If you find yourself stuck between brownies and cookies, make these! These Brownie Espresso Cookies are literally brownie + cookie. Complete with fudgy centers, rich chocolate flavor and crinkly brownie tops. These are brownies - in the form of cookies!
The original recipe for these delicious cookies can be found over at The Boy Who Bakes. His blog is filled with so many delicious things and I love watching him on YouTube! The only thing I did a little differently with this recipe was that I added espresso powder to the mix. You guys know I love using espresso powder when chocolate is involved and I really love the extra depth of flavor it gave these cookies.
These cookies are awesome because cookies & brownies both go good with ice cold milk, but you don't typically dunk your brownies in milk (do you?) but you definitely dunk cookies in milk, so now you can dunk your brownies too! Yay for small wins 😉
tips for perfect crinkly cookies:
One thing I do want to note when making these is that the batter is very similar to brownie batter. This is important to consider because you want these cookies to have a brownie-texture, that is: the super fudgy, slight under-baked center and the crispy crinkly tops. To achieve this you want to beat the eggs and sugar together for 5 minutes. Do not skimp on time. You really want them super airy and pale to give us that awesome brownie texture.
Timing is also a little more crucial with these cookies. You'll want to do your best to bake the cookies all at once, instead of in batches because the longer the dough sits it affects the texture of the cookies. If you bake them in batches (and no shame, because I did) your first batch will come out perfect - airy, crinkly tops and all but you'll see that your second or third batch will still be crinkly, but not as airy and delicate as the first batch, the tops of the cookies will be a little more dense. The cookies still taste amazing but if you're a perfectionist with baking, have you baking sheets ready and bake them all together to get that perfect brownie-cookie texture.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons espresso powder
- ⅔ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- flaky sea salt for garnish optional - but highly recommended
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If possible, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper so you can bake the cookies in one batch, if not separate batches is fine.
- In a microwave safe bowl combine the chocolate chips, butter & espresso powder. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds and then remove the bowl and give the ingredients a quick stir. Return the bowl to the microwave to heat for another 30 seconds, repeat process until the chocolate chips and butter are completely melted and smooth, be careful not to over do it so you don't burn the chocolate. Set the melted chocolate in the refrigerator to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar and eggs. Using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the sugar and eggs together for 5 minutes on med-high speed. Do not skimp on time. After 5 minutes grab the chocolate from the refrigerator and slowly pour it into the sugar/egg mixture and add in the vanilla extract. Mix together on low speed just until combined. Switch to a paddle attachment (if using stand mixer) and slowly add the flour, baking powder & salt to the wet ingredients, mixing slowly and just until combined. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky, not at all firm.
- Use a cookie dough scoop to scoop out cookie dough and place drops of dough onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space in between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, but closer to 10. Sprinkle tops of cookies with flaked sea salt. Cookies will be slightly inflated when they come out of the oven but they will deflated as they cool. Allow cookies to cool for about 10-15 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Notes