These espresso walnut chocolate chip cookies are made with browned butter, brewed coffee, espresso powder, toasted walnuts, and chocolate! Chewy edges, soft centers, and loaded with decadent flavors, these cookies are one of my all-time favorites!
As I type this, we’re halfway through the first week of January. And I’m sincerely hoping that most of you haven’t resolved to do away with cookies for any extended period of time. Because to do away with cookies would mean that you’d miss out on these Espresso Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies, and that simply won’t do. Because these cookies, of all the cookies, are my favorite cookies. I know, I say that a lot. But these are divine. It’s the classic chocolate chip cookie, but I’ve kicked it up a notch with browned butter, brewed coffee, espresso powder, toasted walnuts, and loads of chocolate. I mean, can I get an “amen”? Amen.
I love the combination of espresso and walnuts and chocolate. You get richness, decadence, a little complexity, and a great depth of flavor all in one bite. Add the toffee-like flavor of browned butter, and holy smokes you’ve got yourself a real good, real sophisticated cookie. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, “Molly, these espresso walnut chocolate chip cookies that you speak of sound like too much, too complicated.” I’m here to tell you the exact opposite! These are easy peasy. It’s as basic as a regular chocolate chip cookie dough, only with a few additional steps: toasting the walnuts and browning a portion of the butter. And let me tell you, the extra steps are 1) simple and 2) absolutely worth it! I’ve outlined all the steps, including a detailed description on how to brown butter, in my notes and in the recipe to make it a seamless process for you- so be sure to check that out before you start! If you’re new to browning butter, don’t worry! It’s an easy process, you just need to know what you’re looking (and listening for). I recommend reading through the instructions in their entirety before you start.
Alright, more on these espresso walnut chocolate chip cookies. Loving them not only because the flavor is complex, deep, and other-worldly (it’s true), but also the texture is crazy good. Chewy edges, soft centers, a little crunch from the toasted walnuts, and a little gooey from the puddles of chocolate. Swoon. I honestly can’t get enough of these!
Happy New Year, and happy baking, friends!
What you’ll need to make these cookies:
Chopped walnuts: Toasting the walnuts before incorporating them into the dough brings out their rich, nutty flavor. And I love the extra bit of texture that walnuts add to these cookies!
Browned butter: Using browned butter adds that deep, toffee-like flavor that you can only get from browned butter. It pairs so well with the espresso, walnuts, and chocolate, making these cookies extra decadent.
Softened butter: Instead of using all browned butter, I use some softened butter in these cookies to help thicken the batter and make these cookies a little thicker and chewier.
Brown sugar + granulated sugar: Using a higher ratio of brown sugar makes these cookies extra flavorful, moist, and chewy. Granulated sugar tenderizes the dough, adds sweetness, and helps the cookies spread in the hot oven.
Eggs: For structure and binding. An additional egg yolk adds richness, moisture, and chewiness.
Vanilla extract: For a little added flavor.
Brewed coffee: To pack in more coffee flavor! The stronger the coffee, the more flavor you’ll get in the cookie dough. Be sure that the coffee has cooled to room temperature before using it in the recipe.
Flour: For structure.
Kosher salt: For balance.
Cornstarch: A touch of cornstarch makes these cookies extra soft.
Baking soda + baking powder: For leavening power.
Instant espresso granules: Using instant espresso granules in addition to the brewed coffee adds even more coffee flavor! You can find it near the coffee products in your grocery store (I use this brand).
Chocolate chips + chopped chocolate: I like to use a combination of chips and chopped chocolate in these cookies. Using chips ensures an even distribution of chocolate and using the chopped chocolate ensures gooey pockets of melted chocolate. Feel free to use semisweet or dark chocolate!
Flakey sea salt as an optional (but highly recommended) garnish.
How to make these cookies:
Before you start, you’ll want to go ahead and preheat the oven to 350°F to toast the walnuts (more on that later)
Then you’ll brown 113 gm (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter. To do this, place the butter in a stainless steel pan over medium heat (don’t use a dark or non-stick pan as you won’t be able to see the color transformation of the butter to know when it’s browned). Have a medium-sized heatproof bowl next to the stovetop. Stir the butter with a rubber spatula until it’s melted, then allow it to come to a boil. Once the butter is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and keep stirring. You’ll start to hear a crackling noise (this is the water evaporating from the butter).
Keep stirring! Eventually, the crackling will subside and a foam will surface to the top. As you stir, you’ll notice the butter beneath the foam change from yellow, to golden, to tan, to a caramel-colored brown, and the butter will start to smell nutty. Once you’ve reached this phase, immediately pour the browned butter into the heatproof bowl, being sure to get all the browned bits.
Put the browned butter in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes while you toast the walnuts. While the browned butter chills, spread the chopped walnuts in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. Pop in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes until toasted and fragrant. Set those aside to cool.
Next, make the cookie dough. You’ll start by creaming the chilled browned butter, 113 gm (1/2 cup) softened butter, and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Then add the eggs one at a time, the vanilla, and the brewed coffee. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 2 separate additions. You’ll want to keep the mixer on low speed and only mix until the ingredients are just combined.
Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge for at least 1 hour, up to overnight. The longer you chill the dough, the more flavorful the cookies will be! You can get all the nerdy details on that in my perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe post. I usually chill this dough for a full 24 hours.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Scoop the dough using a #20 cookie scoop (which holds 3 tablespoons of dough) and bake for 14 to 17 minutes. Cookies are done when the edges are set and beginning to turn golden brown!
FAQs:
Why is this recipe primarily listed in grams? I develop my recipes in grams because weighing your ingredients is the best, most accurate way to bake. Baking is a science and precision is key to success! Measuring cups are not standardized, and what’s more, the way each baker uses them varies drastically, which ultimately gives you inconsistent (and sometimes negative) results. For instance, did you know that scooping flour out of a cannister can give you 50% more flour than what’s called for in the recipe? By weighing your ingredients rather than using measuring cups, you can confidently know that you are using the correct amount of each ingredient, giving you greater success & delicious results. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale, like this one when you bake. Plus, it makes clean up a lot easier!
How do I get perfectly round cookies? When the cookies are hot and fresh out of the oven, use a round cutter larger than the size of the cookies and give the edges of the cookies a little nudge to even them out.
A few notes before you bake:
If you’ve never browned butter before, don’t worry! It’s a pretty simple process, but it does help to know what you’re looking (and listening) for. Be sure to read my notes above and read through all the instructions in their entirety before starting.
I like to chill this dough for a full 24 hours, as this will give you a deeper, more pronounced flavor. However, if you’re in a pinch just chill the dough for as long as you can, at least 1 hour. They’re still 100% irresistible even with a shorter chill time!
For all my best tips and tricks for baking perfect cookies, check out my post on perfect chocolate chip cookies.
Print
Espresso Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus additional chilling time)
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes (plus additional chilling time, up to 24 hours)
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert, Snack
Description
These espresso walnut chocolate chip cookies are made with browned butter, brewed coffee, espresso powder, toasted walnuts, and chocolate! Chewy edges, soft centers, and loaded with decadent flavors, these cookies are one of my all-time favorites!
Ingredients
- 112 gm (1 cup) chopped walnuts
- 113 gm (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 113 gm (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, browned (instructions below)
- 320 gm (1 1/3 cups, firmly packed) light brown sugar
- 100 gm (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 30 gm (2 tablespoons) brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature
- 312 gm (2 1/2 cups, spoon and leveled) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons instant espresso granules
- 220 gm (1 cup) semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- 113 gm (4 oz) semisweet chocolate, chopped
- Optional garnish: flakey salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- First, brown 113 gm (1/2 cup) unsalted butter.
- Place the butter in a small stainless steel pan over medium heat, stirring until melted (I like to use a rubber spatula for this). Allow to come to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, stirring frequently. You will start to hear a crackling noise.
- Eventually the crackling will subside, and a foamy mixture will surface to the top. As you continue to stir, you’ll notice the liquid butter underneath the foam will go from golden yellow, to tan, to a caramel-colored brown. Once you’ve reached this stage, pour the butter into a medium-sized heatproof bowl, being sure to get all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- While the brown butter chills in the fridge, toast the walnuts. Arrange the chopped walnuts in a single layer on the prepared rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 7 to 9 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Make the cookie dough. Pour the chilled browned butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, being sure to scrape out all browned bits and any butter that is sticking to the sides of the bowl. Add 113 gm (1/2 cup) softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar to the mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add in the egg and egg yolk, one at a time, being sure that the first is fully incorporated before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla and brewed coffee.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, kosher salt, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and espresso granules. Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl in 2 separate additions, beating on low speed until the ingredients are just incorporated after each addition. Add in the chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, and toasted walnuts, and fold in by hand using a rubber spatula.
- Chill the cookie dough. Tightly cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour, up to overnight* (the color and flavor of the cookies will deepen the longer you chill the dough!). Towards the end of your chill time, preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop and bake the cookie dough. Using a #20 spring-loaded cookie scoop (which holds 3 tablespoons of dough), scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 3″ apart. Bake for 14 to 17 minutes, until the edges are set and turning golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- *Chilling the dough: I recommend chilling the dough for at least one hour, up to overnight. The longer you chill the dough, the more flavorful and golden your cookies will be. If you chill the dough for longer than a couple of hours, be set the covered dough on the counter at room temperature to soften a bit to make scooping easier.
- Storage: store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days
- Freezing: Chill the dough as directed prior to freezing. Once chilled, scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until the dough is frozen solid. Place the frozen dough in a freezer-safe zip top bag and store for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, just add 1-2 minutes to your bake time!
