When I was a kid, Hershey’s sold powder for chocolate milk in brown, kind of rectangular containers.
I loved (well, love) chocolate milk, and I remember a specific day where I was snooping through the cabinets, seeing what I could find, and there I spotted it: a brown, rectangular-ish container, emblazoned with “Hershey’s” in big, bold letters.
I was elated.
I filled a big glass with milk and climbed up on the counter to reach the sacred container, located clear up on the shelf, next to Mom’s baking spices.
I dumped several big spoonfuls of the powder into my glass, and I have to admit, I was a little confused when it didn’t mix in very well at first, but I didn’t care: I was ready for a glass of chocolate milk.
And that was the day that I discovered that Hershey’s sold both their chocolate milk powder and their baking cocoa in very similar containers. And that was one of the only times in my life I didn’t even try to finish a glass of “chocolate milk.”
Nowadays, I’m still sure I wouldn’t enjoy baking cocoa mixed with my milk, but I do love bitter, dark chocolate, and boy, oh, boy, did this week’s recipe really scratch that itch.
This comes from the blog “Bakers Brigade.” You can find the original post at https://www.bakersbrigade.com/recipe/chewy-chocolate-espresso-cookies/. I added extra vanilla in my version.
Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons butter melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder or instant coffee
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- sugar for rolling cookies
Instructions
- Add the melted butter, cocoa and molasses to a mixing bowl and stir until everything is well combined.
- Add the sugar, egg, vanilla and espresso powder and stir again. Finally, mix in the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add some sugar to a small bowl, scoop the dough by the tablespoon-full and coat the balls in sugar.
- Place the cookies at least two inches apart on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the centers set and are starting to crack.
- Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
These weren’t as coffee-forward as I expected, but the combination of the espresso, molasses and chocolate gave these a pleasant bitterness, with just the right amount of sweetness. They’re chewy and would be great alongside a cup of coffee.
Or maybe a glass of cold milk.
Just be careful if you decide to mix in some chocolate. Not all powders are made the same.
This piece first appeared in print May 7, 2026.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
