Mocha Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (with candied grapefruit peel and walnuts)

Mocha Double Chocolate chip cookies with Candied Grapefruit Peel and Walnuts - these dark beauties are loaded with crunchy walnuts, chewy citrusy candied grape fruit peel and fudgy bites of chocolate chips in every chewy bite! It is the perfect all American cookie you can make this Christmas.

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With this basic easy to make cookie, you can have fun turning them into different flavors and textures of cookies with letting your imagination and creativity go wild!

It is almost Christmas and although the pandemic has put a damper on everyone’s Christmas spirit, it does not stop us from baking up a storm in churning out delicious cookies from our own home kitchen!

I love baking but with everyone in our family not really into too many desserts or cookies/cakes nowadays as we all are trying to eat healthy, I just could not resist making at least one batch of cookies to feel a bit Christmassy this year!

The Christmas tree is up, all lit up and adorned with all the ornaments which my daughter-in-law loves to drape over the branches!

I was having a blast in my kitchen baking up a storm with these scrumptious chocolate cookies for us to indulge in.

MOCHA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES with CITRUS PEEL AND WALNUTS:

I decided to make a simple chocolate chip cookie but with some cocoa and a dash of instant coffee in it to make it a mocha double chocolate chip cookie!

My son had recently made a small batch of candied grape fruit peel (he is a gourmet cook in his own right and loves to dabble in some Asian cooking too once in a while), and I was so tempted to use it as one of the flavors in my cookie.

I think citrus and chocolate are a match made in heaven don’t you think? And one bite of the tangy peel in my cookie reiterated it! I was loving every bite of that as well as the nutty feel of walnuts in the cookie not to mention the chocolate hit of more chocolate chips in every bite!

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE THESE DECADENT, SCRUMPTIOUS COOKIES?

If you are a baker, you will have most of these ingredients except for a couple for which I will give substitutes if you do not have them.

Unsalted butter – I like to use the unsalted variety because then I get to control the amount of salt I add in my bakes.

Dark brown sugar – this gives that chewy bite to cookies which we all love.

Plain granulated sugar

Applesauce – now this one is also new to me. My daughter-in-law had just got a huge box of goodies from Thrive Market (an online gourmet grocery store) and applesauce was one of them. So, I decided to make these cookies eggless as applesauce is a good substitute for eggs in most bakes; about ¼ cup in place of one egg. Substitutes for applesauce if you do not have any are mentioned in the recipe notes.

Baking powder and baking soda – well we do need rising agents.

Salt – of course all sweet desserts and bakes do need a dash of salt to bring out the sweetness.

Instant coffee powder – the mocha part; this is optional

Cocoa powder – the unsweetened variety

All-purpose flour for that tender crumb; or you could use whole wheat for a healthier alternative; the cookies may turn out a bit dense as compared to using plain flour.

Optional mix ins are – chocolate chips, candied peel (orange, lemon, grape fruit etc.) and some nuts; in this case, heart healthy walnuts.

Just mix the dry and wet ingredients, chill for a while and bake into these scrumptious bites of chocolate cookie heaven with bits of citrusy peel, heart healthy nutty walnuts and more chocolate chips in every bite!Sending these over to our bimonthly food theme share in our Facebook group Healthy Wellthy Cuisines where the theme this time is #Xmasbakesat HW, as suggested by me. Do head over there to check out what other Christmas goodies my foodie friends have shared!

Hope you get to make these decadent Mocha Double chocolate chip Cookies with Candied Peel and walnuts for this Christmas to share with friends and family!

I know my family and I are having a difficult time keeping our hands out of this cookie jar as these turned out fudgy, soft, tender, scrumptious, chocolaty, nutty and irresistible with a chewy hit of citrus in every bite!

Merry Christmas, Happy Baking and Eating Foodies!

Here are some more easy to make decadent cookies which you can bake up this Christmas:

• Lemon Butter Cookie
• Dark Double Chocolate Cookies with M&Ms
• Eggless Peanut Butter Cookies
• Oatmeal Date Cookies
• Cardamom and Tea Shortbread Cookie
• Eggless Jam Filled Thumbprint Cookies

5 from 5 votes

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Mocha Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (with candied grapefruit peel and walnuts)

These Mocha Chocolate Cookies are loaded with crunchy walnuts, chewy citrusy candied grape fruit peel and fudgy bites of chocolate chips in every chewy bite! It is the perfect all American cookie you can make this Christmas.

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword candied peel, chocolate chip, christmas, walnuts

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Author curryandvanilla

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour/maida
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp instant coffee powder

Wet Ingredients:

• ½ cup softened room temperature butter
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup apple sauce
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract/essence

Other ingredients:

• ¼ cup Candied Grapefruit Peel or use orange peel or candied ginger; optional
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup chocolate chips

OPTIONAL:

• Colored sprinkles
• Dark chocolate
• Hershey’s Kisses
• Icing sugar

Instructions

DRY INGREDIENTS:

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Stir in 2 tablespoons cocoa powder and mix well using a whisk or spoon.
3. You could use a sift to mix these too.
4. Set aside.

WET INGREDIENTS:

1. In another large mixing bowl, add the softened room temperature butter, brown sugar and plain sugar.
2. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer (or even a wooden spatula), beat well to form a soft and fluffy mixture.
3. To this, add the applesauce and vanilla essence.
4. Beat again to incorporate the 2 well.

MAKING THE CHOCOLATE COOKIE DOUGH:

1. To the wet ingredients, add the sifted dry ingredients and beat lightly until just mixed; do not over mix.
2. Stir in the add ins: candied peel, walnuts and chocolate chips setting aside a few chocolate chips to top the cookie just before baking; totally optional.
3. Mix well using a silicone spatula or even your clean hands.
4. At this stage, you can bake right away or to prevent the cookie from spreading too much, you can refrigerate this dough for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.

BAKING THE COOKIES:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C.
2. Line a baking sheet/pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. You could even lightly grease the pan instead.
3. Take the dough out of the fridge (if chilling).
4. Take small portions of the dough and form small balls. Place them on the prepared pan, keeping some distance between them to allow the cookie to bake and spread.
5. If you want more chocolate chips, at this stage, you can top each with a couple of chocolate chips; just press lightly into the dough ball.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes and remove. For a softer, fudgier cookie, bake for only 12 minutes and if you like your cookies crisp, keep it for up to 15 minutes.
7. I baked for 12 minutes in my oven.

8. Remove the pan from oven and let the cookies sit on the hot pan for a couple of minutes; removing them immediately may break the cookies apart as they are still warm and soft.

9. Once slightly cool, remove and place using a flat ladle on wired cooling rack to cool completely.

For different variations like I did:

1. You can roll the cookie dough ball in icing sugar and then bake; this is again optional.
2. And once they are baked, removed from the oven and still hot on the baking pan, press a single Hershey’s kiss at the center, pressing ever so gently. The heat of the cookie will melt the bottom of the chocolate and fuse it on the cookies. Do not touch after that until the cookie is completely cool or you will have a messy melted chocolate cookie!
3. Or, you can melt some chocolate (dark, white or milk) and dip half your cookies (when they are cool) and set on parchment paper to allow the chocolate to set.
4. For a festive Christmas holiday look and feel, when the melted chocolate is still wet, gently place colored sprinkles on top. Let cool completely.
5. Let your imagination go wild and decorate your cookies as you please.
6. You can bake all the cookies in one go or if you are like me and love freshly baked cookies, feel free to freeze half the dough to bake another day.
7. Just remove from freezer and let sit in the fridge overnight and then bake.

8. Hope you get to make this easy, scrumptious, eggless/egg free Chocolate Chip Mocha Cookies with Candied Peel and Walnuts this holiday and enjoy sharing and eating with your family and friends.

9. Happy Christmas and Happy Baking!

Recipe Notes

• You can make these cookies plain by omitting the cocoa powder; just substitute with equal amount of flour.
• If you do not have applesauce, you can use one egg/one flaxseed egg (1 tbsp flaxseed meal in 3 tbsp water; set aside 5 minutes)/1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 to 3 tbsp water etc.
• Add ins are optional but do not miss the chocolate chips.
• Try and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes if possible or up to 24 hours.
• These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoyed fresh for up to a week; extra can be frozen (for up to 3 months) and can be enjoyed after thawing another day!

Step-wise Instructions to make Mocha Double Chocolate Chip Cookies:

DRY INGREDIENTS:

In a medium sized bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Add instant coffee powder if using.

Mix well using a whisk or spoon.

You could use a sift to mix these too.

Set aside.

WET INGREDIENTS:

In another large mixing bowl, add the softened room temperature butter, brown sugar and plain sugar.

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer (or even a wooden spatula), beat well to form a soft and fluffy mixture.

To this, add the applesauce and vanilla essence.

Beat again to incorporate the 2 well.

MAKING THE CHOCOLATE COOKIE DOUGH:

To the wet ingredients, add the sifted dry ingredients and beat lightly until just mixed; do not over mix.

Stir in the add ins: candied peel, walnuts and chocolate chips setting aside a few chocolate chips to top the cookie just before baking; totally optional.

Mix well using a silicone spatula or even your clean hands.

At this stage, you can bake right away or to prevent the cookie from spreading too much, you can refrigerate this dough for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.

BAKING THE COOKIES:

Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C.

Line a baking sheet/pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. You could even lightly grease the pan instead.

Take the dough out of the fridge (if chilling).

Take small portions of the dough and form small balls. Place them on the prepared pan, keeping some distance between them to allow the cookie to bake and spread.

If you want more chocolate chips, at this stage, you can top each with a couple of chocolate chips; just press lightly into the dough ball.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes and remove. For a softer, fudgier cookie, bake for only 12 minutes and if you like your cookies crisp, keep it for up to 15 minutes.

I baked for 12 minutes in my oven.

Remove the pan from oven and let sit on the hot pan for a couple of minutes; removing them immediately may break the cookies apart as they are still warm and soft.

Once slightly cool, remove and place using a flat ladle on wired cooling rack to cool completely.

For different variations like I did:

You can roll the cookie dough ball in icing sugar and then bake; this is again optional.

And once they are baked, removed from the oven and still hot on the baking pan, press a single Hershey’s kiss at the center, pressing ever so gently. The heat of the cookie will melt the bottom of the chocolate and fuse it on the cookies. Do not touch after that until the cookie is completely cool or you will have a messy melted chocolate cookie!

Or, you can melt some chocolate (dark, white or milk) and dip half your cookies (when they are cool) and set on parchment paper to allow the chocolate to set.

For a festive Christmas holiday look and feel, when the melted chocolate is still wet, gently place colored sprinkles on top. Let cool completely.

Let your imagination go wild and decorate your cookies as you please.

You can bake all the cookies in one go or if you are like me and love freshly baked cookies, feel free to freeze half the dough to bake another day.

Just remove from freezer and let sit in the fridge overnight and then bake.

Hope you get to make this easy, scrumptious, eggless/egg free Chocolate Mocha Cookies with Candied Peel and Walnuts this holiday and enjoy sharing and eating with your family and friends.

Happy Christmas and Happy Baking!

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