coffee balls

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 250 g flour
• 150 g ground almonds
• 50 g powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
• 30 g cocoa powder, instant
• 20 g cocoa powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 100 g double cream cheese
• 125 g butter
• 2 tbsp instant coffee powder
• Powdered sugar, for rolling

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 15 minutes

Carefully melt the butter, let it cool slightly, then add the instant coffee so it swells a bit and can be distributed more easily in the dough. Mix all the ingredients and knead into a dough. (It’s best to knead in the ground almonds at the very end, or mix all the dry ingredients well beforehand and then add the cream cheese and butter and knead). Form into walnut-sized (not too large) balls, place them on a baking sheet (lined with baking paper) and place them in a cold oven. Bake at 180°C (150°C fan-assisted oven for 15 minutes) for 15 to 20 minutes. The balls will burn easily, but since they’re dark, you can’t tell if they’re turning brown, so be sure to set a clock. Let them cool slightly. The balls will be quite soft at first; they will harden as they cool. Roll them in powdered sugar while they’re still warm. Tip: You can also use instant cocoa powder like Nesquick or Kaba, but if you replace some of it with dark cocoa powder, as called for in the recipe, the flavor will be more intense. Using only cocoa powder will result in a stronger flavor. Double cream cheese refers to something like Philadelphia or Buko.