A family favorite, these easy Mocha Chocolate Truffle Cookies are double chocolate chip cookies enhanced with espresso. With a crunchy exterior, a soft interior, and pools of melted chocolate chips, they're like eating truffle balls in cookie form!
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[June, 2023: I've reworked the recipe and updated this post with new pictures. Enjoy!]
Why this recipe works
- Deep rich mocha flavor
- A truffle-like texture with a crunchy exterior and a soft interior studded with chocolate chips
- Easy to make with no mixer needed
- Only 30 minutes to warm chocolate cookie goodness!
I love cookies. They are portion-controlled bits of food hugs.
Cakes and cupcakes are good, don't get me wrong, but there is such a variety of flavors and textures, mix-ins and toppings that cookies can have so they don't get monotonous.
Cookies don't have to be fancy to be wonderful, and home baked cookies, made with wholesome ingredients and baked with a special someone else. Those are the best.
My family's favorite cookie recipe is Mocha Chocolate Truffle Cookies, a delicious double chocolate chip cookie enhanced with espresso powder, yielding a rich mocha flavor with pools of melted chocolate.
These are more than fancy chocolate cookies - they're a classic chocolate truffle in cookie form. Yummm...
Mocha Chocolate Truffle Cookies bake up with a soft crackly exterior and a soft and chewy interior (much like chocolate cake truffles). Fresh out of the oven they're rich and melty, with an intense chocolate flavor underscored with coffee.
It's a cookie worthy of the name, and perfect to share these bits of portion-controlled food hugs with someone you love!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
These are the BEST cookies ever!!!! And the dough is great frozen too!
- Catherine
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make this mocha chocolate truffle cookie recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Chocolate chips: Like with a brownie recipe, chocolate chips are used in 2 ways in this recipe for chocolate truffle cookies - half the chocolate chips are melted into the dough, and the rest are folded in at the end.
Espresso powder: The major difference between a double chocolate cookie recipe and a mocha chocolate cookie recipe is the presence of espresso powder (regular or decaf). If you just want to deepen the chocolate flavor of the cookie, then usually only a teaspoon of espresso powder is used. Here, we increase the amount of espresso powder, and the flavor turns from chocolate to mocha.
Cocoa powder: Like with a chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe, cocoa powder is added to the flour mixture to up the levels of chocolate even more.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make chocolate truffle cookies
Mocha Chocolate Truffle Cookies are a great recipe to start with if you're new to baking cookies because the method is all manual, just stirring in the bowl. There's no need to break out the mixer to cream butter and sugar!
Step 1: Make the cookie dough
If desired, sift the cocoa powder to remove any lumps. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt (photo 1). Set aside.
In a large microwave safe bowl, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips with the butter on High in 30 second bursts for about 1½ to 2 minutes (photo 2).
You can instead melt the chocolate chips with the butter in a large saucepan over Low heat. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat.
Stir in the espresso powder and allow the chocolate mixture to cool for 5 minutes (photo 3).
Stir in the granulated sugar and brown sugar into the chocolate mixture until it's completely mixed, then add in the eggs and vanilla extract (photo 4).
Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Be prepared for an arm workout - the dough will get hard to stir. Fold in the remaining chocolate chips to the dough (photo 5).
Step 2: Portion the dough
Using a small cookie scoop, place 1-tablespoon portions of the dough onto a half sheet baking pan lined with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper, 2-inches apart (photo 6).
Step 3: Bake the cookies
Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 8 to 10 minutes for a softer cookie, or up to 12 minutes for a firmer interior (photo 7). The cookies don't spread much at all, and often look underdone even though they're not. You want to the outside to at least be set and appear dry.
Let the cookies cool for 1 minute before removing from the baking pan. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Storage and make-ahead instructions
Storage instructions: The baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. They will firm up as they sit.
Make-ahead instructions: These cookies freeze well, both raw and baked, stored in an airtight plastic bag for up to 3 months.
How to freeze cookies to bake later
There's nothing like fresh baked cookies. I usually bake just enough cookies for immediate consumption (usually 1 to 2 cookies per person), and freeze the rest of the cookie dough. Portion the dough in 1-tablespoon balls on a wax-paper lined quarter sheet baking pan for about 30 minutes. Once the balls are frozen, store the cookie balls in an airtight bag for up to 3 months.
When you want wonderful warm Mocha Chocolate Truffle Cookie goodness, take out however many you want and bake them at 325ºF for 13 to 16 minutes. You don't even need to defrost them first!
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions you might have...
You might be wondering where the word "cookie" comes from. According to What's Cooking America, it's derived from the Dutch word kwoekjes, meaning "little cake" (anglicized to "cookie" by the early 1700s).
The British use the term "biscuit" just to mess up us Americans, who think of biscuits as a flaky Southern bread that's served with butter or sausage gravy.
Actually "biscuit" is derived from Latin's "bis coctus" or "twice baked" referring to a hard cake given to Roman armies in their rations. Hardtack, biscotti, mandelbrot, and zwiebacks are all from this lineage, and later small cakes and delicate wafers were added to this family of biscuits.
Many times you'll see a cookie called a double chocolate cookie or chocolate chocolate chip cookie. That's because there's melted chocolate and/or cocoa powder in the cookie's base dough, and sometimes chocolate chips are mixed in also.
The texture of these truffle cookies is from the brown sugar and eggs in the dough. Both provide moisture to soften the dough as it bakes. Also, the acidic molasses in the brown sugar reacts with the baking powder to give the cookies a little more lift. Less baking time completes the trifecta, giving the cookie a soft and chewy interior.
I hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to leave a comment and rating. Thanks!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
More recipes with chocolate chips to try
Recipe
Mocha Chocolate Truffle Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 ounces chocolate chips, divided (2 cups)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder, regular or decaf
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed, light or dark
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line a half sheet baking pan with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper. Sift the cocoa powder to remove any lumps.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large microwave safe bowl, melt 1 cup (170 grams) of chocolate chips with the butter on High in 30 second bursts for about 1½ to 2 minutes. Alternatively, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips with the butter together in a large saucepan over Low heat. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat.
- Stir in the espresso powder and allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the granulated sugar and brown sugar into the chocolate mixture until it's completely mixed, then add in the eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix until combined (be prepared for an arm workout - the dough will get hard to stir). Fold in the remaining chocolate chips into the dough.
- Using a small cookie scoop, portion the dough in 1-tablespoon balls and place on the prepared baking pan, 2-inches apart.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes for a softer cookie, or up to 12 minutes for a firmer interior. The cookies don't spread much at all, and often look underdone even though they're not. You want to the outside to at least be set and appear dry.
- Let the cookies cool for 1 minute before removing from the baking pan. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Serve and enjoy!
- Storage instructions: The baked cookies can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for a few days. They will firm up as they sit.
- Make-ahead instructions: These cookies freeze well, both raw and baked, stored in an airtight plastic bag for up to 3 months. To freeze the raw dough, scoop 1-tablespoon balls of dough onto a wax paper-lined baking pan and freeze for 30 minutes before transferring to a ziplock bag. Bake the frozen cookie dough at 325 °F for 13 to 16 minutes. There's no need to defrost them first.
Catherine says
These are the BEST cookies ever!!!! And the dough is great frozen too!