That is a mouthful isn’t it…and these chocolate chip cookies with espresso and coconut certainly are! Given enough time though I will always brown butter for my chocolate chip cookies. Ever since I made these chocolate chip cookies with browned butter I was sold. It adds another layer of richness to the finished cookies without adding additional ingredients. I call that a win win!
This project started because I simply wanted to combine chocolate chips and coconut in a cookie; you know, a baked version of a Mounds Bar which remains one of my favorite over the counter treats. Searching to see if there was anything similar that others had already made (duh) resulted in lots of recipes including one with espresso. Sounded good and I even tried it. But I thought it was lacking; well, at least in my expectations. I will often add dried espresso to chocolate dishes as the coffee really is a magical ingredient in combination with chocolate. It can elevate the chocolate taste without really being evident on its’ own. Problem was I wanted it to BE evident. Back to the drawing board.
Ultimately I found a good mix for me. I think what I really wanted was a richer cookie base and some subtle variations on the norm gave me what I wanted. More brown sugar than granulated. A touch of molasses. More espresso powder. Even chopping chocolate made a difference; that dust that comes from that effort actually saw more chocolate flavor permeate the entire cookie; that I was lucky enough to have a bar of Green & Black’s Espresso Dark Chocolate on hand did not hurt. This cookie really tasted like coffee and I do think I might have squealed YES!
To tell you the truth, I don’t bake as much as I would like; now that my kids are both on their own I can’t be having too many pies and cakes and cookies in residence. But every now and then I’ll get a hankering for something sweet and cookies do a great job of filling that urge. Especially since I discovered something that is so simple I can not believe I didn’t do this years ago. I scoop out an entire batch of cookie dough and typically bake just one tray. The rest of the cookies are put into the freezer on that tray until the individual bits of cookie dough are frozen and then I remove them from the freezer and store the little bundles in a Ziploc bag. When I get the urge for a couple of cookies I don’t have to make a whole batch and they’ll last for awhile this way. Or at least a bit longer. :)
Can I just mention something that has nothing to do with this recipe but just the equipment that helped me make it. See that mixer? Why I have never named it is beyond me but I just call it ‘my old girl.’ I love that mixer; it’s a KitchenAid circa 1985. The days it goes I will probably frame it there are so many memories attached to it. Seems silly huh but I just love that old thing!
Anyway, we now return to our regularly scheduled program; these cookies. They really are great…it’s like having a cookie and a cup of coffee at the same time. Umm umm good!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, browned
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (I made these twice; once the eggs were a bit smaller and the dough did not hold together as well as it should have so I added an extra egg; do the same if you need to)
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons instant espresso
- 1 cup chopped chocolate - I had a bar of Green & Black's Espresso Dark Chocolate which was amazing but use any good dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)
- 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
Preparation
- Melt the butter on the stove-top in a skillet. It will foam which makes it difficult to see what is going on with the solids underneath that you want to brown but keep stirring and once you start to see some browning appear in the foam, remove from heat. DO NOT WALK AWAY while it is cooking. It can go fast and you don't want black butter!
- Pour the butter into a container and refrigerate until cold.
- One the butter is cold and has firmed up; preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cream together the browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and molasses and mix well until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and instant espresso until combined. Add in two batches to the butter mixture; scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix only until all ingredients are combined.
- Stir in the chocolate and coconut by hand.
- Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets (small ice cream scoops are so perfect for cookies!). Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool on rack.
