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These espresso chocolate chip cookies are made with a soft and chewy espresso-vanilla dough, melty chocolate chips and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt. Basically…heaven.
In all my years of baking, I don’t know if I’ve ever received a more enthusiastic response to a new cookie recipe. My friends and family are absolutely obsessed with these espresso chocolate chip cookies lately! ♡
We made our first batch a few weeks ago as an experimental riff on my tried-and-true classic chocolate chip cookie recipe, swapping in some espresso powder in place of the usual flour. And while an initial taste test of the dough had me a bit nervous that we had overdone it with the extra coffee flavor, the cookies themselves ended up baking to perfectly-balanced mocha perfection.
There’s just the right amount of espresso here to announce that these are decidedly coffee-flavored cookies, without being too subtle or too overblown. And the espresso — as coffee flavor is always faithful to do — brought out an even richer depth of flavor in the semisweet chocolate chips and paired beautifully with the buttery-vanilla flavor of the dough as well. I made sure that the texture of the dough remained perfectly soft and chewy, just the way I like it. And the finishing pinch of flaky sea salt adds the perfect salty crunch to each bite.
My husband has proclaimed these my “cookie of the year” and suggests that we make another batch as often as possible. Friends have made requests for the recipe and polished off plates of these cookies in record time. And I’ve already had to restock my jar of espresso powder to keep up with demand, lol. ♡ So suffice it to say, I think this recipe is a keeper.
Let’s make some espresso cookies together!
Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients
Here are a few brief notes about the espresso chocolate chip cookie ingredients that you will need for this recipe:
Flour: Basic all-purpose flour provides brings structure and texture to the cookies, and helps ensure that they’re fluffy and chewy. I recommend weighing the flour with a kitchen scale if possible for accuracy. (Everyone weighs flour differently, but I use 142g per cup, so you would need 213g for this recipe.)
Espresso powder: The magic ingredient that adds delicious coffee flavor to these cookies! I used this espresso powder, whose flavor I love, but feel free to use any brand of espresso powder that you prefer. (Also please note that espresso powder is different from and packs considerably stronger flavor than instant coffee.)
Cornstarch: I always add a few teaspoons of cornstarch to chocolate chip cookies, which helps to keep them extra-soft and chewy.
Baking soda: Baking soda is our leavening agent here, which helps the cookies to rise perfectly.
Salt: I used fine sea salt in the cookie dough, plus an extra sprinkling of flaky sea salt on top.
Butter: This recipe was written using unsalted butter, which needs to be room temperature in order to cream properly with the sugars. But if you only have salted butter on hand, no worries at all, simply omit the extra 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt called for in the recipe.
Sugars: We will use a mix of white granulated and brown sugar in the cookie dough, which provide the perfect amount of sweetness and a hint of molasses flavors.
Egg: An egg will serve as our binding agent here, holding all of the ingredients together while adding moisture to the cookies as well.
Vanilla extract: I recommend a generous amount of pure vanilla extract in these cookies, which you can either purchase store-bought or make homemade.
Semisweet chocolate chips: Finally, we’ll add a full cup of semisweet chocolate chips to the batter. Plus I like to poke a few extra chips on top of the dough balls just before baking (food styling trick!) which ensures that the chocolate chips are clearly visible on each cookie.
Recipe Variations
Here are a few variations that you’re welcome to try with this espresso cookie recipe:
These espresso chocolate chip cookies are made with a soft and chewy espresso-vanilla dough, melty chocolate chips and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt. Basically…heaven.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, espresso powder, cornstarch, baking soda and salt until combined. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugars. Using a separate mixing bowl, either with a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugars on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy and a pale yellow color, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally as needed.
Combine. Add egg and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredient mixture, and beat on medium-low speed until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips by hand, using a spatula or wooden spoon, until they are evenly combined.
Chill. Transfer the dough to an airtight container and refrigerate it for 2 hours, or until it is chilled through.
Prep oven and baking sheet. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Bake. Once the cookie dough is completely chilled, remove it from the refrigerator. Scoop out and roll dough balls that are 1-inch in diameter. Then place the dough balls on a baking sheet that is covered with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are slightly crispy and the tops of the cookies are lightly golden. The centers may look slightly undercooked. Remove the cookies and let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt, if you would like.
Prep time: The prep time listed above does not include the amount of time needed to chill the dough, which can vary depending on your fridge temperature and method. If you would like to speed up the chilling process, you can roll the dough balls and place them on the parchment-covered baking sheet, chill the whole baking sheet in the fridge for 15 minutes until the dough is chilled, then bake.
Your calculator for the 2x and 3x recipe amounts is not working properly. The flour and the butter ingredients
stay constant at 213 grams for flour and 115 grams for butter and do not reflect the proper grams needed to make the recipe in the larger 2x or 3x quantity.
I have a heart condition and have to avoid caffeine. In the recipe you mentioned instant coffee would not be an equal substitution. Do you have any suggestions on using decaf instant coffee if that’s my only choice? Thanks from a fellow KC girl!
Great Cookie!!!! Took them for my work’s potluck breakfast (twist on the regular holiday pot luck) they were a huge hit. This is definitely my favorite cookie recipe.
Delicious! I didn’t have espresso powder so I used one Nespresso stormio pod which had exactly 3 tbsp of coffee in it! I couldn’t want to wait to chill the dough so they came out a bit puffier but still sooo good.
Melinda —
Really glad to read this just now, Helen! I too couldn’t wait to chil the dough, and they rolled so easily. Just left them in 3 minutes longer. Waiting for them to come out now!
Love this recipe!!! however my cookies were not soft and chewy. They were more dense and puffy looking. I weighted my flour as stated in the recipe 213grams. You mentioned “everyone weighs flour differently…” would you be able to elaborate on this part? I understand baking is like science and measurement need to be accurate to get the desired outcome.
Hi- Do you think these would work with GF flour?
Thank you!
Your calculator for the 2x and 3x recipe amounts is not working properly. The flour and the butter ingredients
stay constant at 213 grams for flour and 115 grams for butter and do not reflect the proper grams needed to make the recipe in the larger 2x or 3x quantity.
THESE ARE SO GOOD!!!!!
I have a heart condition and have to avoid caffeine. In the recipe you mentioned instant coffee would not be an equal substitution. Do you have any suggestions on using decaf instant coffee if that’s my only choice? Thanks from a fellow KC girl!
Best cookie ever! I used dark chocolate chips, otherwise followed exactly and they are perfect! Love so many of your recipes!
Great Cookie!!!! Took them for my work’s potluck breakfast (twist on the regular holiday pot luck) they were a huge hit. This is definitely my favorite cookie recipe.
These cookies are so good! I rolled the cookies into 1″ diameters as instructed (I double checked using a tape measure) and got 33 cookies.
While my cookies were puffier than yours, the flavor is outstanding! Already looking forward to batch #2.
Delicious! I didn’t have espresso powder so I used one Nespresso stormio pod which had exactly 3 tbsp of coffee in it! I couldn’t want to wait to chill the dough so they came out a bit puffier but still sooo good.
Really glad to read this just now, Helen! I too couldn’t wait to chil the dough, and they rolled so easily. Just left them in 3 minutes longer. Waiting for them to come out now!
Love this recipe!!! however my cookies were not soft and chewy. They were more dense and puffy looking. I weighted my flour as stated in the recipe 213grams. You mentioned “everyone weighs flour differently…” would you be able to elaborate on this part? I understand baking is like science and measurement need to be accurate to get the desired outcome.
Made these for the first time yesterday and they are amazing, soft and chewy, they were a huge hit!!
Can you use this cookie dough in a cookie press.
I browned the butter instead of softening it and it was perfect! This is an insanely delicious cookie