Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Possibly the most flavorful chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever tasted. The combination of the nutty brown butter, the rich sweetness of the dark brown sugar, and the caramel-y toffee is INSANELY good.
Texture: These cookies are big, thick, chewy, ooey, and gooey. Seriously perfect.
Ease: More involved than your standard chocolate chip cookie recipe. There’s the browning of the butter and letting the dough chill for at least 24 hours.
Pros: Fantastic chocolate chip cookies that your family and friends will adore.
Cons: A little extra work involved, but I promise it’s completely worthwhile.
Would I make this again? Oh yes. I always keep a steady supply of these cookies in my freezer!
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These Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies are about to be the BEST cookies you’ve ever tried.
This Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe has gone completely viral. It’s been featured on Good Morning America, and TikTok videos of people making this recipe have gotten millions of views.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 but just had to update it with recipe improvements and new photos. These cookies deserved it!
What Makes Cookies Chewy, Crisp, or Cakey?
My free guide reveals the ingredients and tweaks that matter.
In fact, my recipe photographer Ashley, who shot all 50 recipes in my cookie cookbook, said this may just be my BEST COOKIE RECIPE yet. People have been known to fight over these cookies. Yes, they’re that good.
This Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is kind of a mouthful to say. But when you actually have a mouthful of one of these cookies, I think you’re going to love me.
These are one of the most flavorful chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever tasted, and the texture is absolutely perfect. You NEED to try this recipe. If your friends and family are anything like mine, they plead and beg you to make it again and again.
Yes, this recipe is a little extra work. But the best things in life usually are.
You may even want to make a double batch so you have plenty of dough to freeze when the craving hits. Trust me… it WILL hit!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
How to Brown Butter:
- Use a stainless steel sauté pan for best results.
- Nonstick prevents the butter from browning completely and prevents you from being able to visually see how browned it’s getting. Same with the dark color of cast iron.
- Something with a wider surface area, like a sauté pan over a saucepan, encourages browning more quickly.
- Don’t step away from butter that’s browning after it’s melted. It can go from browned to burnt quickly.
- At the same time, don’t be afraid of letting that color develop. It should become a rich and fragrant amber.
- Scrape all the brown bits into the mixing bowl – that’s where the flavor lives!
- I highly recommend using unsalted butter – learn why here.
- Learn all my tips and tricks for browning butter in my How to Brown Butter article here.
Do I Really Need to Use Bread Flour?
You don’t absolutely have to use bread flour, but it adds a ton of chewy texture to these Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies that’s worth the extra trip to the store. If you don’t have bread flour, then use a total of 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour in the recipe. Make sure to weigh your flour accurately. If you add too much flour, your cookies may end up dry, dense, or crumbly cookies that barely spread.
Granulated Sugar + Dark Brown Sugar
- To make these Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies extra delicious, we’re using a combination of granulated white sugar and dark brown sugar.
- This combination brings sweetness, a fantastic texture, and a butterscotch flavor that’s so rich and delicious.
- The extra molasses in the dark brown sugar draws in more moisture, making the cookies thicker, softer, and chewier.
- You can use light brown sugar instead, but you may lose some of the additional flavor.
- Whatever you do, don’t lower the sugar in this recipe. Sugar does SO much more than simply sweetening your baked goods. Learn more about sugar’s role in baking here.
Eggs + an Extra Yolk
Eggs are essential to forming a beautifully pliable dough and cookies that stay soft for days – and we’re adding an extra yolk for extra richness and added chewiness. Eggs should be at room temperature when beginning your dough, but separate the one yolk from its white while cold for best results (yolks are more fragile and tend to break more easily when warmer).
Why is There Espresso Powder in This Cookie Recipe?
I really like the way the bitter espresso plays off the sweetness of the toffee and the nuttiness of the browned butter. It’s totally optional, so if you don’t have it or don’t want to use it, feel free to simply omit it.
What Kind of Chocolate for Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies?
I like to use semi-sweet Ghirardelli baking bars and chop them up coarsely for these Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. Feel free to use chocolate chips, but note that you won’t have the same delicious marbled result you get from chopping your own chocolate.
Where to Find Toffee Bits?
You can find Heath brand toffee chips at many grocery stores, typically located with chocolate chips in the baking aisle. If you can’t find them, I have a super easy recipe to DIY Homemade Toffee Bits which I used for these cookies here. It takes just 15 minutes and they taste SO much better than store-bought!
Do I Really Have to Chill the Cookie Dough?
I know, it’s annoying, but I promise you it’s SO worth it, especially for this recipe which uses melted browned butter. Both the taste and texture of the cookie improve during this time. Think of it as a marinating time where everything just gets better and better!! Freezing does not work the same as chilling, so there are no shortcuts here. Learn more about chilling cookie dough in this article here.
Can I Make Smaller Cookies?
Yes, though I much prefer the crisp edges, chewy texture, and soft center 3-tablespoon-sized Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you want to bake smaller cookies, scoop into 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Portioning the Cookie Dough Before vs. After Chilling
- I recommend following the directions in the recipe for chilling the dough in one big mass, and then portioning the dough, because it prevents the dough from drying out while chilling.
- However, if you’re finding it too challenging to scoop the Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookie dough at this point, feel free to scoop before chilling.
- There’s a bit more risk that your dough will dry out in the fridge this way, so just to be safe, store the cookie dough balls in an airtight container or good quality ziptop bag, to prevent them from drying out.
- Then simply bake the pre-portioned Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies straight from the fridge after the 24-72 hour chill time!
Can I Freeze This Cookie Dough?
Yes! Freeze the portioned Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookie dough balls after letting the dough marinate in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Place dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Remove frozen balls of dough to an airtight container and store for up to 6 weeks. Click here for my full guide on how to freeze and bake frozen dough.
Tessa’s Favorite Tools for This Recipe:
- Large 3-tablespoon size cookie scoop for that bakery-style texture
- Or use a medium 1.5-tablespoon size cookie scoop and bake only for about 10-12 minutes instead
- Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Baker’s Half Sheet won our side-by-side comparison of the best baking pans
- 12″x16″ non-stick parchment paper for the best bake and easiest cleanup!
- The Ultimate Cookie Handbook: Your Guide to Baking Perfect Cookies Every Time by Tessa Arias (me!)
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Toffee Brownies
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Dulce de Leche Cookie Cups
- Peanut Butter Toffee Chocolate Chunk Bars
- Bourbon Rye Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Visit my full Cookie Recipes index for more recipes, tips, and insights into the science of cookie baking!
Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/2 (100 grams) cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (127 grams) bread flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 10 ounces (283 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup
homemade toffee bits , or Heath brand - Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Instructions
- In a medium stainless steel sauté pan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Swirling the pan occasionally, continue to cook the butter. It should become foamy with audible cracking and popping noises. Once the crackling becomes quieter, continue to swirl the pan or stir until the butter develops a nutty aroma and brown bits start to form at the bottom. Once the bits are amber in color, remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Be sure to keep the brown bits at the bottom of the pan as well, they hold so much flavor!
- Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the hot butter, stirring to combine. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder.
- To the cooled butter mixture, whisk in the eggs, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Gradually stir in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula. Stir in the chocolate chunks and toffee bits. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours but no more than 72 hours.
- Let dough sit at room temperature just until it is soft enough to scoop, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 3-tablespoon sized balls using a large cookie scoop and drop onto prepared baking sheets. Dough may be slightly challenging to scoop.
- At this point, you can portion the dough, place it on a baking sheet, and freeze just until solid. Remove frozen balls of dough to an airtight container and store for up to 6 weeks.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top of the cookies, if desired. Let cookies cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This post was originally published in 2014 and updated with recipe improvements, more tips, and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Absolutely delicious!!!!
Hi Kathy! So excited you love these cookies!! They’re definitely a favorite of mine, too!! 🙂
Hello. When I make cookies, I usually scoop my dough and let it chill in dough balls instead of chilling all the dough in a covered bowl. Is that ok, or does your method somehow make a difference? Thanks for your insight! Excited to make these!
Hi Gina! We do typically prefer to chill the entire mass of dough, and then portioning after a 24-72 hour chilled rest. By allowing all of the dough to chill together, you’re allowing the flavors to marinate more deeply. Also, smaller balls of dough tend to dry out faster in the fridge. We recommend chilling in one big batch, then allow the dough to sit at room temperature until it’s malleable enough to portion out (about an hour, depending on the temperature of your kitchen), and then refrigerating or freezing the portioned dough balls until the dough has set again, before baking, just to prevent excessive spreading.
All that being said, if you prefer to portion out and then chill, that’s also okay; we just prefer this way for the reasons mentioned above! I hope that answers your question 🙂
Hi! Is it okay to add an additional 1/4 tsp of baking powder to achieve a bit thicker cookies? Thanks!
Hi JM! We haven’t tested that, but you could experiment and see if that works for you! Let me also just mention a couple tips to ensure thicker cookies:
– Chill your dough! We recommend chilling any cookie dough for 24-72 hours, but it’s even more important with doughs where you melt (and/or brown) the butter, as the dough really needs the time to set up fully, to limit spreading in the oven.
– Follow Tessa’s tips here!
I hope that helps! Happy baking! 🙂
Hello!! I’ve tried the recipe already and followed every steps but it still spread so much. Will there be a difference if i don’t melt and brown the butter? Room temp instead of melted and browned. Thank you!!
Hi Alexandra! I’m sorry to hear your cookies keep spreading so much! I have a few ideas as to why this could be happening! Were the cookies chilled well before baking? We recommend chilling for 24-72 hours prior to baking. That can definitely help them set up while baking, as well as lending so much more depth of flavor and chewiness to the baked results! If you need to bring the dough back to room temperature in order to portion out the dough into balls, I would recommend placing the dough balls back in the fridge (or even freezer) until they are solid again, just to be sure they will spread as little as possible. Also, are you weighing your ingredients? Weighing vs. measuring by volume can also have a huge impact on your baked goods, as it’s so easy to add too little or too much flour to any recipe! Tessa also talks about how to measure properly in this article here. Additionally, is your leavening agent fresh? If baking powder/soda sit around for a bit, they can lose their rising powder, which can result in flat cookies! Tessa talks about how to test for leavener freshness in this article here!
If all of these boxes are checked and you still can’t seem to achieve thick cookies with this recipe, I would recommend instead trying Tessa’s famous Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies (which use cool room temperature butter, instead of browned butter) and just adding in the toffee bits, along with chocolate chips, and topping with some sea salt, for a similar flavor. This would be your best bet, rather than modifying this recipe to use non-browned butter.
One last thing to leave you with is a little tip I learned from Tessa! If your cookies spread a little, or are even just not as perfectly round as you would prefer, try using a round cookie or biscuit cutter that’s slightly larger than the size of your cookies, and swirl the cookie cutter in circles around the cookie edges a few times. Make sure you do this straight out of the oven (before they have a chance to set up). This makes the cookies perfectly round! Here’s a link to the reel on our Instagram, where we shared this fun cookie hack a few months ago 🙂 I hope this helps, and if not, please feel free to reach out again and we can try to troubleshoot with you further! Happy baking 🙂
When reading the blog post it says to use 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour if not using bread flour. Then in the recipe that’s written out it says to use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour. Can you please clarify?
Yes, that’s correct Bridget! We recommend using 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour and 1 cup (127 grams) bread flour, but if you prefer to just use all-purpose flour, that’s 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour total. I hope this answers your question. Happy baking!
Hello! I am going to make these today :). For the toffee, if I buy Heath bars am I just chopping them up and including the chocolate that already surrounds them?
Hi Claire! Yes, you can use the chocolate-covered Heath bars and chop them up, or buy the plain Health pieces that have no chocolate around them – either way will be delicious! If you’re feeling adventurous, you can always try making your own toffee bits from scratch! The recipe can be found here! Can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe! Happy baking!
Leavening ???? I see it in the ingredients but not in the instructions?? I am a rookie so please help ?
Hi Anthony! It is mentioned in the instructions – mix the flours, baking soda, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt together. After the eggs and vanilla are mixed in, you will fold in the dry ingredients. I hope this helps! If not, please feel free to reach back out to us – we are always happy to help 🙂 Happy baking!!
This cookie has taught me patience. When I want homemade cookies, I want them now! But the first time I made them I obeyed the 24 hr waiting period and I was rewarded with the BEST cookie I have ever tasted! Now I consider the 24 hrs a blessing because I get to plan ahead and dream about them. Thank you for this incredible treat 🙂
I love the way you put this, Jennifer! You’re totally right; it’s not the easiest thing, to have to wait so long for cookies – but it sure is a wonderful reward after the wait!! So happy you enjoyed them so much 🙂 Happy baking!
Made this for an office happy hour and I think no less than 10 people asked for the recipe. So delicious!
Wow, such a great compliment when so many people ask for the recipe, Elisa! I’m so happy these cookies were so popular 🙂
Hello. So just to clarify. We chill the dough 24 hours or more. Then let the dough sit out for an hour. Scoop into balls. AND THEN FREEZE before baking? Thanks!
Hi Michael! After the dough has rested/chilled in the fridge for 24-72 hours, you just need to leave it at room temp for an hour so, so it is malleable enough to scoop into balls. At that time, you can freeze the dough balls for baking at a later time, or bake right away! Some people like to re-chill or freeze for a little bit, just to prevent extra spreading, but it’s not always necessary unless your house is very warm! I hope that answers your question! Happy baking 🙂
Can I halve the recipe. 24 cookies is too much for me. If yes how many eggs do I use, cause recipe calls for 1 egg yolk.
Hi there! Yes, you can absolutely just make half the recipe! To measure half an egg yolk, measure out 1 Tablespoon or 1/2 oz (or about 14 grams). Alternatively, if you have the room in your freezer, you can make the full recipe and freeze the other half of the cookie dough! Check out this article, where Tessa explains how to freeze your cookie dough! Happy baking 🙂
Do you flatten them before putting into the oven?
Hi Traci! We don’t flatten these cookies before they go in the oven. We just place the balls of dough straight in the oven! I hope that helps! Happy baking!