Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies with Kahlua



I really don't drink very much alcohol and when I do, I prefer it insanely sweet. I pretty much stick to moscatos and liquor filled chocolate.Therefore I've only been to a liquor store maybe twice, and that was for baking related alcohol (Grand Marnier and Chambord!)... 


Growing up in ATL, I was used to liquor stores and grocery stores as separate entities. And not purchasing alcohol on Sundays. That's just the way it is in the Bible Belt! But not in St Louis, apparently...


When I first moved here, I wanted to get some Bailey's and Kahlua to bake with, and at the local grocery store, I called Joe to ask him where the nearest liquor store was... He said the liquor was in the same store I was standing in! And it was! 
In general I have blinders on to alcohol since I usually completely bypass those aisles and I had never noticed they had a huge hard liquor section...


Anyway, I went a little crazy and bought nine bottles of liquor in one store run. What's even crazier is that I was on the phone with my friend WHILE carrying all 9 bottles up four flights of stairs because my elevator is loud and scares me, and I didn't want to leave the conversation... I know, I know.

This was over six months ago (thank goodness alcohol doesn't expire)... and since I don't drink and use the bottles by the tablespoon for baking, they're all still sitting on the shelf. My mom visited this weekend and her eyes bugged out at my liquor collection. Not to mention it's the first thing all the maintenance guys see when they come in to fix things. I look like a snobby wino.





I finally decided I wanted to use my Kahlua and was in the mood for something chocolate-y. I went for some espresso chocolate Kahlua cookies. They were amazing. I put quite a large dose of espresso powder in them, but feel free to reduce. These were simply perfect in their softness, with large chunks of chocolate chips. I put in a mix of dark and milk chocolate chips instead of just semisweet. 
These are similar to my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe in texture, just a bit more chocolatey. 
They are the ideal cookie for those who like 'em soft and chewy, the classic way!

I'm not a fan of coffee but it enhances chocolate very well, and these cookies are a fine display of that. The Kahlua is not too prominent since I think it evaporated during baking. I considering brushing more of it on top of each cookie after baking but then, I was hungry and lazy, and they were delicious enough as is.

Bee tee dubs, I highly recommend every baker have espresso powder in their pantry. It's just so useful, especially for someone like me who doesn't drink any coffee and doesn't have coffee on hand! I bought a jar from William-Sonoma almost a year ago and have still only used a quarter of it. It lasts forever and a little goes a long way.





Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies with Kahlua
Recipe
Adapted from here
Yields about 15 (vary by size)


  • 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tbs espresso powder
  • 1 tbs Kahlua
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/6 cup semi-sweet chocolate
  • 3 oz. dark chocolate chips
  • 3 oz. milk chocolate chips
Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips and let cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. 
In a small dish, dissolve espresso powder in Kahlua and set aside.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugars together.
Add the Kahlua mixture, eggs, and vanilla.
Add cooled melted chocolate and beat until it's mixed in.
Add the flour mixture and beat at low speed until it's just combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Pull apart rounded balls of dough about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets (on parchment or foil paper).
Bake 8-10 minutes or till golden brown. 
*I personally prefer to take them out of the oven while still slightly soft so that they are extra chewy when cooled.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

Comments

  1. Those look so good and I've been wanting to bake cookies for weeks now! Might have to bake next weekend, once I'm done with this exam.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I adore boozey baked treats, and these must be cookies with a pow! They look absolutely gorgeous :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. They look yummy! I have a lot of liquor and it's all for baking and cooking, ha :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. did you mean melt the milk and dark chocolate? not the chocolate chips?

    ReplyDelete
  5. You only melt the semi-sweet chocolate and stir in the milk and dark chocolate in chips or chunk form...
    I specified by naming the type of chocolate in the instructions but I amended the list of ingredients to say milk and dark chocolate chips while semi-sweet is just listed as chocolate since it's melted either way.
    Hope that helps!

    :)

    ReplyDelete

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