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!
[June, 2020: I've reworked the recipe and updated this post with all new pictures. Enjoy!]
Why this recipe works
- Deep rich mocha flavor with a texture like truffle balls: 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.
Our favorite cookie recipe that my family loves is not the ubiquitous Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookie, although we do like to make those (who doesn't?). No, it's Mocha Chocolate Truffle Cookies, a delicious double chocolate chip cookie enhanced with espresso powder, yielding a rich mocha flavor with pools of melted chocolate. Yummm...
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What you need
Like a chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe, you'll need cocoa powder in addition to the usual cookie ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, butter, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Brown sugar adds subtle molasses flavor and moisture to the dough, and chocolate chips don't need a reason to be in a cookie!
The major difference between a double chocolate cookie recipe and a mocha chocolate cookie recipe is the presence of espresso powder. If you just want to deepen the chocolate flavor of the cookie, then usually only a teaspoon of espresso powder is used. Increase the amount of espresso powder, and the flavor turns from chocolate to mocha.
Believe me, that's a good thing!
How to make 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. No breaking out the mixer to cream butter and sugar.
Actually, these cookies are similar to making brownies, just with more flour.
Step 1: Prepare the mocha chocolate
Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips and the butter together in the microwave or on the stove. Stir in the espresso powder, then let the mixture cool for 5 minutes (photo 1).
Step 2: Add the sugars, eggs, and vanilla
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 2).
Step 3: Mix in the dry ingredients
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix until combined (photo 3). The dough will be hard to stir.
Step 4: Finish & portion the dough
Mix the remaining chocolate chips into 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 (photo 4). If you just want to bake a few cookies, you can use a small baking pan and your toaster oven (as I'm doing below).
Step 5: Bake 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 5). 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!
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.
Pro Tip: Baking cookies for now and later
There's nothing like fresh baked cookies, so bake just enough cookies for immediate consumption (usually 1-2 cookies per person). Freeze the remainder of the dough on a wax-paper lined quarter sheet baking pan for about 30 minutes. Once they're frozen, store the cookie balls in an airtight bag.
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!
Mad about mocha
Mocha Chocolate Truffle Cookies bake up with a soft crackly exterior and a soft and chewy interior. 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!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
Tammy
p.s. to my almost-graduate...Happy Birthday! Enjoy your tea and scones, and I'll do the same on the other coast.
Related Recipes
Chocolate chips aren't just for cookies! They can pop up in many different types of recipes. Gotta love versatility!
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Recipe
Mocha Chocolate Truffle Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces chocolate chips, divided (2 cups)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon espresso powder
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed, light or dark
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a half sheet baking pan with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper.
- In a large microwave safe bowl, melt 1 cup (170 grams) of chocolate chips with the butter on HIGH in 30 second bursts. Alternatively, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips with the butter together in a large saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat.
- Stir in the espresso powder and allow 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.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. The dough will get hard to stir. Mix the remaining chocolate chips into the dough.
- Using a small cookie scoop, portion the dough in 1-Tablespoon balls. If you want to bake some now and freeze some for later, see the Recipe Notes.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes for a softer cookie, or up to 12 minutes for a firmer interior.
- 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!
- These cookies freeze well (both raw and baked). To freeze raw, scoop the 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 325ºF for 13 to 16 minutes. There's no need to defrost them first.
