Salted Espresso Chocolate Chunk Blondies

This blondie recipe is for coffee-lovers who love a sweet treat alongside a quick pick-me-up! These Espresso Chocolate Chunk Blondies are fudgy, chewy and rich with caramelized brown sugar flavor, sweet coffee, big dark chocolate chunks and flaky salt. It's a recipe hybrid of chocolate chip cookie dough and brownies with a coffee kick. They are easy to make and so satisfying. If you love blondies, check out my Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Brown Butter Blondies which are also dangerously good!

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE

• Fast & easy to make - these blondies come together quickly and take less than 30 minutes to bake.
• Fudgy chewy texture - the right amount of sugar and eggs ensures that these blondies are dense, chewy and fudgy.
• Rich buttery flavor - rich salty buttery undertones highlight the hazelnuts and chocolate!
• Chocolate chunks, not chips - for the best texture and most dramatic pools of chocolate, I recommend dark chocolate chunks chopped from a chocolate bar. These chunks will melt evenly into the batter whereas chocolate chips will hold their shape.
• Dark chocolate blondies - I definitely recommend dark chocolate with around 60% cocoa solids or higher for this recipe. It will balance the sweetness.
• Coffee-infused - for the best coffee flavor, seek out espresso powder. It's a great ingredient for baking. You can also substitute with instant coffee, but you will need to use more since it is less dense.

INGREDIENTS

Here are some notes about the ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

• Unsalted butter - there is no substitute for butter in a blondie recipe in my opinion! It is the foundation of the rich butterscotch flavor. In this recipe, you just need melted butter so no need to wait for it to soften at room temperature.
• All purpose flour - regular all purpose flour is perfect to make fudgy and chewy blondies. Use unbleached flour which will give you that nice dense texture.
• Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is essential to this recipe since it is the main flavor that complements the rich buttery notes and sweet dairy notes. I like this Madagascar vanilla extract.
• Eggs - 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk will set the structure of these brownies for a gooey fudgy custardy texture without tasting or smelling "eggy".

• Granulated sugar - simple fine white granulated sugar keeps these blondies moist. If you reduce the sugar they will not be as fudgy and they are less likely to have the shiny crust.
• Brown sugar - you can use light or dark brown sugar in this recipe. I like the taste of dark brown sugar here with its rich molasses flavors.
• Egg - 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk will provide majority of the structure in these blondies.
• Espresso powder - this is a great ingredient for coffee-flavored desserts and even just to enhance the flavor of chocolate desserts.
• Dark chocolate chunks - this is important! I highly recommend using bar chocolate, that is, chunks that you chop up from a bar of chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Why? That is because chocolate that is made into bars, also known as "tablets" has a higher cocoa butter content and typically melts smoother than chocolate chips to give you puddles of chocolate. I love this effect! Chocolate chips will hold their shape and spread less.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

• STEP 1). Combine wet ingredients. Combine melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, egg, egg yolk, espresso powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk vigorously to blend well until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
• STEP 2). Add dry ingredients. Whisk in baking soda, then sprinkle the flour over the batter and fold it in.
• STEP 3). Add chocolate. Add chocolate chunks and fold them in.
• STEP 4). Bake. Spread the thick batter evenly into your prepared pan. Scatter extra dark chocolate chunks on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is evenly golden brown and the edges are deeply browned. It should puff up in the center and then fall slightly, and it will still feel just slightly soft in the middle.
• STEP 5). Cool. Transfer pan to a wire rack, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and let cool completely before cutting into squares. These are best served the same day.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Do not over-bake. Be sure to not over-bake the blondies or they can end up more dry instead of dense and fudgy.
• Use big chocolate chunks or high quality dark couverture chocolate chips, so you get nice melty puddles while they are still warm.
• You only need a pinch of baking soda. This helps them brown nicely and also gives you a bit of structure. Too much will make them dry though.
• Cool completely. Let the finished blondies cool completely for at least 2 hours before slicing to ensure you get those nice clean slices and a fudgy texture.

RECIPE FAQ

If you love bars and brownies, check out these recipes!

Bars & Squares

Looking for other squares and bars like this? Try these:

Baking with espresso...

Do you love baking with coffee? Check out these recipes:

Video

Salted Espresso Chocolate Chunk Blondies

Christina Marsigliese

Fudgy brown sugar espresso blondies with loads of fat melty dark chocolate chunks. The combination of espresso and chocolate with flaky salt is amazing!

5 from 17 votes

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Servings 16 squares

Ingredients

  

• ½ cup 113g unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup 110g packed dark brown sugar
• ½ cup 100g granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon 5ml pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoon espresso powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp 160g all-purpose flour
• 1 cup 5oz/142g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped plus extra for topping

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang at each side.
• Combine melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, egg, egg yolk, espresso powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk vigorously to blend well until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
• Whisk in baking soda, then sprinkle the flour over the batter and fold it in. Add chocolate chunks and fold them in.
• Spread the thick batter evenly into your prepared pan. Scatter extra dark chocolate chunks on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is evenly golden brown and the edges are deeply browned. It should puff up in the center and then fall slightly, and it will still feel just slightly soft in the middle.
• Transfer pan to a wire rack, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and let cool completely before cutting into squares. These are best served the same day.