These Hojicha Espresso Cookies feature the flavours of roasted green tea and coffee in one package. Pair with a hojicha latte for the perfect afternoon tea break.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Hojicha Co. All images and opinions expressed are solely my own. Thank you for supporting brands that help make Sift & Simmer possible!
If you've never had tea with coffee, it might sound like a strange concept, but it's really not.
What is hojicha?
Hojicha is a roasted green tea that is naturally low in caffeine, but since it's roasted, it has that "smoky" flavour that is similar to coffee.
I seem to really enjoy hojicha with nutty flavours, such as this Hojicha Black Sesame Oat Latte.
A little different than my Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies, each bite of cookie yields a bit of texture from the espresso beans, sweetness from the brown sugar, and smokiness from the hojicha tea.
Why you'll love this recipe
These cookies can be made in one bowl.
They're vegan and dairy-free.
These cookies have rich, smoky and sophisticated flavour from the pairing of hojicha and coffee.
I went a little fancy with the espresso since I had chocolate-covered espresso beans, but if you don't have that, you can definitely just use espresso powder.
The addition of the chocolate really does take it up a notch, so if you can find chocolate-covered espresso beans, you won't be disappointed.
Other espresso recipes you may like:
Cold Brew Coffee (With Espresso Option)
Homemade Matcha Espresso Fusion
Ingredients you'll need
- all-purpose flour: regular flour will be fine for these cookies; if you prefer a more chewier cookie, you can use bread flour
- hojicha powder: use a high quality powder such as Hojicha Co's powder
- coconut oil: use a refined coconut oil if you don't like the flavour of coconut, melted
- almond milk: or any non-dairy alternative will work fine
- granulated cane sugar: adds sweetness to the cookies
- brown sugar: adds additional flavour and colour to the cookies
- vanilla extract: adds a hint of vanilla flavour
- espresso beans: optional; you can use espresso powder in place of the bean if you like
Substitutions
If you're not vegan, you can use dairy alternatives such as butter and milk.
Feel free to add chocolate chips or other additions in place of the espresso coffee beans.
Try using rye flour for a nuttier taste.
Expert tips & troubleshooting
Coconut oil solidifies when it is below 78°F -- if your kitchen is cooler, you may need to melt the coconut oil in the microwave or over a warm location first.
At first, the cookie dough should look wet, but will come together into a mound.
Once the cookie dough is refrigerated, it will firm up (due to the coconut oil).
If the cookies are dry, there could be a few factors:
- inaccurate measuring of flour -- best to use weight measurements for consistency and accuracy
- too much hojicha powder (can act as a drying agent)
- not enough coconut oil or milk added
For a crunchier cookie, leave the cookies in for a few minutes longer.
Other hojicha recipes you may like
If you're looking for other recipes using hojicha, try these:
Matcha Hojicha Coconut Ice Cream Bars
Let me know if you try my recipe; tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating -- I'd love to see your creations!
Hojicha Espresso Cookies
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ C all-purpose flour spooned in and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoon Hojicha Co. hojicha powder
- ½ C coconut oil melted
- ¼ C granulated cane sugar
- ½ C brown sugar packed
- ¼ C non-dairy milk room temp
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon espresso powder OR 2 tablespoon of chocolate-covered espresso beans ground up
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F/191°C and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and hojicha powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add in the melted coconut oil, cane sugar and brown sugar and beat until combined. Add in the non-dairy milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Pour the dry mixture into the coconut oil mixture and give it a mix with a spatula. Add in the espresso powder or ground up chocolate covered espresso beans.
- Chill the mixture in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.
- Use a large ice cream scoop and drop scoops on the baking sheets, spaced at least 3" apart.
- Flatten with the back of a measuring cup if you prefer flatter cookies. These cookies will puff up a bit.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375°F/191°C. Remove from oven and carefully bang the pan to help the cookies spread a little further (optional).
- Leave to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
lynn
hello! does this recipe produce a chewy or crunchy cookie?
Michelle
It's more a crunchy cookie 🙂
Karina
Hello! I’m a home baker who love hojicha, espresso, and cookies, so this recipe stood out to me. However, I’ve made this recipe twice now, and both times the cookies come out very dry. I’ve noticed that the cookie dough before baking is very crumbly and hard to adhere together. During baking, the cookies also don’t spread at all—I’m wondering if there’s something missing in the recipe listed: perhaps a wrong measurement recorded or an ingredient missing?
Michelle
Hi Karina, sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you. That's odd that the cookie dough is dry -- with the amount of coconut oil, it shouldn't be that way.
There could be a few things: adding too much flour or too much hojicha powder (acts as a drying agent) can result in a dry, crumbly cookie dough. However, I've tested and updated the recipe with weight measurements to ensure consistency.
Hope that helps.
Michal
Hi Michelle,
I'd like to use up a hojicha powder that is already quite sweetened (it's by Muji. Pretty bad for drinking so I thought I'd use it in baking). In this case, how much sugar should I add to the recipe? Thanks!
Michelle
Hi Michal, if your hojicha powder is already sweetened, you will need to decrease the amount of sugar in the recipe. It's difficult to know how much to adjust the amount by as I've never had sweetened hojicha powder, but I would start with using using 70g brown sugar and 25g granulated sugar? You'll have to test it out and see, and adjust according to your taste. Hope that helps.