Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), cream the unsalted butter until it is light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Next, add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Continue to cream the mixture until it is light and fluffy.

Add in the egg. Cream the mixture until well combined.

Add in baking soda, salt, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

Next, add in the cocoa powder and all purpose flour and mix until well combined.

Lastly, add in chocolate chips. Mix until combined.

Using a large cookie scoop (which equals about 2 Tbsp of dough), scoop into balls of cookie dough and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2” apart. (For a large cookie sheet, I bake 6 cookies at a time.)

Bake the chocolate cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until cookies are just about set.

Remove from the oven and if desired, top with extra chocolate chips and a sprinkling of sea salt. Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating with the ghosts.

Melt the white chocolate or vanilla almond bark (aka vanilla candy coating) in a microwave safe bowl until smooth. (I generally melt in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring the chocolate after each hit.)

Use a spoon to dollop the white chocolate on the top of each cookie. Then, use the back of the spoon to smooth the chocolate down the front of each cookie, trying to keep the bottoms of the ghosts a little more narrow.

Use a toothpick to bring the bottom of each ghost to a point (even swirling it to the side to give the ghost more movement), and use a toothpick to make the arms.

Use mini chocolate chips to add eyes and a mouth.

Let the chocolate set before serving.