These incredible coffee cookies are chewy chocolate chip cookies, loaded with chocolate chunks, and espresso powder.
These espresso chocolate chip cookies are a delicious cookie recipe that combines two popular flavors: coffee and chocolate.
These cookies start with a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, but with a twist. Ground espresso or instant coffee is added to the dough, giving the cookies a rich, coffee-like taste.
The espresso flavor pairs perfectly with the sweet chocolate chips, creating a delicious balance. These cookies are great for coffee lovers and make a nice change from regular chocolate chip cookies.
The smell of these cookies baking in the oven is sure to make your home smell amazing and have everyone asking for a taste.
For more cookie recipes check out my Oreo chocolate chip cookies, mini chocolate chip cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, and tiramisu cookies.
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- these cookies have crispy edges and chewy centers. The chocolate chunks add pockets of gooey goodness, making each bite decadent.
- Flavor- the espresso powder enhances the chocolate taste, giving the cookies a deep, complex flavor that is perfect for coffee and chocolate lovers.
- Aroma- the smell of coffee and chocolate filling your kitchen as these cookies bake is amazing. It creates a warm, inviting atmosphere that will make your home feel cozy and welcoming.
- Perfect for any occasion- these are great for various occasions. They're perfect for breakfast with coffee, as an afternoon snack, or as a dessert.
- Freezer friendly- you can freeze the dough or baked cookies for later enjoyment. This makes them perfect for busy schedules or when you want to have treats on hand for emergencies.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking soda – baking soda helps the cookies rise and spread. Make sure that your baking soda isn't expired. Don't replace baking soda with baking powder!
Sugar- we used granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar as well.
Brown sugar- I like using light brown sugar for this. The brown sugar adds a caramelly flavor and chewy texture to the cookies. You will need ¾ cup light brown sugar for this. You can use dark brown sugar for a deeper caramelly flavor.
Eggs- you will need 1 large egg for this recipe. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Egg yolk- egg yolk gives this cookie a chewier texture.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. You can use vanilla bean extract or pure vanilla extract for better flavor!
Espresso powder- use your favorite instant espresso powder, you can use decaf or regular! A popular instant coffee granules that I use is Nespresso or Nescafe.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Chocolate chunks- use either chocolate chunks or chop chocolate bars. I used semisweet chocolate, but you can use dark chocolate as well!
Instructions
Into a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, sugar, brown sugar, kosher salt, and vanilla extract, and cream it with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes or until it's creamy and light in color.
Add the egg, egg yolk, and instant coffee powder, and mix until combined and creamy.
Then, add the flour, and baking soda, and mix with the hand mixer until almost combined.
Add the chocolate chunks, and fold with a spatula until the mixture is just combined. Don't overmix!
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour. We let the dough rest in the fridge overnight.
Use a large cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular tablespoon, 3 tablespoons at a time.
Place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Immediately top them with more chocolate chunks.
Let the coffee cookie cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Ensure your butter is at room temperature before making these cookies. Remove it from the fridge 1-2 hours beforehand. The butter should be soft to touch. Cold butter is harder to mix and may leave lumps in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Chill the dough! This step is crucial and prevents the cookies from spreading out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack for 10 more minutes. This prevents soggy bottoms from steam.
Faq's
Espresso powder enhances cookies by adding subtle coffee undertones and intensifying chocolate flavors. It deepens taste without making cookies coffee-flavored.
This ingredient also darkens color and improves texture, creating chewier cookies. A small amount can significantly elevate flavor complexity in cookie recipes.
The bold coffee flavors complement the sweet, buttery cookies, creating a delicious contrast.
The warm coffee enhances the experience of biting into a soft cookie. This combination is popular for breakfast, snacks, or dessert.
High-quality semisweet or bittersweet chips with 60-70% cocoa content often work best, maintaining shape while baking and providing rich flavor.
Some prefer milk chocolate for sweetness or mix chip types for complexity. Experiment with different brands and cocoa percentages to find your ideal match.
Storing
Store these cookies at room temperature for up to 4 days. Make sure that you store them in an airtight container.
Freezing
For baked cookies, let them cool completely. Then, put them in a freezer-safe container or bag. Add wax paper between layers to prevent sticking. Freeze for up to 2 months.
When you're ready to eat, thaw baked cookies at room temperature.
For unbaked cookie dough, shape it into balls and place them on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag.
For dough balls, bake them straight from the freezer, adding a few extra minutes to the cooking time. This way, you can have fresh cookies anytime without the fuss of making them from scratch.
Make these ahead of time
To make these ahead of time, you can make the cookie dough and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days. When you are ready to bake, follow the instructions as written.
Substitutions
Dairy-free- it’s easy to make this recipe dairy-free. Simply replace the butter with vegan butter and the chocolate chips or chunks with dairy-free chocolate.
Gluten-free- you can swap the flour with gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free. I never tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but it should work.
Decaf- if you don't consume caffeine, you can use decaf espresso powder.
Variations
Chocolate- you can swap the semisweet chocolate chunks with your favorite chocolate like white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate, or use your favorite chocolate chips like caramel chocolate chips, butterscotch, etc.
Nuts- add ½ cup of your favorite chopped and toasted nuts like almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- Baking sheet and rack set (our fave)
- Cookies scoop set of 3 (the best cookie scoop we used)
- Electric hand mixer
More cookie recipes
Sour cream cookies- These sour cream cookies are light and fluffy, they are a no-chill cookie recipe, and they are topped with a creamy and delicious buttercream frosting.
Lemon crinkle cookies- These lemon crinkle cookies are chewy and soft and are filled with lemon zest and lemon juice for a delicious citrus flavor.
Chewy pistachio cookies- These pistachio cookies are made with a chocolate chip cookie base filled with chopped pistachios and chocolate chunks and topped with flakey salt!
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Chewy Coffee Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter softened, unsalted
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- ¾ cup Brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg yolk
- ¼ cup Espresso powder
- 2 cups Flour AP
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 cup Chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, sugar, brown sugar, kosher salt, and vanilla extract, and cream it with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes or until it's creamy and light in color.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and espresso powder, and mix until combined and creamy.
- Then, add the flour, and baking soda, and mix with the hand mixer until almost combined.
- Add the chocolate chunks, and fold with a spatula until the mixture is just combined. Don't overmix!
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour. We let the dough rest in the fridge overnight.
- Use a large cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular tablespoon, 3 tablespoons at a time.
- Place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Immediately top them with more chocolate chunks.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Chill the dough! This step is crucial and prevents the cookies from spreading out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
- We suggest letting these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transferring them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
Kendra Smith, full time mother of four
These cookies were delish!!! They taste exactly like a coffee crisp, and I made them decaf so my little ones could enjoy them (didn’t give them to my 2 year old munchkin though lols). I did run into a few problems and I just can’t think of what I did wrong! The dough ended up so crumbly and was falling apart but I managed to squeeze them into balls (#strongmom) and baked them. But disaster struck again because they didn’t spread. Gosh, I just don’t know what went wrong.
I changed a few things that I think made the cookies better… I added a little extra espresso (just a bit!) because God says to follow your intuition and I trust Him above all (and I also do love my coffee #momlife).
Also, a coffee glaze takes these to the next level! Just espresso powder, water, and some powdered sugar and everyone will be amazed (especially hubby! lol).
Love y’all! Kendra, Professional Mom