your delicious vegan coffee kisses will maintain their freshness and delightful texture when stored in an airtight container. Keep them at a cool room temperature, away from direct sunlight or heat, and they will remain perfectly enjoyable for 4-5 days. For longer storage, consider freezing the plain baked biscuits (before adding buttercream) in an airtight container for up to 1-2 months. Thaw at room temperature and then proceed with making and adding the fresh buttercream.

More British Biscuits to Discover:

• Vegan Custard Creams
• Vegan Empire Biscuits
• Vegan Soul Cakes
• Chocolate Orange Viennese Fingers
• Spiced Oat Biscuits
• Chocolate Viennese Whirls
• Vegan Easter Biscuits
• Vegan Shortbread Fingers

If you’ve had the pleasure of trying this delightful recipe, I’d be absolutely thrilled to hear about your experience! Please consider rating it, leaving a comment below, or tagging @domestic_gothess on Instagram with the hashtag #domesticgothess. Your feedback and beautiful creations truly inspire me!

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