double chocolate espresso cookies

i never really appreciated coffee until i lived in portland during my graduate studies, and since moving back to california, i've slowly realized that i do crave a cup everyday...more for the flavor, and less for the caffeine i must confess (is that heresy..?).

i love, love, love this recipe because this combines the two best flavors: chocolate and coffee. i had my first experience of eating chocolate covered coffee beans last winter at my family's holiday gathering and i don't know how i was able to live without them!
if you're a coffee lover/appreciator/sucker like me (whatever that really means), you're gonna love this. to be honest, i think this is my favorite recipe i've tried and made! it was so easy and fast to make, and i find that the margin of error for this one is almost nonexistent. this recipe also makes a crap ton of cookies - i made between 40-50 without even doubling this recipe! and they also taste booommbbb. bomb diggity. bombilicious. they're not too sweet (the ingredients may seem deceptive) and because i also love black coffee (as i do dark chocolate), the bitterness plays so well with the chocolate. i added 3 tbsp of espresso powder instead of the original recipe's call for 2 tbsp and trust me, you will not regret. we all love a good balance. 

if i could give one tip to you for high success for these guys is to make sure to have room temperature butter and eggs! it'll make the biggest difference for the batter to come together, i promise.
the wait is worth. it.
and if you're anything like me who gets impatient sometimes, make sure to 1) leave butter from the fridge out in room temperate for at least 30 mins, and 2) if your eggs are fresh out of the fridge, place them in warm water for about 15.

if you're thinking of making these asap, hurry and take out your butter and eggs out of the fridge now before you read the recipe!

ingredients:

2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp instant espresso powder (instant coffee works well too!)
12 ounces or about 1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips

instructions:

1. preheat oven to 350F
2. cream butter and sugars until fluffy and creamy. 
3. add eggs until well combined.
4. in a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder/instant coffee powder.
5. using a mixer on low, or mixing by hand, add 1/3 of dry ingredients at a time into the wet ingredients until combined. but be careful not to overmix! 
6. incorporate chocolate chips.
7. use a rounded teaspoon to scoop up the batter in a fair sized ball, flatten gently, and bake on parchment of silpat for 10-12 minutes (i checked mine around 10min30s and they were already good to go!)
8. cool and devour. 

these are so good!! it makes me crave a glass of milk and that's something i never crave...

feels so good to come back from my hiatus on this blog with this recipe. i'm bringing some to work tomorrow and for my parents and brother tomorrow evening when i meet them up for dinner. and i'm already looking for another excuse to make them again. and again and again and againnnn.