Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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:

• Use different baking chips: Use another variety of chocolate chips in place of the semisweet chocolate chips, such as milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate chips. Or sub in some other fun chips, such as Andes Creme de Menthe Chips or Andes Peppermint Crunch Chips, Heath Toffee Chips, Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips, Kraft Caramel Bits, or Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips.
• Use M&Ms: To make Espresso M&M Cookies, substitute 1 cup of regular or mini M&Ms in place of chocolate chips.
• Add nuts: Mix 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter.

More Chocolate Cookie Recipes

Looking for more classic chocolate cookie recipes to bake this season? Here are a few of our favorites:

• The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Chocolate Brownie Cookies
• No Bake Cookies

Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 4 reviews

• Author: Ali
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Yield: 12 to 15 cookies 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

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.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 cups (213 grams*) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (115 grams) butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• optional: flaky sea salt

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, espresso powder, cornstarch, baking soda and salt until combined. Set aside.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Chill. Transfer the dough to an airtight container and refrigerate it for 2 hours, or until it is chilled through.
5. Prep oven and baking sheet. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
6. 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.
7. Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!

---

Notes

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.

Share this Post