Quick and easy coffee cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. These mocha cookies are full of cocoa and espresso flavors. Crispy on the outside but soft on the inside.
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One of my favorite cookies to make are crinkle cookies and these are irresistible! If you love chocolate and coffee, then you need to make these treats immediately! They have crispy, sugary tops with soft centers. They are also made with the most basic ingredients from your pantry. My family is obsessed with them. These are also great for cookie exchanges plus they make a lovely homemade gift during Christmas time and the Holiday season. This Homemade Mocha Latte and Coffee Smoothie {Mocha Smoothie} are the flavors you can taste but in cookie form. In a way, you can say they inspired them!
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How to make easy coffee cookies recipe from scratch?
- Sift ingredients- This includes flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, baking soda.
- Mix wet ingredients- This includes butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg white, vanilla extract.
- Combine mixtures- Until crumbly.
- Knead with your hands- To form a ball of dough.
- Form cookie balls- And roll them in sugar.
- Bake- Until the sides are slightly crispy.
What is espresso powder? Is it just ground coffee?
Espresso powder is actually espresso beans that have been brewed and dried. Then they are ground into a powder that fully dissolves in other liquids. Ground coffee is not brewed yet, and will NOT dissolve in other liquids. Instead it leaves grainy gross coffee grounds in your cookies which does not work for obvious reasons.
What is espresso powder substitute in baking?
You can use instant coffee powder. It’s not the same as espresso powder because it's not as strong and potent due to the addition of ingredients like milk solids, fillers, and sugar. However, it works well in a pinch.
Variations for espresso cookies
- Dip baked cookies in melted chocolate- Such as dark, milk, or white chocolate. Then, place them on a sheet of wax paper and allow the chocolate to set.
- Add a chocolate drizzle- Such as some melted semisweet chocolate or even white chocolate on top of these cookies.
- Add an icing drizzle- Such as Glace Icing or Royal Icing on top.
- Try other extracts- Such as almond, coconut, maple, or caramel.
- Add spices- Such as ginger, cinnamon, all spice, cardamom, or any other of your favorite warm spices.
- Make them spicy- By adding some chili powder or cayenne pepper. You can add more or less, depending on your preference.
- Make chocolate orange crinkle cookies- Omit the espresso powder and add 1 teaspoon orange extract or zest.
Tips and techniques for mocha cookies
- You can use coconut oil instead of butter- Obviously, coconut oil would be a healthier choice but it does give a slight coconut flavor that not everyone enjoys.
- Use the best quality of espresso powder you can find- Because then you get a really strong coffee flavor.
- The number of cookies you get from this recipe will vary- Because it depends on how big or small you roll the cookie dough balls. I like to make mine very small and bite-sized.
- No chilling of the cookie dough is necessary- Because these cookies hold their shape well without it.
- Make a bigger batch- Simply double or triple this recipe for a large crowd, gifting, or even a cookie exchanges.
- How many cookies will this recipe yield? It makes about 22-25 cookies but that can vary, depending on how big or small you make them. I like to make them small and bite-sized.
- Use unsalted butter- Because this prevents the cookies from becoming too salty.
- Why are my cookies flat? The dough is too wet. Make sure to measure carefully with measuring cups and spoons.
- Why are my cookies hard? This is often a result of over-baking. Bake them until the sides are slightly crispy and not longer. Hard cookies will also occur because of over-mixing the dough. Avoid this by mixing until just combined, even if there are some lumps.
Storage
- Room temperature- In a cookie jar for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 1 week.
- Freeze- Because of the sugar coating, I don’t recommend freezing. It can make a sticky mess upon thawing but, you can freeze unbaked cookie dough balls and then roll those in sugar prior to baking. You may have to bake for an additional few minutes because the dough is frozen.
More coffee desserts
- Chocolate Coffee Cake
- Coffee Cupcakes (Mocha Cupcakes)
- Coffee Popsicles
- Coffee Brownies (Mocha Espresso Brownies)
- Coffee Cheesecake (Mocha Cheesecake)
- Coffee Pancakes (Mocha Pancakes)
Recipe
Coffee Cookies (Espresso Mocha Cookies)
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Ingredients
- ½ cup All-purpose flour
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- ¼ cup Granulated sugar +1 tablespoon
- ¼ cup Brown sugar +1 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Instant espresso powder
- 3 tablespoon Butter Unsalted, Melted
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 Egg white From large egg
- 1 cup Additional granulated sugar For rolling cookie dough balls
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt and baking soda. Sift all these ingredients and keep aside.
- In another mixing bowl, add butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg white and vanilla extract. Mix everything until you have a rough and chunky mixture.
- Add the sifted flour mixture into the wet ingredients.
- Mix everything until you have a crumbly mixture.
- At this point, stop the mixer and knead the mixture with your hands into a ball of dough. If the dough is still a little dry and crumbly, add some milk or water (1 teaspoon at a time) to the dough and knead again.
- Take little portions of the dough and make little balls.
- Roll them in a plate full of granulated sugar.
- Place the cookie balls on a lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees F for about 8-10 minutes or until the sides are slightly crispy.
- Let these cookies cool down on a cookie tray. Then, store them in an airtight plastic container at room temperature for up to 3 days. And you are done!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Renee
Wow, these look delicious and easy to make! Thanks for the recipe!!
Abeer Rizvi
Thanks Renee! These cookies are absolutely scrumptious!
Donna Malbin
Just made these and followed your recipe exactly. I was shocked that it only produced one cupful of dough, but using level measuring teaspoons I rolled exactly 42 tiny cookies which I baked for 8 minutes, and they are yummy!
Abeer Rizvi
I am sooo HAPPY to hear you like this recipe! Aren't those cookies just so darn addictive?! lol. I make teeny tiny cookies like you. So, this amount of cookie dough is perfect for me. But, if you will be making bigger cookies, you can easily double the recipe. I have tried that before and it worked flawlessly... You just need to bake them a little longer
Ella
These are wonderful. Love cookies for Christmas, will definitely need to try them out.
RavieNomNoms
This is absolutely one of my favorite cookies of all time!
Krystle
OMG!!!! Just made these babies tonight. Big glass of milk & polar Express movie.. 2 hrs later.... Where did all the cookies go??? I ate the whole plate. Darn good. Thanks for sharing...
Abeer Rizvi
YAYYYY! I am so happy to hear that Krystle!
Stefanie
These sound delicious!! Where can I find Espresso Powder? Or is there something else I can use instead? TIA
Abeer Rizvi
You can find espresso powder in the coffee/tea aisle at any grocery store. I haven't tried using anything else instead of espresso powder yet. Happy baking
Diana
can I use instant coffee granules instead?? and if so how much?
Abeer Rizvi
I am sorry but that won't work. I tried that once and it just wasn't the same. I would suggest sticking to espresso powder
Georgia
I just tried them with the same amount of instant coffee than the recipe said. I ground them up a little with a mortar and pestle first, to make them closer to a powder. They're really good! I imagine they'd be better with the espresso powder, but I have nothing to compare it to
Abeer Rizvi
That's so cool Georgia. A few people have asked if they could use ground up coffee and it seems like your experiment was a success! Espresso powder is strong. So, using that would enhance the coffee flavor even further. But, thanks for sharing your results
Nad
Just finished making these and they are delicious! I put 1.5 tsp of espresso powder because I wanted a really strong coffee taste and they came out great.! I will definitely be making this recipe again. My co-workers will have to wait until the next batch to try those, I'm keeping this first batch for me.
Abeer Rizvi
I also like playing around with the quantity of espresso powder and even different flavors of espresso powders.
I am so glad you liked these cookies! I hope your co-workers like them too!
Lina
Hello there! Could i cut these cookies with cookie cutters? Will they hold shape in the oven?
Abeer Rizvi
I have't tried using cutters on this dough. Based on the texture of this dough, I am not sure if you can even roll it properly. If you try it, let me know
Lisa
These cookies look perfectly soft! Love it!
Abeer Rizvi
Thanks! Every time I bake them, I seriously can't stop eating them
Ashley
Just made these... LOVE them! Looks more complicated than it is but still tastes like a lot of effort went into them. Thanks for sharing!
Abeer Rizvi
I love hearing that from readers! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Crinkly cookies are seriously the best!
Tam8
Can you freeze these?
Abeer Rizvi
You can freeze the dough in sealed freezer bags for up to a month. But, I have never tried freezing baked cookies. Let me know if you try that
Marcie
Can you please clarify for Espresso Powder if you mean ground espresso beans used for making espresso or espresso powder meant specifically for baking not drinking? Reviewing comments here it seems maybe it's just the regular drinking kind but a google search has confirmed that there is a baking powder kind! Thanks!!
Abeer Rizvi
I didn't even know there was a baking powder kind...lol. I don't use that at all. I just use the regular espresso powder that we use in our drinks.
Lara Konik
Abir, thank you for the recipe. The cookies are delicious.
Abeer Rizvi
So happy you liked them!
Christine
I can't wait to try these cookies! Usually brown sugar is packed but your recipe doesn't specify to do that. Do I just spoon and level? Thanks!
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, just spoon and level.
By the way, if your brown sugar is really packed and hard, I have a post on dealing with that issue: https://cakewhiz.com/how-to-make-brown-sugar-soft-again/ (I will be updating that post soon with a few more ways soon).
Hope you like these cookies!
Slimrom
I made this recipe twice but had to add a little more flour. Got great tasting cookies still!
Dawn
Been making a version of these for years. Depending on the season I will roll them in colored sugar~red & green are especially pretty.
Abeer Rizvi
Oh! Colored sugar is such a fun idea!