Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Charles Hunter III, a blogger, personal chef and recipe developer living in Nashville, Tennessee, alway looks forward to holiday baking, when we all get to anticipate what’s beneath that cookie-tin lid. It’s a time to break out Grandma’s sugar-stained cookie sheet and get lost in nostalgia. His recipe, an adaptation from smittenkitchen.com, puts a fresh spin on the classic chocolate chip cookie by adding a hit of espresso. It’s a perfectly grown-up twist on a perfectly nostalgic childhood favorite.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (10 oz./315 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) (6 oz./185 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (7 oz./220 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (4 oz./125 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tbs. finely ground espresso (dark roast)
- 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 lb. (375 g) semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat an oven to 325°F (165°C). Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and ground espresso on medium speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, whole egg and egg yolk and beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to slow, add the flour mixture and beat until just blended, about 1 minute. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) apart. A 3/4-fl.-oz. (20-ml) scoop makes the perfect 3-bite cookie, but feel free to make them the size you prefer.
Bake until the edges of the cookies are lightly toasted, 10 to 12 minutes for smaller cookies and 15 to 17 minutes for larger cookies. (Baking times will vary depending on the size, so check early.) Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let cool for a few minutes, then transfer the cookies to the racks and let cool completely. Makes about 48 cookies.
Recipe by Charles Hunter III, creator of the blog The Salted Table