Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies
These chocolate chip espresso cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with coffee flavor thanks to instant espresso powder and toasted brown butter. Plenty of dark chocolate chunks and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt make them hard to stop eating.
About these cookies
This is one of my favorite cookie bases, and I come back to it all the time. It’s a brown butter cookie dough with instant espresso powder stirred into the wet ingredients, which gives the cookies a deep coffee flavor without any grittiness. The brown butter adds a caramel, butterscotch note that pairs beautifully with the espresso.
Because the butter is melted (and browned), there’s no creaming step and no need for a stand mixer or electric mixer. You can whisk this dough together by hand in one bowl. These are also no-chill cookies, so from start to finish you can have warm cookies in under an hour. If you do want thicker cookies, you can roll the dough into balls and chill them, but it’s not required.
The texture is soft and chewy in the center with slightly crispy edges, which comes from using melted butter and a mix of brown and white sugar. The brown sugar keeps things moist and chewy, while the granulated sugar contributes to those crisp edges.
I use this same brown butter cookie base in my brown butter cookie bars, mini egg cookies, and M&M cookie bars, so once you get comfortable with it, you can use it as a starting point for all sorts of variations.
Key ingredients and why
- Unsalted butter. The butter gets melted and then cooked further until the milk solids caramelize, which is called browning (or beurre noisette). This gives the cookie dough a rich, nutty, butterscotch flavor you can’t get from regular melted butter. You can start with cold butter straight from the fridge.
- Instant espresso powder. This is what gives the cookies their coffee flavor. It dissolves into the wet ingredients so there’s no grittiness in the finished cookie. Regular instant coffee works just as well here since both dissolve the same way. What you want to avoid is ground coffee beans, which won’t dissolve and will give the cookies a gritty texture.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar. The combination matters. Brown sugar adds moisture and chewiness thanks to the molasses content. Granulated white sugar helps the edges crisp up. Together they create that soft-center, crispy-edge contrast.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks. I prefer dark chocolate chunks here because the bitterness of the chocolate complements the espresso flavor nicely. You can use chips, a chopped chocolate bar, or a mix of both.
- Flaky sea salt. Sprinkled on while the cookies are still hot from the oven. It’s optional, but the salt really lifts all the flavors. I wouldn’t skip it.
Method
- Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan, then cook it further for 3 to 4 minutes until the milk solids caramelize and the butter smells nutty.
- Pour the hot brown butter into a mixing bowl (including all the caramelized solids) and let it cool for 10 minutes.
- Add both sugars, espresso powder, vanilla, and egg to the cooled butter and beat until well combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients separately, then stir them into the wet mixture just until a dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough into balls (about 2 tablespoons each) and space them generously on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake until puffed with set edges. Sprinkle with flaky salt while the cookies are still hot.
Tips
Related recipes
If you love these espresso cookies, here are a few more to try:
- Condensed milk chocolate chunk cookies for an egg-free option.
- Cappuccino cookies (white chocolate coffee) for another coffee cookie with white chocolate instead.
- Brown butter chocolate chip bars if you want this same base in bar form, no rolling required.
- M&M cookie bars for a colorful, kid-friendly version.
Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft and chewy brown butter cookies with instant espresso powder, dark chocolate chunks, and flaky sea salt. No mixer needed, no chill time, and ready in under an hour.
Ingredients
- 170 g unsalted butter
- 150 g soft brown sugar
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 220 g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 170 g semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks
- Flaky salt to serve
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then let it cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids have caramelized to a golden amber color and the butter smells nutty. Pour it into a large heatproof bowl, including all the caramelized solids at the bottom of the pan. Let it cool for 10 minutes. 170 g unsalted butter
- Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, espresso powder, vanilla, and egg to the butter. Beat until well combined. The espresso powder doesn't need to dissolve completely at this stage. 150 g soft brown sugar, 50 g granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a dough just forms, then fold in the chocolate chips. If the cookie dough is still very warm from the butter, let it cool a bit more before adding the chips so they don't melt into the dough. 220 g all-purpose flour, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda,½ tsp salt, 170 g semi sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking trays with parchment paper.
- Roll the cookie dough into balls using about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie, or a medium cookie scoop. If the dough feels greasy, let it stand for 5 minutes and it will firm up. Space the dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. For thicker cookies, refrigerate the dough balls for 20 minutes before baking.
- Bake for 10 to 11 minutes until the cookies have puffed and the edges look set. The centers will still be very soft. Don't overbake. The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool on the hot baking sheet.
- While the cookies are still hot from the oven, sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Flaky salt to serve
Notes
- Espresso powder: Regular instant coffee works just as well as instant espresso powder in this recipe. Both dissolve into the dough. Do not use ground coffee beans, which won’t dissolve and will make the cookies gritty.
- Brown butter tip: Use a light-colored saucepan so you can see the milk solids browning. Dark or non-stick pans make it hard to judge the color and you risk burning the butter.
- Storage: Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- Freezing: Scoop and roll the dough into balls, freeze on a tray until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 extra minutes.
- Extra round cookies: While the cookies are still hot, place a circle cookie cutter or glass (larger than the cookie) over each one and gently swirl to shape them into a perfect circle.
- Use the metric/cups toggle above. Cup sizes are US cups (smaller than metric cups). For best results, weigh your ingredients.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookieCalories: 237kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 2gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 175mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
These are the best choc chip cookies I’ve ever ever tasted! Sooo delicious and so easy to make!
Thank you! So happy to hear that X
Is the butter measurement ‘sticks’ the same as ‘cups’ ? Also can you melt the butter first then measure or you measure it in solid form then melt it does either method yield the same amount required?
Thanks
Hey it’s equal to 3/4 cup butter. I measure first and then melt. It lessens in quantity a once melted since water evaporates, around 15% so it’ll be around 145g once melted
This cookie has everything I need: chocolate, coffee and salt. It is perfection.
Yay so happy to read this Beth!
I am making them right now, can’t wait for the results!
I’m a bit confused. Recipe says add sugar. Brown? Granulated? both?
Both 🙂
Hi! If I wanted to use instant coffee instead (since idk why I can’t find instant espresso in groceries around me) how much should I use? Thanks so much and I’m excited to try this recipe!
Instant coffee is the same for this recipe so you can just use the amount stated 🙂