Espresso & Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Bourbon Buttercream
These chewy cookie bars are filled with dark chocolate chips and delicately flavored with espresso, all which perfectly compliments the sweet and creamy bourbon-spiked buttercream frosting.
Servings 20 small cookies
Ingredients
Espresso & Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- 1 cup room temperature butter
- 1¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 room temperature eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp instant espresso powder
- 2¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
Bourbon Buttercream
- 1½ cup room temperature butter
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp Bourbon cream (or heavy cream)
Instructions
Espresso & Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 9"x13" baking pan with parchment paper.
- Beat together the sugars with the butter for about a minute, or until the mixture is fluffy. Then, add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and espresso powder.
- In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and the chocolate chips. Then, add the dry mixture to the wet and mix with a spatula or spoon until combined. The dough will be thick, but a little muscle work will do the job.
- Dump the dough into the prepared baking pan and press it down until it's evenly spread. Try to make the edges, corners, and center as smooth as possible.
- Bake the cookie bars for 22-25 minutes, or until the top is golden and set. Let the bars cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, before using the parchment paper to carefully lift the bars out and onto the wire rack. Cool fully before decorating.
Bourbon Buttercream
- With the whisk attachment, beat the butter for a minute until it starts to visually lighten in color.
- Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping the bowl and mixing thoroughly in between each addition, for about a minute or so each time.
- After you've mixed in all of the sugar, add the vanilla and Bourbon cream. Turn the mixer to high and beat for 2-3 minutes.
- Finally, switch from the whisk to the paddle/scraper attachment and turn the speed to the lowest setting. Mix for up to ten minutes, or until the buttercream is smooth and most of the bubbles have disappeared. Separate into smaller bowls and color with the food coloring gels as needed.