Gingerbread Latte Cookies

 Prep Time: 45 minutes
 Cook Time: 13 minutes
 Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
 Yield: 30 cookies

These gingerbread latte cookies are every bit as chewy, soft, and nostalgic as my classic iced oatmeal cookies, but with a festive flavor twist. Dunk in espresso-speckled white chocolate and top with a sprinkle of spice for a creamy gingerbread latte experience… in a cookie!

Ingredients

Cookies

• 2 cups (170g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
• 1 and 2/3 cups (210g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (60ml/75g) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)

Topping

• 8 ounces (226g) white chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or coconut oil (optional; helps to thin the chocolate)
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
• pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Make the cookies: Pulse the oats in a food processor 10–12 times until you have a variety of texture—chopped oats with some oat flour. See photo above for a visual.
2. Whisk the pulsed oats, flour, espresso powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and molasses and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Dough will be very thick and sticky. Cover and chill the dough for 30–45 minutes (and up to 3 days) in the refrigerator. If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before scooping because the dough will be quite hard.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
6. Scoop cookie dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons (35g) of dough per cookie, and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 12–13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
7. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before dipping.
8. Make the topping: Melt the chopped white chocolate, oil, and espresso powder in a double boiler or use the microwave. For the microwave, place it all in a medium heat-proof bowl or liquid measuring cup. Melt in 20-second increments, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Dip each completely cooled cookie halfway into the white chocolate and place onto a parchment- or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet or cooling rack. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and nutmeg. Using your fingers, lightly sprinkle a tiny pinch of the spice mix on top of the white chocolate-covered part of the cookie. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to set the white chocolate, about 30 minutes.
9. Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes

1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 5. Baked cookies with or without topping freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
3. Oats: Pulsing the oats in step 1 is the trick to this recipe. If you don’t have a food processor, use a blender. If you don’t have either, give the oats a rough chop on a cutting board. Even if you’re using quick oats, pulsing the oats is necessary—you just won’t have to pulse them as many times as whole oats. Do not use oat flour in place of the pulsed oats.
4. Espresso Powder: I buy espresso powder from my regular grocery store—in the baking aisle. If you can’t find espresso powder in stores or online, you can use instant coffee instead. You’d need a little more instant coffee since it isn’t as strong or rich as espresso powder. I don’t recommend using ground coffee because it’s not as flavorful as espresso powder or instant coffee, both of which have super concentrated flavor.
5. Can I Skip The Coffee Flavor? Yes, you can. But I recommend making these iced gingerbread oatmeal cookies instead because they have the full medley of spices. The recipes are similar, only I reduced the spices (and the salt) in today’s version so you can really taste the espresso powder. When making those, simply skip the icing and use the white chocolate dip from today’s cookies, if desired.
6. White Chocolate: White chocolate morsels are fabulous in cookies, but are not ideal for melting. And while candy melts are great for coating cake pops, in a recipe like this, you’ll really taste the difference between actual chocolate and candy melts. I recommend Ghirardelli, Guittard, or Baker’s brand bars of white chocolate, found in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips.
7. What Can I Use Instead of White Chocolate? You can drizzle the cookies with or dip the cookies in the icing used on these iced gingerbread oatmeal cookies or these mocha blondies.