Espresso Chocolate Chip Blondies: An unforgettable,versatile, and genius base recipe that’s jam packed with espresso and two kinds of chocolate.
Is there anyone out there who would dispute that a fudgy, chewy, chocolate brownie is not one of the best things on the planet? How could you?
I mean, I have 17 – SEVENTEEN – different brownie recipes on this site. They range from the outrageous red velvet with white chocolate buttercream to traditional chewy and dense.
From pumpkin cheesecake to peanut butter cheesecake. From salted caramel filled to salted caramel and peanut topped. You get the point, right?
How is it possible to choose a favorite recipe? (Answer: It’s not.)
At this point, you may be asking, “Why the heck is this chick up-talking brownies when she’s supposed to be talking about blondies?” That’s a fair question.
Well, these espresso chocolate chip blondies just may have overtaken my love for brownies. I have made a few blondie recipes in the past, my absolute favorite being of the gingerbread variety.
And since it’s been so long since I’ve made a traditional blondie, I thought it was high time to summon a new recipe up and share it with you all. It IS the weekend after all!
A Genius Blondie Base Recipe for Lots of Add-Ins
The base recipe for these espresso chocolate chip blondies is a genius of a recipe since it’s incredibly versatile. Let your imagination be your guide for making some fun combinations! Here are a few of my suggestions:
- Nix the espresso and white chocolate then add some peanut butter cups with the chocolate chips for a super indulgent blondie.
- Or maybe add some orange zest to go with those white and chocolate chips!
- Adding some chopped dried fruit and dark chocolate chunks would be excellent too!
- Peppermint oil with the white chocolate chips would be a nice change for the upcoming holiday baking season.
- Toasted coconut and lime zest would make an excellent tropical spin!
Like I said, this recipe is versatile and fun! How could you go wrong?
If you’re looking or a super traditional Christmas blondie though, let me point you back to my white chocolate gingerbread blondies. That base recipe is slightly different from this one and they are ALWAYS one of the quickest treats to go on my holiday cookie platters.
These espresso chocolate chip blondies themselves, however, are downright delicious. They’re chewy like a good blondie should be. No hint of a cakey blondie here at all.
Nobody likes a cakey blondie!
The espresso powder gives them a deep, almost mature flavor that balances the sweetness of the brown sugar in blondie really nicely. And of course, espresso + 2 types of chocolate is a big win in my book every day of the week.
Can You Freeze Blondies (or Brownies)? Why, Yes!
Oh! And they freeze exceptionally well too! Can you even believe I was able to sneak a few into the freezer before Kyle noticed they were gone?
I simply wrapped a few of the cut up blondies in foil and froze them. After a couple of weeks, they had slowly disappeared from the freezer but I assure you that each of them were eaten judiciously.
And in all honesty, I loved these espresso chocolate chip blondies just as much straight from the freezer as when they were freshly baked. Deb from Smitten Kitchen notes that she loves her favorite brownies more from the freezer than fresh from the oven.
I’m juuuust about on the same page with these blondies.
Paired with a hot cup of coffee, ice cold blondies definitely hit the spot.
So let me say this: no matter how you eat these blondies, you will LOVE them. Promise!
Espresso Chocolate Chip Blondies
This recipe for espresso chocolate chip blondies, with tons of espresso and 2 kinds of chocolate, is an unforgettable, versatile, and genius base recipe for lots of different add-ins and toppings. See the Notes section below for ideas!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp table salt
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 ½ cups (300g) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (85g) white chocolate chips
- ½ cup (85g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and line a 13×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, making a sling with the paper by leaving a 1-inch overhang over the top of the sides of the pan. You'll need this to lift the blondies out of the pan. If you'll be serving them from the pan, skip the parchment altogether and just grease the pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt together. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugar together until well-combined. Whisk the eggs in along with the vanilla. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold both types of chocolate chips into the batter, just until combined. Do not overstir.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and work it out to the sides and into the corners of the pan in an even layer. Smooth out the top.
- Bake for about 22 minutes, just until the top is shiny, crackled, and golden at the edges. Do not overbake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the blondies to cool completely in the pan. When you're ready to cut and serve, pull them out of the pan using the parchment sling and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 24 or 36 squares.
STORAGE OPTIONS:
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature, OR
- To freeze, wrap squares in foil and stick the foil packet in a zip-top bag, and squeeze all of the air out of the bag before sealing. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Notes
Infinitely adaptable, you can change this genius recipe up to suit all of your blondie dreams. Here are some of my favorite ideas:
- Nix the espresso and white chocolate then add some peanut butter cups with the chocolate chips for a super indulgent blondie.
- Or maybe add some orange zest to go with those white and chocolate chips!
- Adding some chopped dried fruit and dark chocolate chunks would be excellent too!
- Peppermint oil with the white chocolate chips would be a nice change during the holiday baking season.
- Toasted coconut and lime zest would make an excellent tropical spin!
adapted from Genius Desserts by Food52
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This was amazing! Made this in two 8” cake tins with all chopped dark chocolate instead and it was perfectly fudgy at 22 minutes 🙏 will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! So happy to hear you loved these blondies, Samantha!! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review!
I split the recipe in two to experiment a bit; one half I kept as is with the espresso, second half I added coconut, toffee bits, and chocolate chips. Both versions turned out amazing! I love that this recipe is so versatile.
Thanks for coming back to leave a review, Ellie! So happy to hear you loved these blondies! I absolutely love your add ins too!!
I want to make this but confirming that it is 4 tsp of vanilla?
Wow. These are great. Perfect with a cup of coffee. I wasn’t sure about the amount of vanilla, but I did add the 4tsp as written. It just seemed like a lot. Highly recommend.
So great to hear this, Rhiannon! I’m sorry I didn’t get to respond to your original comment but I’m glad you went with the 4 tsp vanilla. Yes, it sounds like too much but it’s just the right amount! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review!!
I made these last night. They look identical to the photos here, which is always a plus for me. Nothing drives me crazier than when the photos look nothing like what came out of my oven! My whole family loves them except all of them say that they refuse to believe that there is any coffee flavor whatsoever. My dad hates the taste of coffee, but he thoroughly enjoyed these.
I thought they were good, but I felt the white chocolate chips made them a bit too sweet. Regardless, my family totally disagreed when I said that I’d make it next time with 1 cup of chocolate chips instead of the half white chocolate.
Also, be warned that these are the consistency of a fudgy brownie. My family loved that even though we are used to more cakey blondies than fudgy ones.
Verdict: Worth a try! But if you really want the coffee flavor, 2 tsp. is just not enough espresso powder.
Thanks so much for your detailed review, Natalie! You’ll definitely taste a difference in flavor if you cut the espresso out altogether; the flavor is subtle but it blends so well with the chocolate that it’s not overpowering. You can definitely ramp up the espresso flavor if you want though! And if you want a cakier blondie next time, you can bake them for a couple of extra minutes. I prefer them chewy and a little “fugdy” but it’s all a matter of preference. That’s the genius behind this recipe – you can customize it to however you want these blondies to be!
I just made these tonight and they were SO good! They smelled like condensed milk right out of the oven and each bar is so rich. I thought 24 squares out of this recipe might make each bar too small but it’s the perfect size to enjoy without feeling overwhelmed.
I did do some changes, but nothing major: reduced butter by 30g, reduced sugar by ½ cup, omitted white chocolate chips because I didn’t have them but used a total of 135g dark chocolate chips, and used almost 2 tbsp of ground coffee beans. I thought the reduction in sugar already resulted in a pretty sweet (but not toothache-y sweet) bar and they were still buttery and fudgy too
These were so good! Next time I will cut back on the butter as I think they are super greasy… I will probable cut back on the sugar as well. Regardless, they were delicious!
Glad you loved them!!
Hi! Is it possible to halve this recipe? Can I just halve all the ingredients? What about the baking time?
Thank you~
Hi Mary Ann, My apologies for the delayed response here! Yes, you can halve the recipe. In doing so, I would use a 9×9-inch square pan instead of the 13×9-inch pan. Bake at the same temperature for 18 – 22 minutes, checking at the 18-minute mark. The top should be shiny, crackly, and golden brown at the edges. I hope this helps!