Irish Coffee Cookies are a gourmet style cookie that’s easy enough for everyone to make while still being a mind-blowingly delicious treat! Three simple, delicious layers with zero cookie dough chilling and options for substitutions and variations!

Buzzworthy St Patrick’s Day Cookie Recipe

Sink your teeth in a bite of these rich, fudgy double chocolate chip cookies! Each gourmet cookie is topped with a creamy Baileys Irish Cream frosting that treats you to notes of nuttiness, chocolate, and vanilla with a subtle hint of coffee flavor!

The 3-ingredient, 10-minute ganache topping completes the cookies with a fudge-like dark chocolate finish that’s thick yet soft enough to bite into! And you get ALL of that unforgettable flavor and texture in this recipe with easy step-by-step instructions!

I LOVE me some gourmet cookies, especially my Chocolate Caramel Cookies that have a hidden filling whereas my kids go crazy for my Dirt Cake Cookies (Crumbl Copycat)!

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Irish Coffee Cookies Ingredients

The base of these gourmet-style Irish cookies is made with pantry staples, like flour, sugar, salt, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, mini chocolate chips, bittersweet chocolate, heavy cream, sprinkles, and pudding mix.

However, a few standout ingredients like vanilla bean paste and coffee extract elevate the cookies’ flavor.

Second is the Dutch process cocoa powder instead of regular unsweetened cocoa powder. Dutch process cocoa powder encourages the chocolate chips in the cookies to shine while also giving the cookie a more intense chocolatey flavor due to their acidity being neutralized when processed.

The optional ingredients are malted milk powder and espresso powder; however, they do bring a delicious dynamic of flavor when used.

And, of course, that leaves the star ingredient that gives these cookies their name, Irish Cream Liqueur. This can be storebought or you can make Homemade Irish Cream, which is what I prefer doing!

How To Make Irish Cream Cookies

A full recipe card with step-by-step photos and ingredient quantities can be found at the end of the post.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and set it aside.
In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together.
Beat the egg and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.
While mixing on low, add the dry ingredients and Irish cream liqueur, alternating between them. Stop mixing once the dough is thick yet soft, but not sticky.
Fold in the mini chocolate chips by hand until incorporated.
Portion the dough out and then place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Gently press the top of the balls down to flatten them into discs.
Bake the cookies until the edges are just set, and the dough looks more matte than glossy.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Prepare the ganache once the cookies have cooled.
Prepare the frosting while the ganache thickens.
Assemble the cookies by first frosting them, leaving a slight indent in the center of the frosting to hold the ganache.
Spoon the chocolate ganache to the top of each indented cookie.
Then, immediately add sprinkles if using them, and allow the cookies to rest to allow the ganache to set.

Cookie Substitutions and Variations

Dutch Cocoa Powder – I highly recommend making this double chocolate cookie recipe using Dutch cocoa powder. However, if you’re in a pinch you can use unsweetened cocoa powder in its place.
Instant Chocolate Fudge Pudding – Regular instant chocolate pudding can be used instead of fudge.
Malted Milk Powder – Powdered milk is a great substitute for malted milk powder. If you prefer this optional ingredient can be left out of the recipe altogether.
Espresso Powder – This gives these cookies a more intense coffee flavor, which I love! If you don’t have instant espresso powder on hand or don’t prefer an intense coffee flavor, you can omit it from the recipe.
Vanilla Bean Paste – When making the frosting this can be swapped out for vanilla extract or more coffee extract which will give the frosting an intense coffee flavor!
Holiday Sprinkles – A simple change in the color of sprinkles prepares these cookies for any holiday!

Since these gourmet-style cookies are a real treat, we want to be sure we nail the recipe the first time! Therefore, I came up with some recipe tips to ensure success in your kitchen when making this recipe for Irish Coffee Cookies!

Correctly Measured Ingredients – Though you can measure ingredients for this cookie recipe using measuring cups, it’s more accurate to weigh out the ingredients using a kitchen scale. If you’d rather not measure out ingredients using a scale, I encourage you to learn how to measure flour correctly as it’s easy to accidentally add too little or too much to the recipe.
Chocolate Ganache – When making the ganache, it’s important to pour the hot cream mixture over the chopped chocolate and allow it to set BEFORE stirring. Allowing it to first set on the chopped chocolate traps the heat onto it and helps melt it down to form a perfectly smooth ganache.
Cookie Portioning – Use a #24 cookie scoop to portion out the dough or use a kitchen scale to weigh the dough out into 2-ounce balls.
Two Baking Sheets – Since this recipe yields about 20 cookies it’s best to use two baking sheets. This prevents cookie dough from being dropped onto hot baking sheets which would alter the structure of the cookies. Using two baking sheets will also speed up the baking process since you won’t have to wait for one baking sheet to cool before using it.
Baking Time – These cookies are very soft right after baking; however, they do firm up while they cool so resist the urge to bake them longer.
Assembly – Be sure to indent the frosting on top of the cookies to create a little nest for the ganache to set in.

How to Serve

Since these cookies are filled with Irish flavor, they’re perfect for St. Patrick’s Day with a sprinkle of green colored sprinkles! They’re also great for Christmas, through the winter, and even year-round!

How To Store Chocolate Irish Coffee Cookies

Store these chocolate Irish cookies in an airtight container in a single layer to avoid squishing the tops of the cookies. Then transfer the container of cookies into the fridge to enjoy for up to 5 days.

More Gourmet Style Cookie:

Frosted Chocolate Cookies – The ultimate chocolate treat that will blow your mind!
Chubby Hubby Cookies – Topped with a chocolate-covered peanut butter pretzel!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies – Loaded with peanut butter goodnesss!
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart Cookies – Made with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart Bites!
Chocolate Caramel Cookies – Stuffed with a surprise caramel candy center!