They say a photo is worth 1,000 words, and these photos basically speak for themselves. You might be wondering why I called these Chocolate Explosion Cookies. They’re chocolate cookies with 3 different kinds of chocolate chips. I used espresso, white, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Espresso chips will not make your cookies taste like coffee, however, they will enhance the chocolate flavor of these cookies.
The perfect thing about cookies is that you can make them your own. If you don’t want to add espresso chips, you can add peanut butter chips or milk chocolate ones instead.
Let’s talk ingredients
I use Hershey’s natural unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe, but for a more rich and decadent flavor, you can use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. I wouldn’t recommend melting chocolate instead of using cocoa powder because then you won’t get a cookie consistency, you’ll get more brownie-like cookies. That is definitely not a bad thing, it’s just not what we’re looking for in this recipe.
Very important: Make sure you let your butter soften to room temperature prior to starting. If not, you’ll have clumps of butter in your dough and it’ll be harder to mix through. Who wants that?
Take your butter out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before baking. If you forget, click here for a shortcut on how to soften your butter faster. Also, make sure you use unsalted butter. If all you have is salted butter, don’t worry, just forgo the salt in the recipe.
How to make these cookies
- In your stand mixer, add the butter and beat it with the paddle attachment until creamy, for about one minute.
- Add the brown and white sugar and mix until you get a grainy paste. Another 2 minutes.
- Add one egg at a time and mix until incorporated. Make sure you don’t over-mix.
- Add in your rum and mix to combine.
- In the stand mixer bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, and coffee grounds together. Mix until 80% combined – this means you’ll still see just a few patches of flour or cocoa powder that have not fully incorporated yet.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, add in all of your chips, and fold everything together with a rubber spatula.
- Cover the dough and chill it in the fridge for about an hour.
- Take the cookies out of the fridge and using a cookie scooper, scoop the dough onto a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Stick the baking sheet in the freezer and let the balls of cookie dough chill for about 30-60 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Take the cookie sheet out of the freezer and place it in the pre-heated oven to bake for about 10-15 minutes.
Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free
I have successfully made this recipe gluten-free and dairy-free. Substitute all-purpose flour for gluten-free flour, same ratio. Butter can be substituted with margarine or a neutral-flavored oil, like vegetable or canola. If using oil, start off with 1/2 cup. If your dough is a little too dry and crumbly, add in 1-2 tablespoons until you reach a doughy consistency. You can even add water instead of the extra oil.
Of course chocolate chips are dairy, but you can find dairy-free chips at your local health food store or even a kosher market. I personally recommend keeping this recipe dairy so you can indulge in the different kinds of chips.
Chocolate Explosion Cookies
They say a photo is worth 1,000 words, and these photos basically speak for themselves. They're chocolate cookies with 3 different kinds of chocolate chips.
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, (room temperature )
- 1 cup light brown sugar, (lightly packed)
- ½ cup white sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons spiced rum ((sub vanilla extract))
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 and ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 and ½ teaspoons coffee grounds, (optional)
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup espresso chips
In your stand mixer, add the butter and beat it with the paddle attachment until creamy, for about a minute or so.
Add the brown sugar and white sugar and mix until you get a grainy paste.
Add one egg at a time and mix until incorporated.
Add in your rum and mix to combine.
In the stand mixer bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, and coffee grounds together. Mix until 80% combined – this means you'll still see just a few patches of flour or cocoa powder that have not fully incorporated yet.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, add in all of your chips, and fold everything together with a rubber spatula.
Cover the dough and chill it in the fridge for about an hour.
Take the cookies out of the fridge and using a cookie scooper, scoop the dough onto a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart
Stick the baking sheet in the freezer for about 30-60 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350°F
Take the cookie sheet out of the freezer and place it in the pre-heated oven to bake for about 10-15 minutes.
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It’s very important to chill your dough. If you don’t chill your dough then your cookies will not hold their shape in the oven and you’ll end up with a flat, crispy cookie instead of a chewy, gooey one.
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When adding in your flour, make sure you don’t pack it into the measuring cup because you’ll actually end up using more flour than needed. It’s best to either mix your flour around first and then level it off with a knife. Here’s a helpful guide on how to measure your flour correctly.
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I like to use spiced rum in my chocolate desserts because I feel that it adds an extra kick. I always keep some in the house for baking but feel free to stick with vanilla extract. It’ll do the trick with the same amount.
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You can use parchment paper or aluminum foil with baking spray on it, but I highly recommend investing in a silicone baking mat. It will change your life.
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This recipe makes about 3-4 dozen cookies depending on how big or small you make them. If that amount of dough is too much for what you want at the moment, place the leftover dough on parchment paper and roll it up into a log. This can stay in the freezer for up to 6 months.
orlieskitchen.com 