Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies

I got a little carried away and baked about 2,000 cookies.  It was fun, it was for a good cause and I was into it.  Until about the last hundred.  Around the last 100 I hit a lightly floured wall and just got so sick of my recipes.  I was making mostly Chewy Molasses, Mexican Hot Chocolate and Eggnog Snickerdoodles.  And Orange-Cardamom Snowflakes.  Those are all so good, and so pretty.  So I got to dreaming about a way I could put a twist on one of my most dependable recipes.  And these Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies are the result.

Chewy Chocolate-Espresso Cookies

Why Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies?

These have the wonderful, chewy texture and chocolatey flavor of my most-requested Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies.  Plus, the deep flavor of espresso.  They’re a perfect companion for morning coffee or after dinner drinks.  To get a nice, dark coffee flavor I used a packet of Starbucks Via instant coffee.  But I think you could use any instant coffee or espresso powder.  I just happened to have some VIA and know it’s widely available.

Chewy Chocolate-Espresso Cookies

But did I mention how easy they are?  No special equipment, just two bowls and a fork. You do not even need a mixer.  Sometimes I just dump everything in one bowl. You can whip up this dough, stick it in the fridge for up to three days, and then bake them whenever. If you have a cookie scoop they will all be the EXACT SAME SIZE, which is great if you like to intimidate others with your baking powers.

The Perfect Cookie Scoop

I have done an embarrassing amount of research on cookie scoops (quality, volume, gauge) and have found that this Zeroll EZ Disher Size 50 is the way to go.  It makes perfectly sized cookies.  Unlike some other cookie scoops I’ve bought in the past, it doesn’t break after a few uses.  It holds about 1.3 tablespoons of dough, so if you don’t have a scoop and want to measure it out, one tablespoon+one teaspoon of dough (or 23 grams if you have a digital scale) will do it.  Or you can just eyeball it, they’ll pretty much taste and look amazing no matter what.  You can use any #50 cookie scoop, I’ve got details of how to choose the right size cookie scoop and which brand to buy here.

Chewy Chocolate-Espresso CookiesMore Foolproof Cookies from Bakers Brigade:

And Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cookie Scoops:

Print Recipe
Chewy Chocolate-Espresso Cookies
This is my most-requested recipe, no contest. These have the texture of a traditional chewy molasses cookie plus deep chocolate and espresso flavor. You can mix it up in one or two bowls, no mixer needed. These are great for make-ahead and store, freeze and ship well.
Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, stir the cocoa and molasses into the warm butter. In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add 1 c. sugar, egg, vanilla extract and Via (or espresso powder) to the butter mixture. Stir dry ingredients into the wet. Cover and chill dough for as little as an hour or up to 3 days.
  2. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll a generous tablespoon of dough into balls (a #50 cookie scoop is great for this), and roll them in the remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
  3. Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are puffed, centers are set and they are beginning to form cracks. Do not overbake. Leave on sheets until they are cool enough to transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
  4. If you want a slightly more substantial cookie, use a #30 cookie scoop, 2 tablespoons dough, for each cookie. You will need to add a minute or two to the bake time and the batch will make about 18 cookies instead of 30.
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135 thoughts on “Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies

  1. These were soon easy! I used to love to bake; before I had twins 4 years ago. Now I have neither the time, or the energy. But over Thanksgiving weekend I was looking for something else to serve with the pumpkin pie, since I can’t stand the stuff. These met all of my criteria, chocolate, one bowl, and no complicated multiple step processes. Even let the twins roll them in the sugar and put them on the pan. They were a big favorite of the kids and adults!

    1. Hi Cindy . Yes, unsweetened cocoa powder fromthevaking aisle. I like Nestle but I know others swear by Hershey’s. Dutch-processes cocoa always makes things seem fancy, but I can’t really tell the difference in this recipe so I don’t think it’s worth the money here.

      1. I’ve heard that people have good luck substituting corn syrup or golden syrup for the molasses but I haven’t tried it myself. If you do try it, let me know how it goes!

      2. I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and slightly less sugar in the batter. They turned out fantastic, and I even added semi-sweet chocolate chunks. Delicious.

  2. This year, these were my go-to gift-giving cookie. I absolutely love them, and my coworkers and friends did too. The best part? They’re so easy! We whipped up a double batch of this dough then chilled it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. So no need to do all the cooking in one night. Again – did I mention how easy they are? My youngest daughter and I made them together and she loved rolling the dough balls in sugar. These are fun to make – and even more fun to eat!

  3. I don’t have Starbucks Via or espresso powder at the moment. Could I substitute freshly ground coffee or strong brewed coffee?

    1. Hi Valerie ❤️ In a pinch you could grind your coffee beans as fine as possible and use that as a substitute. You may have to tinker with the amount to get the right depth of flavor. Good luck and let me know how they turn out!

      1. Valerie, I have use instant coffee in place of espresso powder, but you won’t get as much flavor. Sur la table carries espresso powder.

        Jane, I jut made these cookies, they are wonderful!

      2. I used home roasted Brazilian beans ground as fine as possible with my home grinder. AWESOME! But the coffee taste was pretty forward. I liked it.

  4. Made these just before Christmas and loved them!! They really deliver on flavor and texture – chewy, chocolaty and the warm slightly spicy finish is a fun change. Definitely stick with directions and don’t overbake, and lower side of the cayenne amount was plenty for my kids (though for hubby and me next time I’d go full dose 😉 ) Really great recipe Jane, I look forward to making them again!

    1. These can absolutely be frozen. Once your cookies have completely cooled you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2 weeks. I’ve also had good luck freezing them for up to 3 months. When you take them out of the freezer, just leave the container closed until it’s come back to room temperature so you don’t get any unwanted condensation on your cookies. If you can, store one type of cookie in each container. Mixing your cookie types together can cause the dreaded “moisture migration” where your crisp cookies get soggy and your moist cookies get dried out.

  5. Don’t shoot me, but I substituted brown sugar for molasses because I do not like the smell. The cookies turned out very crispy, like a chocolate sugar cookie. Everyone who tried them wanted more. This will be another of my go-to cookie recipes. Thank you.

  6. I made a double batch of these today. My husband, who has no sweet tooth, referred to them as “crack”. I will be making multiple batches for a cookie exchange. I believe they are the best chocolate cookies I have ever made. And they look cute rolled in colored sugars!

    1. Hi Kayla! I’ve used a dark roast because it’s what I’ve got on hand. But I think a medium roast would be fine too. I’ve also used Cafe Bustelo instant espresso and gotten good results.

  7. How do you measure your cocoa? Do you do the spoon-and-shimmy method ones does to measure flour, or do you simply scoop the cocoa into the measuring cup?

  8. How much regular Instant coffee would you use? I don’t have any espresso on hand, but I do have instant coffee and these sound amazing!

  9. Hello, I just tried these, they look amazing. For some reason mine did not flatten out. They stayed puffy and dryish in the center while crunchy on the outside. I am going to try them again and see if I get a different result. I must have done something wrong.

      1. Third time is a charm. Second batch was better, third batch is perfect. Not sure what I was doing wrong. All of them tasted amazing. Thank you for the recipe.

  10. After a while you get tired of the same old same old cookies all the time – nothing wrong with them, just gets boring now and then. I found your recipe and decided to give it a shot and wow…am I glad I did! These have a nice, rich mocha flavor that you don’t expect when looking at them – all you see is the chocolate lol. I now have a new recipe in my arsenal….move over oatmeal, chocolate chip and peanut butter, this one might just rise to the top! lol

      1. Hi
        Wondering
        About omitting the cocoa
        And just having the coffee flavor?
        Thoughts?
        I am not able to eat chocolate ( horrid I know)

  11. Just pulled these out of the oven, the wonderful aroma!! Wonderful recipe. Made these for a birthday gift tonight, but will have to keep a few to myself. Amazing.

  12. I made these cookies today. My changes were I used only half a cup of sugar and rolled in cinnamon sugar. They were delicious but a bit crumbly. Not sure why. Thank you for a great recipe.

  13. When you say to roll the dough into balls, do you leave them in ball form on the cookie sheet? Or do you smoosh them before putting it in the oven?

  14. These were delicious and very chewy. I, too, substituted brown sugar for molasses and they were a perfect chewy-ness. Mine did get very flat in baking though I did chill the dough. So I’ll have to play around with that next time. I rolled mine in a mix of powdered sugar and cinnamon for a kind of mexican hot chocolate flavor. Very delicious recipe. Thank you for sharing.

  15. I really love the taste of these cookies! Just made them for company arriving soon. But I was disappointed that they got really flat as they cooled. Any suggestions? I did chill the dough for several hours and scooped out with a small cookie scoop.

      1. In an earlier reply you said you scoop, and wag the scoop of flour side to side. That produces a different result than the scoop and sweep method…ideal would be providing weights.

  16. I was wondering if you could add chocolate chips to these, Baileys makes some now and I think they would taste good with this cookie

    1. Hi Karly! I’ve tried chips, they interfere a bit with the cracked tops. But I have made these with 1/3 cup very finely chopped chocolate mixed into the dough and they are crazy good! If you use the chips, let me know how they turn out!

  17. Oh my! So great that i came across this recipe. Over 16 years of baking ginger molassas cookies, and one tires of the same Christmas treat over and over. These won as a great new Christmas tradition! My kids loved them. You have an amazing blog site and these cookies were soo delicious and even better, easy to make with an insane busy Christmas schedule. I had to find a recipe for a cookie exchange and a bake sale in the same weekend, and these were easily baked and prepped around a busy mom schedule. I am eager to try your other cookie recipes. Thank you! Do you have any biscotti favs?

    1. Thanks so much for sharing, it makes my heart happy to know you and yours love these cookies. I don’t have any biscotti on my blog but I frequently make a apricot-pistacchio biscotti from a book called The Art of the Cookie. It’s amazing! https://www.amazon.com/Art-Cookie-Baking-Inspiration-Dozen/dp/1616289740/ref=asc_df_1616289740/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312104252832&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18368237702588314473&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021723&hvtargid=pla-569053593504&psc=1

  18. I’ve baked up a couple batches and tried both dutch process (black cocoa, to be specific) and then a home-made hot chocolate (again w/black cocoa). Had to shorten the bake time, likely due to oven differences. The first batch strongly reminded me of Oreos w/o the cream (which I’m absolutely fine with) and the second time had a much better chew and the flavor was noticeably different, very tasty!

    My one issue is I can not seem to get the beautiful cracking happening. Any ideas? Look forward to seeing the ingredients by weight!

  19. I was so excited when I found this recipe. I had just purchased Nestle Espresso Chips at the market but wasn’t sure how I would use them. I know I wanted a deep chocolate/coffee-flavored cookie and this recipe fit the bill. I followed the recipe as written except that I added the espresso chips. I saw the post about chips interfering with the cracking on top so I gave the chips a rough chop before adding them. I just took the last batch out of the oven and they are perfect. The tops cracked perfectly and they taste divine. These cookies will be a wonderful addition to the Christmas cookie trays I give as gifts.

  20. Please clarify!! I bought all the ingredients. What am I missing with the warm water? Is it like a double boiler? Just to heat up the molasses? Need to make these soon!

  21. Sorry but I just didn’t like these. I thought they were a bit dry and as for the flavor …it was not a chocolate cookie nor a gingersnap. It was a cookie with an identity crisis. It just tasted weird to me.

  22. Hi! Came out of the oven looking perfect! I did increase the amount of spices just a bit.
    I have seen this recipe come up in All recipes website too!
    Good luck and thank you for all the scoop research!

    1. Sorry, i guess i read it wrong like another commenter . That’s so weird! looking forward to baking these for a work cookie contest. 🙂

  23. Can the dough be frozen (in individual dough balls?) My dad says I bake too many cookies at once and he ends up eating them all

    1. Ha! I have that problem at my house too. Yes, you can freeze these. Ball them up and freeze them on a cookies sheet (do not roll them in sugar first!). Then you can put them in a ziplock bag, should keep for 3-ish months. When you’re ready to bake, put the balls on a cookie sheet in the fridge for a bit so they’re not completely frozen, the roll in sugar and bake.

  24. March 26, 2020 – I just made a double batch of these cookies and they are easy to make and delicious! I will be sharing these with the employees of my favourite small grocery store, who are working during this COVID-19 scare to provide us with our food supply. I will be making this recipe again!

  25. I made these exactly as written. The only thing I had to adjust was the oven temp. Mine only took 9 min. They were moist and fudgie with a crispy edge, similar to molasses cookies, if you have ever made them. Delicious!! They are perfect for kids and adults. I personally like more espresso flavor, so I may add 1/2 tsp. more next time, but that is just me. I think that the majority of people will like them just the way they are. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!

  26. I didn’t have molasses on hand, so I substituted with corn syrup and replaced the 1 cup white sugar with 3/4 cup brown sugar (for molasses flavor). I also used 1 tsp of coffee-pod coffee instead of espresso. They still turned out amazing! Thanks for this recipe!

  27. I think I made a mistake with these. I used special dark cocoa and brown sugar (no molasses). My cookies came out very cakey. I’ll try again with the correct ingredients ((blush))Any other advice? I used a #50 cookie scoop. Thank you!!

    1. Ah, yes. Sugar substitution can definitely effect texture. The molasses in the recipe is an invert sugar, which adds chewiness. Brown sugar will replace a bit of that molasses, but not all. Dark cocoa should be okay, just might give you cookies that look charcoal colored instead of dark brown. Let me know if you try again Zoe!

  28. A friend forwarded this recipe to me and they did not come out looking the way yours did. I live in Denver, so I believe it has to do with the altitude. Help please. What adjustments should I make because I want to do this again to make them for my friend.

    Thank you.

  29. These are really yummy! Crisp on the outside with a chewy centre. I used self raising flour instead of the plain flour and baking powder; golden syrup instead of molasses and chose not to roll them in sugar. Also, I used soft brown sugar as the recipe didn’t specify and I thought it would complement the chewiness. Very happy with the result.

  30. Tasty cookies but would definitely add another tsp espresso powder for more coffee flavour. Thanks for this cookie keeper recipe.

  31. These are super easy and delicious. My only suggestion is to add a bit more espresso for a richer coffee flavor and an energy kick! I added 2 tsp!

  32. The batter just seems greasy. What am I doing wrong? Do I need to let my butter mixture cool more. They also flatten out
    And don’t crack.

      1. I measured carefully I am an experienced baker. 12 tbs butter for 1 1/2 cups of flour seems out of proportion. Normally in cookie recipes you use softens butter and cream the butter and sugar first.

  33. Hello. I LOVE these cookies. They have the taste of an ice cream sandwich!
    I have a question. I have made them many times. Today I made them and they came out flat and no crackle. I looked through some olds posts of yours and found a similar problem from 2 different people. You told 1 person maybe there was too much flour. The other person you said there was not enough flour. I’m not sure what I did wrong….

    1. Hi John! So sorry your last batch came out flat. There are so many factors at play. Too much flour will result in a cookie that is domed and doesn’t crack. Too little flour will result in a cookie that is very flat and doesn’t have the crackled top. Are you sure you measured correctly? Is your baking soda fresh? Was the dough chilled? Hope they were tasty anyway ❤️

  34. Oh my gosh, these turned out great. I added some semi-sweet chocolate chips since I bake them for my husband, supposedly. . I also have a bridge to sell you if you believe that. Thank you for the recipe. Definitely will be added to my rotation.

  35. I really like these cookies. I have made them numerous times since I found the recipe. However, in my opinion the list of ingredients needs to be reorganized and the instructions need to be revised to flow a little clearer. Just one seasoned bakers opinion.

    1. Hmmmm, I’ve heard this a few times. I always get plenty of coffee flavor. Maybe the VIA I use is super strong. I am going to make a note in the recipe that non-via should use a bit more. Thanks for the feedback!

  36. I ground chocolate covered espresso beans in place of the powder. The taste was amazing! I also topped each cookie with a dark chocolate espresso bean.

  37. I scared my dog with the exclamation I made when taking the first bite. The best part was being able to do everything in one bowl and not having to pull out my hand mixer!!!! Oh, and thank you for including the weight measurement for the dough balls.

  38. These are delicious. I always get asked for the recipe. I added about 1/2 cup of espresso dark chocolate chips (nestles) and I used turbinado sugar to roll them in. I pressed the tops down a little before I baked them because the first time for some reason they didn’t flatten and were more ball like.

  39. These were great; next time I will add the full 2 teaspoons of espresso powder and since summer is coming I will put coffee ice cream between 2 of these amazing cookies for a real dessert treat! thanks for a great recipe!

  40. These were absolutely delicious, I do feel from the cookie dough to the final product it lost a bit of its coffee taste. Do you think adding more Espresso Powder can fix that or maybe grinding coffee grounds into the mix?

    1. I’ve heard that a few times. I still taste coffee when I bake these, but yes, some finely ground espresso would probably punch them up a bit. I’m so glad you enjoyed these!

  41. OMG-so good and so easy to make! For those that don’t have Starbucks via or espresso powder, I used about a tablespoon crushed up generic instant coffee crystals in to a powder and they came out great!

  42. Hi. Would you consider making a video? Mine are also coming out flat and not cracking. Really not sure what I’m doing wrong, but they look so good! I’m determined to get it right.

    1. Sorry Gillian, I’m just now seeing this. Unfortunately my primitive blog is not video ready. I would try weighing the flour (140g per cup in my recipes). You may just not have enough flour. Also, are you chilling overnight?

  43. I made these AGAIN this year and agreed, they are incredibly easy and yummy! I rolled some in sugar in the raw and some in crushed candy cane dust. Then I drizzled those ones with white chocolate/candy cane drizzle. Mocha mint! Yum! Giving as part of teacher’s gifts!

  44. I’m at higher altitude- I did my typical adjustments (a bit more flour, scant leavening, all ingredients at room temp), but my cookies were a flop. Spread out too much, even after chilling,( and then sticking later ones in the freezer before baking) and not a great flavor. I won’t use this recipe again

  45. I first made these when my husband traveled for construction work. I liked to send cookies and such to his crew but not always the same ones everyone makes. They were a hit with them. Now he works from home and I had all the ingredients to bake a batch.. our 16 year old grandson who isn’t a big sweet eater really likes these and take 3-4 when he goes by the cookie jar. I just finished a batch for him to take to school tomorrow. lol

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