Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies (2024)

These triple chocolate mocha cookies are a decadent dessert! The cookies are soft and chewy with a crisp edge, a hint of coffee, and three different chocolates: cocoa powder, chopped semi-sweet, and dark chocolate chips. Easy to make. Ready in 30 minutes!

Love coffee? How about chocolate? Cookies?

If you answered yes to these three things, then these chocolate espresso cookies are going to check all your boxes in just one bite.

★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★

These triple chocolate espresso cookies are a real treat. Bake them for special occasions like birthdays and holidays or just because.

The cookies are soft and chewy with a crisp edge, a hint of coffee, and three different chocolates: cocoa powder, chopped semi-sweet, and dark chocolate chips.

The sophisticated flavor is sure to satisfy a craving for something a little more elevated than your standard chocolate chip cookies. But with all the same warm, comforting goodness.

Plus espresso.

★ Ingredients You'll Need★

These cookies aren't complicated to make but do feature a few special ingredients that set them apart from other cookies.

Let's take a look at everything you'll need:

• Butter adds richness and delicious flavor. Make sure the butter is fully softened to room temperature so it incorporates smoothly with the sugar.
• Light brown sugar sweetens the cookies. Light brown sugar produces a soft and chewy cookie with a crisp edge with a hint of molasses for depth of flavor.
• Eggs help bind the cookie dough together.
• Vanilla enhances the sweetness of the cookies and the flavor of the chocolates. Be sure to use real extract, not imitation for the best flavor.
• Flour gives the cookies structure. Measure using the spoon and level method because you don’t want to add too much flour!
• Cocoa powder gives the cookie dough a subtle bitter chocolate flavor that pairs really well with the other chocolates and the brown sugar.
• Instant espresso powder gives the cookies a subtle coffee flavor to make them mocha flavored rather than just chocolate.
• Baking soda helps keep the cookies light and tender.
• Salt helps balance out all of the sweetness in the cookies. We’re using table salt in the cookie dough and flaky sea salt on top.
• Semi-sweet and dark chocolate (chopped and chips). You can use pretty much any kind of chocolate you like in these cookies so feel free to use what you have on hand or mix and match depending on your preference.

★ How to Make this Recipe ★

These cookies come together in a few simple steps.

Here's a look at what's involved (full recipe below):

• Mix butter and brown sugar.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract.
• Whisk flour with cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Add dry ingredients to butter mixture.
• Fold in chocolate.
• Scoop dough onto baking sheets.
• Bake.
• Shape cookies (if desired).
• Allow cookies to cool.
• Sprinkle with sea salt.

Simple! No chilling of the dough is necessary if you shape them mid-bake. Details below.

★ Tips & FAQs ★

How can I enhance the coffee flavor of these cookies?

Using espresso powder along with chocolate, the espresso powder tends to enhance the chocolate flavor which is excellent! But you may be craving even more of that coffee flavor.

So, to get more of that, rather than adding more espresso powder, try adding coffee extract. You can replace half of the vanilla extra with coffee extract in this recipe to get a more distinctly coffee flavor.

How to Get Perfectly Round Cookies

There's an old trick to perfectly rounding cookies that you may not know about!

It's easy to do and all you need is a large round cookie cutter.

Here's how it works:

Bake cookies just until edges are starting to brown and the center is almost all the way set but not quite. About 2-3 minutes away from being done.

• Then carefully remove the pan of cookies from the oven using hot hands.
• Tap the baking sheet on the counter or to sink the center of the cookies
• Place a large round cookie cutter around the first cookies and run the inside edge around the edge of the cookies to shape the still-soft cookie back into a circle.
• Repeat with each cookie then return to oven to finish baking.

This is a quick way to help cookies turn out perfectly round without the need to chill the dough.

Storage

Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.

These cookies will last up to 3 weeks stored in the fridge or 3 months stored in the freezer!

Can I adjust the level of espresso flavor in the cookies?

Absolutely! You can adjust the intensity of the espresso flavor by adding more or less instant espresso powder to the cookie dough.

Start with the recommended amount in the recipe and adjust to your personal preference. You can also experiment with different brands of espresso powder for variations in flavor.

Can I use brewed espresso instead of instant espresso powder?

You can use brewed espresso in your cookie recipe, but it may affect the texture and consistency of the cookies.

Using brewed espresso can make the dough too wet. If you really want to incorporate brewed espresso, you would need to adjust the dry ingredients to compensate for the added liquid.

Adding 1 tablespoon of flour for each tablespoon of espresso should work up to 2 tablespoon max before you would need to start adding more sugar, baking soda, etc.

For best results, use instant espresso or dry espresso grounds.

Can I substitute instant espresso with espresso grounds?

You can. Espresso grounds are more corse than freeze-dried espresso powder. Thet are going to be more rich as well.

To espresso grounds as a substitute, grind them into a powder using a mortar and pestle and use half the amount the recipe below calls for, below.

What's the best way to enjoy Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies?

These cookies are a versatile treat. They pair wonderfully with a cup of coffee, tea, or a glass of milk. You can also use them to make ice cream sandwiches or crumble them over ice cream, a cake or cupcakes for an extra indulgent dessert.

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The recipe for chewy chocolate espresso cookies was featured on South Your Mouth!South Your Mouth!