Chocolate Mocha Cookies From Scratch
I am a cookie lover. No, cookies are not as good as cake, pie or doughnuts. but they have their place. You can create great cookies from scratch without too much effort, too. This makes it totally possible to just whip up a batch on any given rainy day or when a little lovin’ from the oven is needed. I personally like a robust cookie – like a chocolate mocha cookie made with real espresso. I have to remember to make them decaf if I think my 5 year old is going to find and steal my cookies. Robust cookies and five year olds don’t mix.
Most cookie recipes are quite similar and this is a good thing. It makes whipping up any kind of cookie easy. A juggle of the flavoring and a little thought to make sure the liquid to dry ingredients ratio doesn’t change that much is all that is really needed. If a cookie dough ends up a little too wet, it means that the cookies will spread a lot. This isn’t the end of the world. If you see this happening, add a little extra flour. I know, I know. Baking is an exact science – Blah Blah Blah. Sometimes you have to tweak a recipe on the fly! When I am making chocolate mocha cookies from scratch, a key ingredient is espresso. I could use instant espresso powder, but that is not something I keep in my pantry. It is easier for me to use brewed espresso and add a little extra flour to compensate. If my cookie dough is too dry, a little milk or water will save the day. Remember, it is just cookies.
The basic formula for cookies is this…
Cream Softened Butter and Sugar Together
Beat in Eggs
Add Flavors – Like Coffee, Vanilla or Lemon
Slowly Incorporate Dry Ingredients Like Flour, Cocoa Powder and Baking Powder
Add Mixins – Like Chocolate Chips or Toffee
Here is how I make my chocolate mocha cookies from scratch…
- 1 cup of butter at room temperature
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 shots of brewed espresso (about 3 tbsp of espresso per shot) at room temperature
- 1 tsp of vanilla
- 2.5 cups of flour
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 3/4 cup of cocoa powder
- 1/8 tsp of salt
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until the mixture is fluffy and well mixed.
- Add the eggs. With the hand mixer, mix the eggs into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.
- Add the espresso and vanilla . With the hand mixer, mix them in until fully incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, slowly incorporate the flour using a rubber spatula to scrap down the sides of the bowl.
- When the flour is incorporated, slowly add the cocoa powder and mix well. When the cocoa powder is fully incorporated, the dough is ready.
- Spoon the batter by the tablespoon full onto an un-greased cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies 10-12 minutes. They will look puffy and the top will be dry.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool for five minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Decaff espresso can be used in this recipe.
I hope you enjoy!
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Do you make cookies from scratch? What is your favorite kind? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.
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