Mmmmm…the aroma, the flavor of coffee. Cozy warmth on a cold morning. The end of a long and delicious meal. The perfect pairing for a freshly baked doughnut, still hot from the oven.
Ok…I have a confession to make. I actually don’t drink coffee. I’m one of those people who love the smell, but not the taste – it’s too bitter for me. But I’m always intrigued by the coffee-chocolate combo and wanted to give it a whirl in cookie form.
Before baking my Espresso Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies, I found a recipe that looked like a reliable base. To make it Sweet & Natural, I subbed whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose and turbinado sugar for white and brown. To make it Espresso Almond, I added some ground coffee and chopped almonds to the mix. Oh, and because I don’t drink coffee, I don’t have it tucked away in my pantry and didn’t want to buy a whole container if it wasn’t going to be used. So I snuck some home from the office. Shhhhh.
Here’s how the recipe ended up:
2/3 cup turbinado sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon ground coffee
2/3 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped almonds
Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and oil. Beat in egg. Add vanilla and blend. Add dry ingredients in order, mixing after each. Dough will be sticky, so refrigerate for 30 minutes or so to make it easier to work with. Roll heaping tablespoons into balls, flatten to 1/3 of an inch, and place on cookie sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes. Let stand two minutes and remove to cool. Makes 16 cookies.
See the little coffee specks! How cute. The dough was totally brown before going into the oven, so I thought the cookies would be too. But they morphed in there and came out cookie colored and flecked. Magical.
These Espresso Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies are really yummy! Even as a non-coffee lover, I really enjoyed the depth of flavor the ground coffee brought to the table. It seemed to make the chocolate taste even richer. And they were perfectly soft on the inside with a slightly crispy edge - just the way I like my cookies! – and stayed that way for days. The only thing I may change up in the future is trying a more finely ground unrefined sugar. Turbinado is what I had on hand, but since its sugar crystals are larger than regular sugar crystals, they added a bit of texture to the cookies. Not bad at all, but I’m curious how it would turn out with another type. Any suggestions?
What’s your favorite flavor to make mingle with coffee?
I don’t drink coffee either, haha – but I LOVE those cookies!! I think that coffee mixes well with hazelnuts.
those look delicious!!! Regular coffee drinker here
nice pictures! and as the official taste tester of sweetandnatural’s treats, i can attest to the deliciousness of these cookies. yum!
I love coffee, but I have never tried baking with it…YUM!
Mmm the pictures are gorgeous! I drink coffee and eat almonds and chocolate chips so I know I’d like these
I love coffee and cookies, so I will definitely have to try these! They look delicious
I’m more of a tea addict but have occasional coffee cravings. Those cookies look wicked! Will definitely give try out this recipe when cookie cravings hit.
I drink coffee for medicinal (caffeine) purposes only, but I like to bake with it occasionally. These look tasty. I like the speckles!
I’ve never used turbinado sugar. Would I use it the same as white/brown?
Oh and the dates I eat ARE Medjool. Never had another kind!
Oh yum! My husband and I aren’t coffee drinkers, but I LOVE the aroma of coffee, and we’ll have coffee flavored food items occasionally. I think I’ll have to put these on my growing list of cookies to try!
VeggieGirl – Coffee and hazelnuts does sound delish!
Jennifer – Maybe try these with coffee?! Double whammy.
Amanda – Thanks for the virtual testimonial.
Bridget – It’s good with chocolate!
eatingbender – Trifecta!
Jessica – Haha – they’re very appropriate for your blog.
Alicia – I’m not a tea drinker either! Am I less of an adult for my dislike of tea and coffee?
Hangry Pants – The speckles are def the best part of these cookies. I used the turbinado in place of both white and brown here, but it’s probably closer to brown b/c it has a molasses thing going on. The crystals are just a bit larger.
Lindsey – Let me know how you like them! I was pleased.
Beautiful cookies! I LOVE the speckles, what an unexpected, lovely surprise! I’ve always heard that coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate and have wanted to try a coffee brownie combo sometime.
I’ve never tried turbinado sugar, but was thinking that it would have been a good substitute for the brown sugar in my banana apple bread.
Yay baking!!!
YUMMMMEEE! what a GREAT and flavorful ingredient combo!
Andrea [bellaeats] – Coffee works really well with brownies. And if you just use a bit, it doesn’t taste like coffee, just rich chocolate. YUM.
Katie - Thanks for stopping by!
Did you use instand coffe or just regular ground coffee?? I want to make these!!
catms916 – I’m not sure actually. It came out of one of those single serve pods. I’m thinking it was probably instant…but I’m sure either would work well!
those look fantastic! i used to drink loads of coffee but don’t anymore cause caffine has an intense effect on me, but i still LOVE the flavor and the smell…it makes my mouth water. these look like a fantastic compromise! love.
Those looks so delicious! I love coffee!!
Betsy – The smell is SO good. Why doesn’t it taste good too?!
strongandhealthy – They were delicious – now I wish I hadn’t given so many away!
Oh my! These look and sound AMAZING! Beautiful photos too!
Tina – Thanks! If you like coffee and chocolate, you should give them a try!
I just found your blog- so yummy! i love these cookies, i was just thinking to myself that I needed to make cookies this weekend.. this recipe has inspired me!
I use Enjoy Life Chocolate chips, I’m not sure if they are entirely made from unrefined sweeteners..I have used the sunspire chips though and love them.. its just they cost 2 bucks more than the enjoy life ones. ; )
Wow, definitely need to try these! They look amazing!
Wow- you have the most beautiful pictures of you food. How do you do that?! Amazing.
Mariposa – I guess I’ll need to try those Enjoy Life chips next!
Sharon – Let me know how you like them if you do!
Taryn – Thank you for the compliment! I’m a total photo amateur, but I like to think my years of art classes have taught me a thing or two about design. I have a pretty old, unfancy camera and no natural light, but it’s nothing some staging and a little iPhoto tweaking can’t fix – seriously, iPhoto is really cool! It’s fun to play food photographer.
your photographs are stunning, really they are.
the cookies are an interesting flavor – i will have to try baking them sometime!
teenageveghead – Thank you for the nice words! Hope you like the cookies if you try them!
Yum!! These look DELICIOUS. I also love Sunspire chips.
Amy - I think they’re my new chip of choice.
I tried making your cookies this weekend with a few substitutions (posted on my blog) and they came out awesome!! Thanks for the recipe!
catms916 - So glad you liked them too! And what’s your blog address? You should link it to your name – I had no idea and would have said hello!
Sorry!! I think it should be linked up now, but just in case, it’s: http://stevianspice.wordpress.com/
catms916 - Thanks – I’ll come say hi!
Ashley – great blog so far! I try to balance my sweet tooth half with my health nut half, so your recipes are right up my alley. As for all-natural sugar subsitutes, have you tried evaporated cane juice? I sub it for sugar all the time. Oh, and Sunspire brand also makes peanut butter chips and white chocolate chips… yum!
Lauren – I’m glad you like the blog! I haven’t tried evaporated cane juice yet, but I’ve seen it at the grocery store, so it will probably be my next sweetener purchase. And I saw the PB and white chocolate chips when I bought the chocolate chips. I had to refrain myself from buying them all at once!
these look absolutely delish!! i think i may have to give these a whirl my next baking session.