Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps

476 Ratings
  • 5 110
  • 4 167
  • 3 128
  • 2 62
  • 1 9

These cookies look like little snow-covered mountains. Roll each ball in confectioners' sugar twice to make sure it's thoroughly coated and no dark dough is visible.

Everyday Food, December 2003

Gallery

Read the full recipe after the video.

Recipe Summary

prep:
45 mins
total:
1 hr 45 mins
Yield:
Makes 18
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Ingredients

Directions

  • In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well combined; mix in cooled chocolate. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat in milk until just combined. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.

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  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Pour confectioners' sugar (about 1/2 cup) into a medium bowl; working in batches, roll balls in sugar two times, letting them sit in sugar between coatings.

  • Place on prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and coating is cracked, 12 to 14 minutes; cookies will still be soft to the touch. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Variations

Martha used 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, for coating.

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Reviews (15)

476 Ratings
  • 5 110
  • 4 167
  • 3 128
  • 2 62
  • 1 9
Martha Stewart Member
12/10/2017
Coffee and chocolate... can’t go wrong!! I was searching for a cookie worthy of a cookie exchange when I came upon this recipe. Of course read the reviews and watched the video several times to make sure no steps where missed! Vola!!! They came out great!
Martha Stewart Member
12/12/2016
Mine came out flat nothing like the picture...good taste. Did i let the dough get to soft or maybe too thin. Should i try to freeze again before rolling in the sugar???
Martha Stewart Member
12/21/2015
Transform these amazing cookies into peppermint mocha treats! Double the recipe and add 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Dust with crushed candy cane after cookies have cooled, if desired. You may want to experiment with the ratio of espresso to peppermint to suit your tastes, but be careful! A little bit of peppermint extract goes a long way.
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Martha Stewart Member
12/23/2014
I have made these time and time again, and they are always a hit. The chocolate and espresso scent just emanates from the cookie. I think people are just overly complicating the work, just use those hands and make the dough into a one inch-ish rough ball (it doesn't have to be perfect!) and get it into that powered sugar over and over. There really is no special technique needed. But, freeze that dough to ensure you can manipulate it.
Martha Stewart Member
12/28/2012
These didn't really work for me.. I think I may have used too much milk :(
Martha Stewart Member
12/18/2012
Also, I found the dough extremely easy to work with. I flattened the dough into a rectangle then chilled it. When I took it out I cut it into 18 pieces and pressed two at a time into a rough ball shape and tossed in the first coating icing sugar. They were super easy to roll.
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Martha Stewart Member
12/18/2012
These cookies are fabulous! The recipe is very easy. I left the cookies in for just 12 minutes so they are very fudgey inside, with a deep chocolate/coffee flavour. I agree with others that you need to use high quality chocolate and espresso powder. The first time I made them I didn't roll them in enough icing sugar so they weren't white, but the second time they came out just like the photo. This recipe is a keeper!
Martha Stewart Member
12/11/2012
These cookies do taste amazing and look spectacular! A few on each tray didn't come out as spectacular as the others though - the "cracking" effect looked more like a crumble effect. The dough became very soft in my hands as i rolled the balls so i found I had to pop it back in the freezer and then come back to the rolling. Anyone have any additional tips? Also, how did Martha use the butter for the coating?
Martha Stewart Member
11/04/2012
These cookies were good right after coming out of the oven when they were still warm. However, they did not freeze well. Not sure why, but they tasted stale even when I froze them the day after baking and put them in an air tight container.
Martha Stewart Member
01/12/2012
I don't know about freezing, but I know when the icing got a little 'mussed' in storage, I put a pile of confectioner's sugar on a plate and lightly dipped the high ridges on the cookies in the sugar to 'freshen' the whiteness of the icing part before serving.
Martha Stewart Member
12/15/2011
These are awesome. the best.
Martha Stewart Member
12/13/2011
These cookies are intensely flavored with chocolate and espresso...just DELICIOUS! The are crisp on the outside with a nice chewy center. I needed these for a cookie swap and tripled the recipe and it worked out perfectly. These will definitely be on my cookie tray annually!
Martha Stewart Member
12/12/2011
Does anyone know if you can freeze these cookies? I am afraid the icing sugar will melt when they defrost.
Martha Stewart Member
12/11/2011
Holy cookies! This is only my second recipe from Martha and these cookies turned out AWESOME! Chewy in the middle and crispy on the edge. Perfect with a glass of milk. I doubled the recipe because 18 is not enough.
Martha Stewart Member
12/09/2011
shaunabelle -- Yes. Espresso coffee and any dark-roasted coffee beans do have a burnt or smoky smell and taste. If that's not to your liking (I'm not fond of it either), just substitute regular instant coffee.
Martha Stewart Member
12/07/2011
These taste a wee bit 'burnt' even though they are not over-cooked. Could my espresso powder be the culprit?
Martha Stewart Member
11/29/2011
Best Coffee Lovers Cookiee ever!
Martha Stewart Member
11/23/2011
best cookies ever
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