have you ever infused butter with espresso grounds? me neither! but i am always looking for new ways to spice up my chocolate chip cookies & the addition of a coffee flavour seemed like the perfect place to start. this recipe features espresso butter as the base flavour, as well as stonewall kitchen’s coffee caramel sauce (both in the batter & drizzled over each cookie). yes you read that correctly! these cookies include chocolate, espresso & caramel. a wonderful are valentine's day treat, but also a cookie you can bake on any weeknight. the dough also freezes incredibly well, so once it is portioned into rounds just pop them in a freezer bag & bake when the craving strikes!
when it comes to infusing the butter, i recommend using coarsely ground espresso beans. this ensures no grinds slip through the mesh strainer when removing them from the melted butter. now let's talk about that stonewall kitchen coffee caramel sauce you probably want to know all about! it is a buttery caramel sauce with a hint of coffee flavour. it taste amazing drizzled over a morning latte or ice-cream, but these cookies take the sauce to a whole new level. plus it makes for a good snack while you are preparing these cookies because who doesn't want a spoonful of caramel?
ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely ground espresso
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup stonewall kitchen’s coffee caramel sauce, plus more for drizzling
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups dark chocolate chips
- flaked salt, for topping
directions
- in a skillet over medium heat add butter & espresso grounds until butter is fully melted. remove from heat & let stand for 10 minutes.
- using a fine mesh strainer transfer the melted butter to a large mixing bowl, removing any espresso grinds.
- to the mixing bowl add the sugars, caramel, eggs & vanilla extract. beat until well combined.
- sift in the flour, salt, baking powder & baking soda. mix until batter comes together, about 2 minutes. fold in the chocolate chips.
- using a large ice cream scoop, shape dough into 24 evenly sized rounds. transfer to a cooling rack, cover with plastic wrap & let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- preheat oven to 350 degrees. line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- once the cookies have chilled, evenly divide amongst the baking sheets & press down on each cookie to flatten. sprinkle with flaked salt.
- bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.
- transfer to a cooling rack & drizzle with additional caramel sauce.
