If you are someone who loves the heavenly combination of coffee and chocolate, then today’s recipe of brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies is perfect for you. Perfect as a pick me up in the morning when you forget your caffeine fix in a hurry or just to be enjoyed as a quick snack, these cookies do it all for you and not forget; you can put together this recipe in less time with the most basic ingredients found in your kitchen pantry, isn’t this reason enough for you to try making this yummy treat, of course with a bit of help from me 😉
This brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies recipe dives into the irresistible flavors of espresso and rich dark chocolate, which is why the only additional ingredient that I would ask you to include to make this recipe rich and remarkable is couverture chocolate, and why because it is the right kind of chocolate, we need to make these brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies taste and feel amazing in every bite.
Now, if you ask me what couverture chocolate is, in simple terms, it is a type of chocolate with more cocoa butter than regular chocolate, which is enough to transform any chocolate recipe from blah to wow!
Your regular compound chocolate has vegetable fats, the melting point is high, and it will be hard to cut this chocolate into pieces, so the chocolate bites in your cookie will be chunky and stiff. With Couverture, it is the other way around. The high amount of cocoa butter makes it rich and gives you a smooth melt-in-your-mouth experience with every bite. It also has a low melting point, making it easier to cut pieces of a bar if you do not have couverture chocolate chips.
With so much info on chocolate, you must already be craving it, so let’s start baking! Let’s Go!!
Table of contents:
- Equipment required
- Ingredients required
- Procedure
- Step-by-step picture
- Video Tutorial
- FAQ
- Recommended recipes
- Recipe Card
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What equipment do I require to make Brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies?
A set of teaspoons and tablespoons:
This stainless-steel measuring spoon set is perfect. These are great for measuring your dry ingredients; it’s been a while since I started using them, and they have lasted well.
Big Bowl:
I have used big bowl to mix all the ingredients; the extra space makes it easier to mix things evenly.
Weighing Scale:
Well, no recipe gets perfect if the measurements are wrong, and in baking, measuring your ingredients plays a vital role, so make sure you get your hands on this weighing scale.
Electric Beater or Hand Mixer:
We will use an electric beater or hand mixer to mix our chilled brown butter and sugar.
Spatula:
To lick your bowl clean of any cookie dough. Trust me on spatula; your hands will have less work to do.
Sieve:
This will help us remove impurities and lumps from the flour to ensure a smooth and even dough for our cookies.
Balloon Whisk:
This balloon whisk has a good grip and rounded tip for better whisking. I don’t use this because I already got balloon whisks when I got my toolkit from college, but this one’s a good whisk.
Parchment paper:
This will ensure our baking tray is clean even after the cookies are baked.
Baking Tray:
This baking tray is the perfect size to bake cookies and other yummy treats.
Cookie Cutter Set:
To shape your cookies into cute shapes.
Ingredients required to make brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies:
Salted Brown Butter
Browned butter will impart your cookies that distinct nutty flavor. I have a detailed blog post linked here so you can make your brown butter from scratch. For this recipe, measure 200 grams of butter to make 60 grams of brown butter.
I have used brown butter because it will provide texture, flavor, and color to your cookies and be rich in butter fat. Desserts and cookies that have a generous amount of butter, I call them out of this world experience because of the rich taste it leave you with. Here are two such recipes that will blow your mind.
Best brown butter eggless chocolate chip cookies
Bread and butter pudding with custard
Brown Sugar
Brown sugar will give flavor and moisture to your cookie.
Castor Sugar
Castor sugar is used to give your cookie the beautiful caramel color and to provide additional moisture so that your cookie stays soft from the inside.
Egg
Egg binds all the ingredients together. The cookie will get richness from the egg yolk and moisture from the egg white that helps it stay soft.
Flour
I have used all-purpose flour here. To make the perfect cookies, flour is essential as it provides structure. However, our aim is minimal gluten development. Why? Too much gluten results in a chewy texture, and that’s precisely what we want to avoid.
To ensure the above is achieved, you must avoid excessive mixing to prevent the overdevelopment of gluten. It ensures that our cookies achieve the desired crispness while maintaining softness inside.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is used to give our cookies a soft and crisp texture.
Chopped dark chocolate
I have used Couverture chocolate for that rich melt-in-the-mouth experience.
Coffee Decoction
For that hint of espresso flavor in every bite. To make a coffee decoction, take 3 tablespoons of coffee, add hot water, and mix well. Simple. Here are two unique and flavorful recipes you can make quickly with coffee.
Cardamom Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe
Healthy instant coffee overnight oats
Step-by-step pictures on how to make small batch brown butter chocolate chip cookies:
How to make brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies?
- First, you need to prepare the brown butter and chill it for 30 mins-1 hour so that it becomes hard again. You can prepare this and store it in the fridge to save time.
- Measure all the ingredients, sieve the dry ingredients, flour, and baking soda, and keep them aside.
- Chop some couverture chocolate into small chunks and keep them aside.
- To make the brown butter, start heating the butter in a saucepan on medium flame. Stir it to ensure the butter has melted completely. Now leave it to brown.
- A few things to remember while preparing your brown butter – When it comes to making brown butter, it is essential to understand that it comprises three things: butterfat, water, and milk solids. As the butter is browned, the water will start to evaporate, and the milk solids tend to settle down, allowing the butter fat to rise to the top. The milk solids beneath will burn, and the butter fat will gradually brown. Do not worry about burning the milk solids, as it is part of the process.
- Once your butter fat has turned brown, exclude the milk solids when pouring, and once done, chill the browned butter for use in your recipes.
- For more information and tips on how to make brown butter, check my step-by-step blog post linked here.
- Now that we have the brown butter in place, in a mixing bowl, take the butter, add brown sugar and castor sugar, and cream them with an electric beater till they turn pale and fluffy.
- Break in the egg, add 2 tbsp of coffee decoction, and keep whisking till smooth. Don’t worry if it looks like a curdled mess; things will come together once you add the flour. Trust the process.
- You will add the sieved flour and baking soda to the mix now. Using a spatula, combine everything till it resembles a cookie dough. Refrain from working the dough; this will result in more gluten formation, and your cookie will be chewy. You can also use your hands if that works better for you.
- Add some part of the chopped dark chocolate chunks to your dough and mix it. Once the dough is ready, chill the dough for about 30-45 minutes.
- Take the chilled dough and shape it into evenly sized-round balls. Of course, we will also place some chocolate chunks on top because who says no to more chocolate? While baking, these will melt in the oven and make tiny chocolate pools…*drool!!*
- We must put our rounded balls of dough in the freezer again for 30 minutes. Let me also explain why we chilled the dough so many times. By chilling the dough, we ensure that the fat and gluten strands form into a proper consistency. This will help us in baking the cookie perfectly, plus the cookie will retain its shape and not spread out a lot.
- While your dough balls are chilling, preheat your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or 356 Fahrenheit.
- Line your baking tray with some parchment paper, place the shaped cookies, spacing them evenly, and bake for 10-12 mins.
- Once out of the oven, quickly use a cookie cutter to make even round cookies. It’s such an amazing hack to get perfect round cookies every time.
- Voila! Your brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies are ready! Enjoy them once they cool down, or be impatient like me and gorge on them immediately.
- My hack is to wait for two minutes; by then, the cookie can be consumed, but it’s still hot and soft. It will become hard while you enjoy the warm cookie with oozing warm chocolate. Now, that’s my perfect cookie temperature. No wonder I had to become a chef to bake it from scratch and enjoy it every time. But you don’t need to study and work to enjoy a cookie. I did that for you already, enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions about making brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies.
What is brown butter, and why is it used in cookies?
Brown butter is regularly heated until the milk solids turn brown, giving it a nutty flavor. It’s used in cookies to add a rich and unique taste.
How do I brown butter for cookies?
The process involves heating butter to get the butter fat; this enhances the overall flavor when used in recipes. Do not worry; I have a detailed blog post linked here if you want to prepare your brown butter in advance and store it for future use in recipes.
Why add espresso to chocolate chip cookies?
It enhances the overall flavor and texture of the cookies without making the cookies taste like coffee itself.
What can I enjoy these cookies with?
These cookies pair well with freshly brewed strong coffee or cold or warm milk. Let me know in the comments if you have your cookies differently.
How should I store brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies?
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. If you want them to stay longer, place them in a freezer-safe container or bag, and they should keep well for up to 2-3 months.
Can I make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it?
You definitely can refrigerate the cookie dough for a few hours or overnight. Chilling the dough can enhance the flavor and texture of the cookies.
What type of chocolate works best in these cookies?
Mildly sweet chocolate works best with these cookies, so I have used Couverture chocolate, which ticks all the right boxes on the type of chocolate that can be used. The low melting point of couverture chocolate makes it easy to use and gives us a smooth and rich feeling in every bite.
Why are my cookies flat?
The cookie dough must be kept in the refrigerator after shaping into round balls. This allows the butter to set, and the cookies don’t spread in the oven immediately upon baking. It also allows the dough to rest for a while.
Why are my chocolate chip cookies hard?
Baking it for too long can make the cookies hard.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes, you can freeze the dough by placing the dough balls in a ziploc bag or an airtight container. First, you are freezing the cookie dough balls on a tray separately. Then, drop them together in a bag or box. If you drop them first in a bag or box, they will stick to each other.
Is this recipe vegan?
No, it is not a plant-based recipe.
Can I substitute the egg?
Unfortunately, no, you cannot. That calls for a whole other recipe. However, you can check out my eggless cookie recipe here.
Recommended Recipes:
Here are a few crowd-pleaser cookie and cake recipes for you to try
Chocolate chip mug cake recipe
Eggless Chocolate chip cookie recipe
Brown Butter Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Coffee and chocolate make for a heavenly combo- Try this easy-to-make brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies recipe to believe it!
Ingredients
- Salted Brown Butter: 60 grams (Butter: 200 grams)
- Brown Sugar: 90 grams
- Brown sugar will give flavor and moisture to your cookie.
- Castor Sugar: 90 grams
- Egg: 60 grams
- Flour: 150 grams
- Baking Soda: 1 tsp
- Chopped dark chocolate: 200 grams
- Coffee Decoction: 2 tbsp
Directions
- Step 1 First, you need to prepare the brown butter and chill it for 30 mins-1 hour so that it becomes hard again. You can prepare this in advance and store it in the fridge to save time.
- Step 2 Measure all the ingredients and sieve the dry ingredients, that is flour and baking soda, and keep aside.
- Step 3 Chop some couverture chocolate into small chunks and keep them aside.
- Step 4 Measure 200 grams of butter to make 60 grams of brown butter for this recipe. Start heating the butter in a saucepan on medium flame. Stir it to ensure the butter has melted completely. Now leave it to brown.
- Step 5 A few things to keep in mind while preparing your brown butter – When it comes to making brown butter, it is essential to understand that it comprises three things that are butterfat, water, and milk solids. As the butter is browned the water will start to evaporate and the milk solids tend to settle down, allowing the butter fat to rise to the top. The milk solids beneath will burn and the butter fat will start to get brown, do not worry about the burning of the milk solids as it is part of the process.
- Step 6 Once your butter fat has turned brown, exclude the milk solids when pouring, and once done, chill the browned butter for use in your recipes.
- Step 7 Now that we have the brown butter in place, in a mixing bowl take the butter, add brown sugar and castor sugar, and cream them with an electric beater till it turns pale and fluffy.
- Step 8 Break in the egg, add 2 tbsp of coffee decoction, and keep whisking till smooth. Don’t worry if it looks like a curdled mess, things will come together once you add the flour. Trust the process.
- Step 9 You are going to add the sieved flour and baking soda to the mix now. Using a spatula, combine everything together till it resembles a cookie dough. Do not work the dough as this will result in more gluten formation and your cookie will be very chewy. You can also use your hands if that works better for you.
- Step 10 Add some part of the chopped dark chocolate chunks to your dough and mix it. Once the dough is ready, chill the dough for about 30-45 minutes.
- Step 11 Take the chilled dough and shape it into evenly sized round balls. Of course, we will place some chocolate chunks on top too, because who says no to more chocolate? These will melt in the oven while baking and make tiny chocolate pools…*drool!!*
- Step 12 Now we need to put our rounded balls of dough in the freezer again for 30 minutes. Let me also explain to you why we chilled the dough so many times. By chilling the dough, we are making sure that the fat and gluten strands in the dough form into a proper consistency. This will help us in baking the cookie perfectly, plus the cookie will retain its shape and not spread out a lot.
- Step 13 While your dough balls are chilling, preheat your oven to 180-degree centigrade or 356 Fahrenheit.
- Step 14 Line your baking tray with some parchment paper, place the shaped cookies spacing them evenly, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Step 15 Once they are out of the oven, quickly use a cookie cutter to make even round cookies. It’s such an amazing hack to get perfect round cookies every time.
- Step 16 Voila! your brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies are ready! Enjoy them once they cool down or be impatient like me and gorge on them immediately.
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I hope you found my post “Brown butter espresso chocolate chip cookies” recipe helpful. If you have any queries, feel free to post them in the comments below.
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