Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

Someone commented to me recently that Shane must eat like a king with all the recipes I try for the blog. I wouldn’t exactly go that far, but there is a lot of variety to our meals so it’s never boring. There is, however, a downside to being this food blogger’s husband. Two, actually. First, even if you’re starving, you usually have to wait a few extra minutes for a couple of photos to be snapped before you can dig in. Also, you really can’t get too attached to any one recipe. We have a few go-to dinner options that I repeat, but otherwise, if I’m cooking I’m probably trying something new. The same goes for baked goods, maybe even to a larger extent – there’s almost never a repeat (outside of ice cream recipes, which seem to be the exception). When a simple craving for a chocolate chip cookie struck the other day, instead of turning to my favorite recipe, I started searching for a variation. Because you can never have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes, right?

I ended up deciding on these espresso chocolate chip cookies. I was mostly intrigued by the fact that these are baked at a lower temperature (300 F) than just about every other cookie recipe I’ve made. And then there was the espresso too – I tend to like its addition to baked goods, and I wondered how it would impact the flavor here. I baked the cookies just until the edges were barely set and the centers looked underbaked, and was rewarded with a really fantastic chewy cookie, my favorite kind They also don’t spread much in the oven, so they’re on the thicker side, which is another must for me. All of the brown sugar in the recipe contributes to the chewiness, but it also gives these cookies great flavor. As for the espresso? It lends a bit of a speckled appearance to the cookies, and I could definitely smell it in the dough and even in the baked cookies. I guess it depends how sensitive you are to espresso, but I didn’t think it was a very noticeable flavor – instead, it just gave the cookies a little something extra that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. I liked these so much I even baked a few for myself without the chocolate (yes, I’m the weirdo who doesn’t like chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookies) so I wouldn’t have to pick around the chocolate and could just savor every sweet, chewy bite!

Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Food Network

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (or chips)

Preheat oven to 300 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, and beat just until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

You can bake the cookies immediately but I liked them better after refrigerating the dough for a few hours (or even overnight).

Portion the dough into 1-2 tablespoon balls (I weighed mine – each was just over 1 oz) and place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between them. Press the dough down to spread it into roughly a 1 1/2 to 2-inch circle (the cookies do not spread much during baking). Bake for about 14-15 minutes or until edges are set (the cookies will seem underbaked, but as they cool they’ll set and be perfectly chewy). Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for a few minutes before removing them to the rack.

Makes 20-24 cookies