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Brown butter coffee chocolate chip cookies that are small batch, loaded with pools of melty chocolate, and bursting with coffee flavor.

This post may contain affiliate links, please read the privacy policy for details. This post is sponsored by Papanicholas Coffee. All opinions are my own.

coffee chocolate chip cookies

If you are a coffee lover, you’ve come to the right blog. I LOVE coffee, and I even more so love putting it into baked goods. These coffee chocolate chip cookies are SO soft and chewy, with slightly crisp edges, and are loaded with coffee flavor. The secret to getting coffee flavor into these cookies? Coffee grounds! Yes I know that might sound a little scary but they’re completely safe to eat (just think about chocolate covered espresso beans), don’t give off any weird granule texture and give so so much flavor to the cookies. They come together in one bowl and one saucepan, with no stand mixer required. Below you’ll find all the tips, tricks, and info you need to create these delicious cookies – happy baking! 🙂

papanicholas coffee

I’ve partnered again with my all-time favorite coffee brand: papanicholas coffee for these coffee chocolate chip cookies. I use their coffee beans every day and am so happy to be able to partner with them to spread the love of their coffee. In this recipe I used their vanilla nut creme coffee grounds, which has flavor notes of sweet vanilla bean, warm toasted nuts and sweet crème. I definitely highly recommend trying some of their coffee, they have so many delicious flavors and are always the coffee I use in my recipes (and for my daily caffeine dose!). You can find their website by clicking here. Also, if you do end up purchasing their coffee be sure to use code FRESH20 for 20% off your coffee order!

expert baking tips

Weigh your ingredients:

My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.

Mix the dough carefully:

When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.

chill the cookies prior to baking

I know, I know – it’s frustrating to have to wait! However, because we’re using melted brown butter, we want to give the dough time to firm up. Letting the cookie dough chill just a little bit in the fridge means that the cookies will bake up thicker. This also gives the flavors a little bit of time to meld together.

Under bake for perfect cookies:

Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, and the cookies look just a little wet on top still, they are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

The secret to perfectly round cookies:

Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!

A note on oven temperature:

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.

ingredients for coffee chocolate chip cookies

  • All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness. The higher the protein % in your flour, the more chewy the cookies will be.
  • Baking powder & baking soda: for helping the cookies rise.
  • Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
  • Coffee grounds: for all the coffee flavor. PapaNicholas Vanilla Nut Creme not only gives off the coffee flavor, but it also gives off delicious, warm, and toasty vanilla notes! If you don’t have coffee grounds, you could use 1 tbsp. of espresso powder or 2 tbsp. of instant coffee or instant espresso in its place. If you’d like a more mild coffee flavor, bring it down to 1 tbsp. Also – you could really use any coffee ground flavor here and switch it up each time to have a different flavored coffee chocolate chip cookie!
  • Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies. We’ll also be browning the butter for some extra delicious toasty flavor. If you’re looking to make this dairy-free, Miyoko’s Creamery vegan butter has the ability to brown just like regular butter and works like a charm.
  • Granulated sugar & light brown sugar: a combination of both gives us cookies with crispy edges and soft and chewy centers.
  • Egg: for binding and for moisture.
  • Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
  • Semi-sweet chocolate: I recommend semi-sweet or dark chocolate. For the chocolate chunks you see in the picture, I used Valrhona feves. Please note that if you use all chocolate chips, the cookies will bake up a little thicker, and if you use all chopped chocolate, they will be a tad thinner.

how to make coffee chocolate chip cookies

Here are a few images of what the cookies look like throughout the process. You can find the full recipe at the end of this blog post!

coffee chocolate chip cookies recipe q&a

What is brown butter?

Brown butter is super simple to make so don’t worry! It’s just regular butter that is cooked on the stove until some of the moisture evaporates, allowing the milk solids in the butter to be toasted. The result is this butter with an amber hue and little speckles that has a toasted and slightly nutty aroma.

can I double this recipe?

Definitely – I’ve tested this recipe up to quadrupling it with no problem. Please be sure to use grams for the best results.

can I make these cookies ahead of time?

Definitely – cookie dough really only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough balls. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again.

How to store espresso chocolate chip cookies

Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to 5 days, but will taste the best 1-3 days after baking.

coffee chocolate chip cookies troubleshooting

Measuring error: Typically, the #1 culprit for this is always not measuring the flour properly. If you use cup measurements, you run the risk of adding too much flour to the dough which can make it super dry. If you’re using cup measurements, make sure that you fluff up your flour and then spoon it into your measuring cup, rather than scooping up the flour with the measuring cup. Measuring will also be sure that you end up with the right amount of brown butter and that you cooked it for the proper amount of time.

Overmixing: if you over-mix the dough, you will introduce more gluten into the cookies which will lead to tougher, thicker cookies. Make sure to only fold in the flour just until that last streak of flour disappears into the dough.

Oven temperature: Like I said before, it’s possible that your oven isn’t at the temperature that it claims to be at – which is, unfortunately, more common than it should be. If your oven is hotter than 350F without your knowledge, you’ll end up with thicker, more dry cookies.

Chilling the dough: The #1 reason for this would be that you didn’t chill the cookie dough. Although it can be frustrating to wait, the cookie dough does need to chill to give time for the butter to firm up and the ingredients to meld together so that they don’t completely spread out in the oven.

Browning the butter: Another reason I recommend measuring your ingredients. When you brown the butter, moisture cooks off of it. So, if it wasn’t cooked for long enough then there would be extra moisture in the dough, which would make the cookies spread out more.

Oven temperature: It could also be that your oven temperature is running lower than it claims to be. For that reason, I recommend always using an oven thermometer. The one I use was ~$6 and is linked under “baking tools” in my amazon storefront below!

tools and ingredients:

You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!

other recipes you might enjoy:

did you make this recipe?

I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery

Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 from 4 votes
Soft and chewy brown butter cookies loaded with melty pools of chocolate and coffee.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Chilling Time 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Servings8 cookies
Calories350 kcal

Ingredients 

  • 113 g unsalted butter (8 tbsp.)
  • 100 g light brown sugar (½ c.)
  • 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
  • 1 egg room temperature
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 160 g all purpose flour (1 ⅓ c.)
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 tbsp. coffee grounds
  • 130 g semi-sweet chocolate* chips, baking bar, etc. (¾ c.)

Instructions 

  • In a small saucepan set over medium heat, brown the butter. Stir the butter occasionally until it turns amber in color and develops little brown specks.
  • Transfer the brown butter to a medium sized mixing bowl and set it in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill. You should be left with at least 90g of brown butter, if you have a little less (2-3g), just add in some water until you reach 90g. If you have way less than 90g, you cooked the butter for too long and will need to start again.
  • Once the butter has cooled down a bit, whisk in both sugars.
  • Whisk in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
  • Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and coffee grounds. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together just until a few flour streaks remain.
  • Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and coffee grounds. Fold the mixture together with a rubber spatula until almost all of the flour has been incorporated.
  • Add the chocolate into the flour mixture and fold the mixture together just until no flour streaks remain. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.**
  • Once you're ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • Scoop out heaping 3 tbsp. scoops of the cookie dough, spacing them out on the cookie sheet to allow room for spreading.*** (If you chilled the dough for longer, you may need to wait 10-20 minutes for it to become soft enough to scoop.)
  • Top the cookies with more chocolate (optional), then bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown.
  • Once the cookies come out of the oven, I recommend "scooting" them. This just means take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie, place it on top of the cookie, and swirl the bowl around to make the cookie a little more round.
  • Let the cookies sit on the hot baking tray for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, serve and enjoy!

Notes

Affiliate links: Kitchen Scale (my favorite) | Kitchen scale (great starter option) | | Oven Thermometer | Cookie Scoops | Cookie Sheet Pan | Milk Pan
*I used valrhona feves for those melty pools of chocolate. The next best thing is using a chopped chocolate baking bar. Note that if you use chocolate chips the cookies may end up a bit thicker.
**At this point you could transfer the dough to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. If you’d like longer term storage, scoop the dough out right after putting it together, and freeze the dough spaced apart on a sheet lined with parchment paper. Once the dough balls are frozen, transfer them to an airtight container or ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer for up to 1 month before baking. Before baking, I’d recommend letting them come to room temperature for 20 minutes or letting them defrost in the fridge overnight.
***This recipe makes 8 decently big cookies. If you’d like to make 10 smaller cookies, only scoop out 3 tbsp. scoops (not heaping)

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 350kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 4gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 251mgPotassium: 142mgFiber: 2gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 391IUCalcium: 48mgIron: 2mg

Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.

5 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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9 Comments

    1. Hi Jackie! Yes, you can use 1 tbsp. espresso powder for a strong coffee flavor, or less for a more mild coffee flavor. Hope you enjoy! ☺︎

      Reply

    1. Hi! Unfortunately brown sugar is pretty essential here – the only replacement I would suggest is dark brown sugar. If you use all granulated sugar the cookies will come out crispier and less flavorful.

      Reply

    2. 5 stars
      I didn’t use granulated sugar but i substituted all the sugar for sugar in the raw and it worked! the sugar crystals give it a little bit of crunch but if you don’t like that, you can melt the sugar into the butter. this is my favorite recipe and i make it once a week

      Reply

    1. Hi! If you’re looking for a small batch, I’d recommend using my “small batch chocolate chip cookies” recipe & add in 1 tbsp. coffee grounds & replace the vanilla with brewed coffee. I hope this helps!

      Reply

    1. Hello! I haven’t tried it but some research online suggests it would be fine – I would just be sure to measure in grams if possible since they wouldn’t weigh the same cup-for-cup. I’d love to know how it turns out if you try it with the coconut sugar!

      Reply