Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Coffee Extract

These thin, chewy, sweet chocolate chip cookies call for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of coffee extract. The recipe is an old one from a Paula Deen magazine, and it makes some great cookies! The coffee extract is certainly an interesting ingredient. If you have some you can use it, but instant espresso powder also works. Anyhow, here's a more recent photo of the cookies.

And here's the old photo. What did I do differently? The only thing I changed was the creaming method. The old recipe had you cream the butter and sugar for a good 4 minutes. Feel free to use that method, but it's likely your cookies will spread less if you use very soft butter, minimal creaming, and a good strong (high protein) all-purpose flour. Those are the differences between the cookie in the photo at the top and the old photos.

Coffee Extract in Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Coffee extract was what sparked my interest in these cookies when I first tried the recipe years ago. By itself, it doesn't have the most pleasant aroma. But when baked into things it enhances the other flavors without adding much actual coffee flavor. In other words, I wouldn't call these "mocha" chocolate chip cookies and I don't think people would realize they had coffee as a flavoring. As for the texture, these are thin, chewy, wrinkly around the edges and dark. The recipe can be made with any kind of chopped up chocolate. Be sure to use plenty of chocolate because the cookies need that structural support. Using chopped chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks rather than chopped high cocoa butter chocolate will also curb the spreading a bit.

Thin, Chewy and Buttery

These are thin, chewy and buttery tasting, and part of the reason they taste so good is actually the amount of sugar. Sugar also contributes to spread, so again -- using enough flour is key, as is using a strong one. The cookies in the older photos were actually made with a bit more flour than the cookies in the new photos, but it was a flour with lower protein (Gold Medal) and the batter had been creamed longer.

Another photo of the older cookies. All that being said, they were still awesome! If you want cookies with more spread and a crinklier look, cream the butter and sugar longer and use something like Gold Medal. For cookies that look more bakery-style, go with KA or mix together all-purpose and a little bread flour.

Using Espresso Powder in Place of Coffee Extract

As for the coffee extract, it was what made this recipe sound interesting, and it worked well in the cookies. I've since run out of coffee extract and have tested with instant espresso powder. To substitute instant espresso powder, use ¼ to ½ teaspoon. I prefer using just a tiny amount to enhance the chocolate rather than going full-on with the coffee flavor.

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Recipe

Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Coffee Extract

Anna

This is an old high sugar chocolate chip cookie recipe similar to what was popular back in the early 2000s --- thin, dark, chewy cookies with loads of chocolate. The coffee extract adds background flavor. Feel free to sub espresso powder.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 22 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 20 cookies if making large

Ingredients

 

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (228 grams)
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed (200 grams)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon coffee extract or ½ teaspoon espresso powder
• 2 large eggs, bring to room temperature (96 grams)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, good strong brand like KA (300 grams)
• 12 ounces chopped chocolate, good quality

Instructions

 

• The original version of this recipe started with a pretty intense creaming of the butter and sugar. I used to make it that way, but switched methods because the cookies come out prettier with minimal creaming. The key is to use very, very soft but not melted butter.
• Using low speed of an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and both sugars just until creamy. Beat in the vanilla and coffee extract.
• Add the room temperature eggs one at a time and stir until mixed, then beat for a minute on medium-high just until mixed, scraping bowl. Beat in the baking soda and salt, then add the flour and stir until evenly blended.
• Stir in the chopped chocolate. Be sure to use all of it.
• Drop dough by heaping tablespoons (or use a medium cookie scoop) onto a foil lined plate and chill the dough balls for about 3 hours or until ready to bake. For slightly larger cookies, use a 2 oz scoop.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange dough balls 2 ½ inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are browned and middles appear almost set. If making larger cookies, bake time will be slightly longer. You can also bake these at 330F using the convection setting. Bake time should still be around 10-12 minutes or longer if making the cookies larger.
• When cookies develop small cracks and appear done, pull from the oven. Carefully slide the parchment paper onto the counter and allow them to cool on the parchment paper set on the counter.

Notes

Flour Tip:  These cookies are high in sugar and need structural support. Rather than just add MORE flour, try using a high protein brand such as King Arthur or any other brand mixed with some bread flour.

To make giant cookies, weigh out 5 ounce portions of dough and shape them into tight, thick, 3 inch circles. Put in a 350 degree oven, then turn heat down to 325 and bake for about 20 minutes (check at 17) or until edges are brown. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.

Keyword Chewy, Coffee Extract

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