Hello friends!
Popping in on a Saturday hoping you have a stick of butter left out on your kitchen counter – we’ve got cookies to bake!
I’ve been baking my way through a batch of Dad’s Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie dough he left in the freezer for me last month. Cookies beget cookies. The more I have the more I want.
I had every intention of making a second backup batch until I stumbled upon an bottle of instant coffee normally reserved for chocolate cake or real and true coffee emergencies. The coffee and cookie craving brought me back to a cool DECADE ago when I lived in my tiny Venice apartment and made these Cappuccino Cookies.
Let’s give this oldie but goodie the Clifford Wilson treatment aka browned butter and extra love.
The result is a sweet and pleasingly bitter coffee cookie that, I’m afraid to say, is irresistible. Even better than they were a million years ago in California.
Here’s what you’ll need for these coffee cookies:
• Butter: some softened, some browned and cooled.
• Brown sugar and granulated sugar. More brown that granulated because molasses is delicious.
• An egg and a yolk for binding and richness.
• Flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Instant coffee (not super fine ground powder, dehydrated coffee is preferred.)
• White chocolate though any chocolate would be delicious obviously.
To start, brown the butter and cool it in the refrigerator to a cool room temperature. It’s important to the texture of the cookie that the browned butter not be piping hot when its incorporated with the softened butter and sugars. Slow your roll and let it chill.
Cream together the butters and sugars until pale and fluffy (it should also smell incredible which is a nice little bonus).
Beat in the egg and yolk until very well combined and again… downright fluffy.
Add the vanilla extract and whip it up.
Add all of the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix it all together.
When no hidden dry patches remain, add the instant coffee and white chocolate. Now we’re really onto something.
Chill the dough for at least one hour. (The butter needs to chill, literally… and the dry ingredients need to hydrate. It’s science.)
Yes, this requires an extreme amount of patience but I’ll turn a blind eye if you want to sneak a few bites of dough. Quality control, obviously.
Bake cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet with a few inches in between them for the spread.
These cookies are soft and chewy, with a crisp bite around the edges.
Now I have a freezer full of dough balls. The chocolate chip cookies I bake off one at a time after dinner. These coffee cookies make for a nice afternoon snack. That’s how we roll these days. Thanks for letting me unearth this good one!
PrintCappuccino Cookies
A coffee flavored cookie with browned butter and white chocolate. It’s sweet and bitter and absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 226 grams) unsalted butter, divided. 1/2 cup softened, 1/2 cup browned and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
- 1 heaping cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside and we’ll preheat the oven after we chill the dough.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the butter mixture with a spatula. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat on medium speed until mixture is fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Stop the mixer and add the dry ingredients, all at once to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until just combined. Stop the mixer, add the instant coffee and white chocolate chips and fold together with a spatula until well combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.
- Just before you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Scoop cookie dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto the prepared baking pans. Bake for about 12 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container. Cookies will last several days. They’re yummy.
Ash
Delicious!!! I had some old white chocolate to use up and it’s often too sweet, but with the coffee and brown butter these are HEAVENLY!!! I used instant coffee granules, and I might use powder next time to make the coffee flavour more evenly spread, but they were still great. My family doesn’t know that I have a few stashed in my bedroom, and a whole box of dough in the freezer ;) too good to share!
★★★★
Joan E Bernstein
I used instant espresso powder and the coolies came out perfectly. However, I used less of it, since it’s stronger tasting than regular instant coffee and would have been overpowering.
A great recipe. Thanks, Joy!
★★★★★
HR
I made exactly as the recipe stated. In the comments I noted in the comments that 65 grams was the right weight for each ball. After 12 minutes they had not flattened and were clearly not done. They were in for closer to a 1/2hour. So I thought maybe the 65 grams was too much. The 2nd tray were 50 grams each. Again, closer to a 1/2 hour. Not flat as i hoped but still tasty. I don’t know why this happened. Maybe reduce the flour next time? Also I will try milk chocolate next time.
★★★★
Ashley
Excellent recipe! Turned out exactly as the pictures. Made them gluten free with 1 to 1 flour and they are super delicious! For people having problems, don’t forget the browned butter and the room temp stick, chilling time in fridge, or perhaps scooping flour with a spoon into the measuring cup to measure it out. I’m having to make a second batch to share.
★★★★★
Rosette
Not sure what I did wrong but my cookies don’t look like your photo. The dough was rather dry and crumbly. They came out crackled on top. Still tasted really good though ?
★★★★
Gem
Same, I made these today. I weighed the butter too. No weight for flour so I was light handed with my 2 1/3 cup and the dough was super crumbly. Maybe it’s climate dependent, I’ll reduce the flour amount next time but tastes and smells great!
Donna
Cant wait to make come cookies out of this recipe tomorrow. I want to know how big or how much does one cookie weighs from the batch that you made?
joythebaker
65 grams per cookie ball makes a nice sized cookie! Happy Baking!
Terrie Beneveds
I’ve not made these yet but do plan to. I read the article and you mention vanilla but it’s not in the ingredients. How much did you use? Thanks.
Lucy
Will instant coffee granules work as well as coffee powder? I’m going to make these to post to my mum. Loving your recipes here in the UK
joythebaker
Yes I think instant coffee graduals will be wonderful! Happy Baking!
Chloe
I am going to make these for 28-hour shifts during my upcoming ICU rotation! These look perfect, thank you!!
Wade Hubbard
That’s sound great ideal!wow… At look at the brite side, everybody will have a good coffee craze hehe,Sincerely Wade
★★★★★
Sabrina
great alt choc chip cookie recipe, love the coffee and browned butter to cut the sweetness in the traditional recipe that’s usually too sweet for me, so thank you!
Rebeca
These are some amazing cookies, Joy. I had butter out to soften for another recipe but changed my mind after seeing this. Really glad I did. My only change was to use dark chocolate chunks because I’m not a fan of white chocolate but, other than that, perfect.
★★★★★
joythebaker
I loved that you changed your mind! These will be absolutely delicious with dark chocolate chunks too!
Orr
I’ve made your original cappuccino cookies many times after a friend recommended them and I can’t wait to try this updated version! :)
I already excitedly shared the link for this version with her, too, so we’ve come full circle.
Thanks for posting and updating the recipe!
joythebaker
That’s sweet!
Liz
I’m not sure why, but I have been on a crazy cookie baking bender for weeks…of course chocolate chip, also m&m, and reverse chocolate chip (choc cookie w/ white chocolate chips). Now another to add to the rot. I guess C is for cookie really is good enough for me!
nancy k
Looks yummy but can I use espresso powder and if so, how much?
Thanks, Joy.
joythebaker
I have a feeling espresso powder would be too strong. I like the way instant coffee melds into the cookie dough. I fear that espresso powder would be too gritty.
Linda
These sound amazing can’t wait to try them!
★★★★★