Espresso Brownie Cookies

The three “C’s”… cookies, chocolate, and coffee. It’s an irresistible combination that will have you and your family coming back for more of these espresso brownie cookies!

 

It’s no secret that I love chocolate, and brownies are one of my favorite desserts. When I set out to create the perfect brownie cookie, they quickly became a favorite around here, especially with my son, who can’t get enough. But I admit, I think I love them as much as he does!

I wanted to take my brownie cookies to the next level with a new twist, something with a touch of elegance and – dare I say – sophistication.

Most people don’t know that I don’t drink coffee or espresso. Not that I don’t enjoy the flavor because I definitely do. But I’m already a high energy person… need I say more?

While I may not drink coffee, I really love the rich flavor it imparts on desserts, especially chocolate desserts. Coffee and chocolate are each great on their own, but together they are heavenly, almost addictive.

These espresso brownie cookies are lightly crispy with a deep mocha flavor. 

The best part of this cookie is the espresso glaze icing. Not overwhelming or too strong, but the perfect complement and finish to the chocolatey goodness. Quick to make, easy to drizzle on. Oh, these are absolutely delicious!

You can whip these up in a snap, too.

Instant espresso is the secret, so you don’t need to worry about brewing espresso from a fancy machine. You won’t regret keeping a little jar of instant espresso on hand.

These are so yummy,  I can almost guarantee that there won’t be any left over to bring home, and everyone will want the recipe.

they are great to bring to parties, they pack well as the crisp edge of the cookies really hold their shape, so pack them up and take them to a friends house, the beach or hide some so everyone doesn’t eat them in 5 minutes! Really they easily can be devoured that fast.

Then you can enjoy them whenever a chocolate or coffee craving arises! I can almost guarantee that there won’t be any left over to bring home, and everyone will want the recipe.

You may want to make a double batch!

I made this brownie cookie video if you’d like to take a look.

 

Please see the note about the espresso before beginning the recipe for best results.
*Instant espresso powder: this needs to be smooth, and powder consistency if it’s powder it will mix well if its granules crush them smooth before adding to recipe.
 

Espresso Brownie Cookies

Rich and delicious espresso chocolate brownie cookies, with a nice espresso drizzle.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 16oz dark chocolate (I use Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips)
  • 1/2 cup butter I use salted butter, if you don't add a pinch of salt
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder-smooth if it's powder it will mix well if it is in granules crush them smooth before adding to recipe.

Instructions

  • Melt the chocolate. You can do this at 30% power in the microwave for 1 minute and 10-15 seconds at full power to melt completely and stir in every 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the chocolate, that is why you stir at each heating interval, the heat from the bowl and the chocolate will help it melt quicker.
  • Place the butter in a microwave dish melt the butter for about 30 seconds or so on high.
  • In a medium bowl mix brown sugar and eggs with a fork, be sure the mixture is well mixed, add chocolate, butter, flour, baking powder, and vanilla and espresso powder.
  • Scoop 3 tablespoons sized scoops of dough. Place dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use smaller scoop if you want smaller cookies, be sure to reduce baking time for smaller cookies.
  • Large 3 tablespoon sized cookies bake at 350 degrees for 14-15 minutes.
  • When you remove the pan from the oven allow the cookies to cool on the pan.
  • Test with a toothpick before removing the cookies from the oven, the batter should not stick to the toothpick, but be careful not to overbake or they won't be chewy, they will dry out.

Notes

*Instant espresso powder: this needs to be smooth, and powder consistency if it's powder it will mix well if its granules crush them smooth before adding to recipe.
 
 

 

Espresso Icing
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2+ tablespoons hot water (hot tap water will work)
  • 2 teaspoons espresso powder
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup (if you don’t have any, that’s ok it just make the icing silky smooth)
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl mix espresso with the hot water mix and be sure it’s smooth before adding the powdered sugar and corn syrup.
  2. Mix well and then apply to completely cooled cookies.
  3. Dunk the cookies into the glaze icing, you can dunk the bottoms, or use a silicone brush to apply it, or put it in a piping bag and drizzle it over the cookies.

 

espresso brownie cookies with espresso glaze icing @createdbydiane
 

12 Comments

  1. Diane, could I use instant coffee instead of espresso powder? If so how much do I use? Thank you for giving your readers great recipes so we can cook and add love for our families.

    1. yes, you can use instant coffee, try using the same amount and see how you like it, then adjust the amount if you need to in the next batch.
      Happy Baking!

  2. No salt?

    Most similar recipes online have 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt in them..

    Just checking to see if you accidentally left that out!

    1. I didn’t create this recipe with salt in it as I use Salted Butter in most of my baking which I do disclose in my about me section. I love salty sweets. If you don’t use salted butter, go right ahead and add in some salt.

    2. Thanks for the reply.

      You have some nice recipes, but I think it is a bit unrealistic to expect everyone who finds your recipe from a search engine to go read your entire About Me page to determine that you use salted butter.

      I think if you use salted butter (which I don’t in baking as I find it to be too hard to control the salt ratio in a recipe), your recipe should say “salted butter”.

      IMHO, most baking done without any salt is pretty flat tasting.

      I know from experience because years ago I made the most lovely batch of Irish cream scones with mini chocolate chips, forgot the 3/4 teaspoon of salt the recipe called for … and had to throw them out because they were horrible without it. Since I bake with Land of Lakes butter and top quality ingredients it was a waste of money (plus I didn’t get to enjoy them!).

      Anyway, I added 1/2 teaspoon salt to your recipe (using unsalted butter) and it turned out fine.

      FWIW I did find that the recipe was rather loose and had to refrigerate it for 30 minutes before I could scoop the cookies so if that is your experience it might be worth adding that to the recipe too.

      I’m not picking on you Diane, so please don’t take offense, but I really do think that if you use salted butter in a recipe you should say so every time.

      If I had seen that I would have added the salt to compensate for it and not bothered you.

      Keep up the good work!

  3. this recipe is very confusing..the first insteucrion makes no sense to me.. and when and where do we put glaze? also ever is the video?

    1. Sorry, you found the instructions confusing. I re-read them and hopefully make it clearer. The note about the espresso is at the beginning of the instructions so that before you begin you know what to do to the espresso if using granules.
      I re-entered the video and also left a link to it on youtube if you’re having trouble viewing the video.
      As always I’m happy to help you with any recipe on my website. Let me know if you have any other questions.
      Happy Baking!
      ~Diane

  4. Going to make these now. So glad I happened to read the comments, or I would have not known about the salt, either!

    I agree with the above commenter – a bit of salt can make or break a recipe. Once threw out a few loaves of challah because I forgot the salt and they tasted awful.

    It’s never too late to edit the recipe…

    Also:
    Since you recommend perhaps wanting to double the recipe, I was wondering: What is the yield of this recipe? (How many cookies do you get from one batch?)

    Thanks!

    1. I bake with salted butter, (I often mention this but must have forgot) so I added that to the recipe card. The recipe makes 18 large 3 tablespoons size cookies.

Leave a Reply to Kristin Cha Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating