Soft and chewy cookies flavored with espresso powder and filled with chocolate chips. The classic combination of coffee and chocolate makes these cookies the perfect sweet treat.
These cookies are soft in the center, slightly crisp at the edges, and they taste like buttery brown sugar + chocolate +coffee. Eeeek! Try our Coffee Brownies and Espresso Crumb Cake, too.
Hi! Hello! How are you? You’re about to be great, because: ESPRESSO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! Yep, cookies that combine two of the best flavors ever.
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Recipe overview
I start with my go-to cookie dough (used in my M&M Cookies and Almond Joy Cookies). I swap the M&M’s for chocolate chips and add plenty of espresso powder. Here’s how to make it:
- Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
- Add egg and vanilla.
- Beat in flour, leavening, salt, and espresso powder.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough into balls and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Ease: Only about 15 minutes of hands on time.
No chill time: You can bake these cookies as soon as the dough is assembled.
Flavor: Coffee and chocolate is an incredible flavor combo!
Texture: Our favorite cookie texture; crisp edges and soft centers with melty chocolate chips all throughout.
Make ahead option: This cookie dough freezes beautifully. Portion the dough into 1-½ tablespoon scoops and freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator before baking.
Ingredient spotlight: espresso powder
This recipe calls for espresso powder or instant espresso. Espresso powder/instant espresso is finely ground coffee crystals that have a strong and concentrated coffee flavor. This ingredient is sold in most well stocked grocery stores near the coffee or on the baking aisle. You can also purchase it here.
Recipe tips
- Butter should be softened but still cool to the touch.
- Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. This helps the cookies bake evenly and prevents them from spreading too much. Bonus: it also makes clean-up a breeze.
- Use a cookie scoop for evenly sized cookies. My go-to cookie scoop is 1-½ tablespoons.
- Add a few extra chocolate chips to the top of the dough balls before baking (this makes for a prettier cookie).
- Underbake the cookies. You should remove these cookies from the oven when the edges are just set but the centers are still undercooked. They should be so soft that you cannot pick them up off the baking sheet without them falling apart. They will firm up as they cool on the baking sheet.
- Once the cookies come out the oven use the back of a spoon to gently push the edges inward to create clean edges and a perfect round shape.
- Did you freeze the dough? Thaw in the refrigerator before baking. Place the dough balls on parchment lined baking sheet and press down gently on the dough balls before baking. This will help them spread evenly.
Recipe
Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons espresso powder or instant espresso
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips, divided
- flaky sea salt, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Beat butter and sugars for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough into 1½tablespoon balls (I use a cookie scoop) and place on the prepared baking sheets. Mound the balls higher rather than wider so that they bake with a nice thickness. Using the remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips, press several chocolate chips onto the tops of the mounds of dough (this will help the chocolate chips be more visible). You can proceed with baking right away, or for thicker cookies you can chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers of the cookies are still under baked. See note below about shaping the cookies immediately after baking.
- Place the baking sheets on wire racks and cool completely. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
Notes
Option 2: Immediately after the cookies come out the oven use the back of a spoon to gently push the edges inward to create clean edges and a perfect round shape.
STORAGE: Store cookies tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Leftover cookies may be frozen for up to 3 months. Unbaked dough balls may also be frozen. If baking frozen dough balls: thaw in the refrigerator before baking. Place the dough balls on parchment lined baking sheet and press down gently on the dough balls before baking. This will help them spread evenly. You might need to add a minute or two to bake time.Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Lisa says
I just recently purchased Espresso powder and I will have to now try it with this recipe. Sounds so yummy!
Anyari Morales says
My boyfriend isn’t a fan of coffee but LOVES these.
Allison says
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by!
Lynne says
Followed the recipe. Love the flavor! My cookies looked great coming out of the oven but then spread into a very thin cookie. I made sure my butter was still firm and not melty. even chilled after the first batch..still spread. Maybe I need a touch more flour next time??
Allison says
Yes, it sounds like more flour should help. Are you in a humid environment or baking at high elevation?
Lynne says
Not high elevation, for sure. I am definitely going to try again because everyone loved the flavors.
Donna Rogers says
I love these cookies and so does my family including my grandchildren. I make them all the time, but I make them with Splenda and Splenda brown sugar. Great go to recipe!!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
V says
My husband and I loved these! They aren’t too sweet thanks to the espresso (we love coffee) and the salt is great on these! I froze some since it wasn’t a small batch but these are best made the same day/with dough that isn’t very cold. They spread and get chewy. Very nice, rich caramelized flavor. I will definitely make them again and again
I’ve also tried the pumpkin muffins, small batch chocolate cupcakes and made them more than once. I’ll try the pecan pie bars and apple crisp this fall. Thanks for sharing such wonderful recipes!
Allison says
Thanks for the kind review. Happy baking! 🙂
Donna Rogers says
I make these quite often. My whole family including the grandkids, love them. The only thing different that I do, is I use sweetener instead of sugar, Splenda brown sugar and sugar free choc. chips. These are our all time favorite cookie. I take them to all events!
Thanks for sharing.
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Paula says
Hello! I just found your recipe and am thinking about giving it a try. Sounds and looks delicious! A question: I like to make large cookies, like 3″ in diameter, and not have them turn out flat. For the size and thickness (not flat, but not really thick) I am looking for, can you recommend an ounce or gram weight? I will try with the chilling of the dough and method of having the dough more cylinder like then ball like. Thank you for any thoughts.
Allison says
Hi, Paula. I don’t have a weight measurement, I don’t usually weigh my dough (although I should going forward so I have this information). I would recommend about 1/4 cup of dough per cookie. You can also add another 1-2 tablespoons of flour to help bulk the cookies up a bit. Enjoy!