Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies are loaded with flavor and have a soft yet chewy, ooey gooey texture. These were a HUGE hit!
Yield:
25 large cookies
Prep Time:20minutes
Cook:15minutes
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. Once my freezer stockpile runs out I plan on keeping a steady supply of these cookies coming out of my kitchen.
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.
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 for when the craving hits. Trust me… it WILL hit!
How to Make Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients you’ll need:
Butter (make sure to use unsalted!)
Dark brown sugar (adds a butterscotch flavor)
Granulated sugar
All-purpose flour and bread flour
Leavening
Salt
Espresso powder (optional)
Eggs
Vanilla
Semisweet chocolate
Toffee bits
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 more 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!
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 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.
Why is there espresso powder in this 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, if you don’t have it or don’t want to use it, feel free to simply omit.
I know, it’s annoying. But I promise you it’s SO worth it. Especially for this recipe which uses melted brown butter. You must chill at least until the dough is firm to ensure your cookies won’t spread too much. But the magic of letting your dough ‘marinate’ for up to 72 hours is detailed 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 (large scoop) cookies. If you want to bake smaller cookies, scoop into 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls (medium scoop) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Can I freeze this cookie dough?
Yes! After letting the dough marinate in the fridge for at least 24 hours, portion it into balls. 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.
In a medium stainless 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, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.
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 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 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.
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
About Tessa...
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
I bake a lot and these are delicious! I baked a couple right after putting the ingredients together (because I couldn’t resist) and they are SO good. Can’t wait to try them tomorrow when they’ve been in the fridge for a day!
Hi Karina! For semisweet chocolate bars (as used in this recipe), Tessa prefers Ghirardelli or E. Guittard. She hasn’t tried Callebaut 811, let us know how it goes if you give those a try!
I agree with Tricia’s take, good enough cookies but couldn’t really taste the toffee and browned butter. I don’t think it was worth the extra steps and marinating time.
Hi! I noticed that every time I make cookies with toffee chunks in them, the toffee melts in the oven and creates craters in the cookies. It seems that the melting pools of toffee are also pushing out the cookies while baking, and I usually have to rush to scoot them back into shape right after pulling them out of the oven. The resulting cookies do taste good but they are always thinner than I would like and not thick like your pictures appear. It even happens when I refrigerate the dough! I’ve wondered if maybe my toffee chunks are too big, but they look like yours do so I’m not sure what’s going wrong. Have you ever experienced this?
Hi Sonia! It sounds like your butter may be too warm! Typically the toffee will melt in the oven, but as the cookies cool, the toffee will firm up again. If you’re noticing that your cookies are coming out thinner, I’d first make sure your brown butter mixture has completely cooled before additional ingredients are added. Even if you chill your dough, the temperature of your brown butter mixture prior to adding the additional ingredients can still affect the outcome. I’d also try using a digital scale to measure your ingredients, if you’re not already, to ensure accurate measurements. I hope that helps, and I hope you give this recipe another try!
These cookies are delicious. Perfect texture. Ooey gooey with a crispy edge. I followed the recipe exactly. I browned the butter and it smelled amazing. I waited for the dough to set in the fridge for 24 hours. But I was a bit disappointed in the flavor. I couldn’t taste the browned butter and I can’t really tell there is toffee in there. They taste like an amazing chocolate chip cookie. But I can’t detect that extra depth of flavor from the browned butter and toffee. The extra work didn’t seem to make them any different than a regular chocolate chip cookie to me.
We don’t bake with gluten free flour, but a long as you’re substituting with all purpose 1:1, it should be fine! I’m not entirely sure about the oat flour. Let us know how your cookies turn out!
I want to make these to include in some care packages that I need to ship. If I heat seal them will they stay fresh beyond 3 days? Probably a silly question but I don’t want to ship inedible goodies. Thank you 🙂
After 3 days, the cookies will likely begin to stale. You could try shipping them with a tortilla in the box to try to keep them soft for longer. Good luck!
Hi Chelsea! We’d personally recommend keeping the egg yolk in the cookies as it adds extra chew 🙂 To halve an egg yolk, use about 1 tablespoon or 1/2 ounce of the yolk. Or if you’d rather, feel free to omit. I hope that helps!
I made these for my son’s second birthday and they were a huge hit among the kids and adults both. I chilled the dough for 48 hours and the cookies were bursting with all the right flavors. These are my go to cookies from now on.
Pinned your recipe months ago and have just tried it. Great results! Just wanted to mention I only used the recipe after stumbling on packages of Nestle Espresso Morsels at the grocery store! Bought several packages! Who’d a guessed, right? Thanks for sharing your recipe. Much appreciated.
OMG-these sound AMAZING…and given someone just gifted me three 5.5lb bags of Callebaut dark chocolate calets (yes-a total 10 16.5 lbs that she accidentally ordered and didn’t feel like returning♀️) I MUST MAKE THEM! Quick question…I see that you call for “marinating them” and then scooping them….and include directions that allow for freezing the dough balls after those steps…is there any reason one can’t scoop them first and then marinate them? Would be easier to scoop in my mind and no need to then leave on counter and risk it being too warm. Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try them!
Hi Sheila! WOW, what an amazing gift!! You are going to LOVE these cookies, I can’t wait for you to try them! Check out more details about the importance of marinating your dough in a mass ball rather than scooping before marinating here: https://handletheheat.com/the-1-reason-why-you-should-chill-your-cookie-dough/. Let us know what you think of this recipe!
I made the dough on Sunday and couldn’t help myself and baked 6 “test” cookies. They were fantastic! Stuck the rest of that batch along with a second batch of dough in the fridge until Tuesday. I mean,, seriously, the flavor development by letting it sit and get happy…don’t be tempted to skip this step. Or the flaky finishing salt. Wonderful recipe, absolutely delicious!
Hooray!! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Dawn! You’re not the only one who has to bake up a few right away haha, it’s too tempting to eat the dough straight from the fridge otherwise! Thanks for the rave review 🙂
Thanks so much! That was an interested group link….think I willl do a bit of testing when I try these…scoop off just a few and chill and chill the rest as big ball…that way I can see if I taste enough difference to make it worth the more difficult scooping :-). I will try and remember to report back! Thanks again for your quick reply-much appreciated!
Hi! These are amazing, even without dark brown sugar which is not available where I live, so I can only imagine they are even better with! Can I add some molasses together with granulated sugar or is it important to make the brown sugar first and then use it? Thanks!
Hi Milena! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 We haven’t tried substituting with molasses/granulated sugar before, so I can’t say for sure how they’d turn out! If you give it a try, please let us know how it goes!
So, so, so delicious. Crisp but tender, kept their shape (although I did some cookie scooting while they were hot to achieve maximum uniformity, and not too sweet. I put the dough balls on top of the Maldon salt sprinkle – highly recommend that alteration.
I am so looking forward to making these! I’ve had my eye on them ever since I discovered HTH and every time I see them my mouth waters!!! Unfortunately, I’ve had to wait a few weeks now because our country (New Zealand) is out of brown sugar for possible lead traces so it’s all been recalled! Oh well, guess I’ll have to wait it out! Might have to make some of your other cookies in the meantime!!
Oh, my heart hurts for you! Hopefully there will be brown sugar in time for the holidays! I can’t wait for you to enjoy these cookies (especially with the homemade toffee!), they’re an absolute favorite of mine 🙂
Hi Ginny! The only time you’d use 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour is if you don’t have bread flour on hand, just keep in mind that will affect the texture of these cookies. As stated in the recipe, you need 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) of all-purpose flour and 1 cup (127 grams) of bread flour. I hope that helps! Can’t wait for you to enjoy these cookies!
These are easily the best cookies I’ve ever had, absolutely amazing!! I’m curious if we’re supposed to scrape the browned butter that’s stuck to the bottom of the pan or do we only use what we can pour out? Also, if we froze some of the batter, do we need to let it defrost at all before baking? Thanks!
I really wanted to love these but somehow, even after following directions exactly they were super flat and did not hold their shape at all. I am not new to baking so I was surprised. I might try them again.
Hi Trina! I’m sorry to hear your cookies didn’t turn out right! Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? It sounds like something may have been off if the cookie aren’t holding their shape. Flat cookies tend to happen when butter is too warm. You want to make sure that the browned butter/sugar mixture is cooled completely to room temperature before adding to the recipe. Even though the cookie dough is chilled before baking, the temperature of the butter in the beginning is crucial to the outcome of the cookies. Check out our article on How to Bake THICK Cookies, hopefully that will help solve what happened. We definitely hope you try these again, please let us know how it goes!
These are absolutely amazing! Hands down one of the best cookies I’ve ever had. Quick question tho, are we supposed to just pour out the browned butter or scrape up all the browned pieces of butter at the bottom of the sauce pan as well?
Hi Drew! You definitely want to keep all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan as they hold the majority of the browned butter flavor. I just updated the recipe to be a bit more specific in that section, thanks for the feedback!
We typically leave at least 2 inches between each ball of dough. When using a half-sheet pan, we make a total of 8 cookies, three in one row, two in the next, then three again. Hope that helps!
Hi Daniela! I’m not sure, that’s not a measurement needed to make these cookies! You don’t need to add additional butter to this recipe after browning the butter 🙂 I hope that answers your question!
Took THREE DOZEN of these to my post-pandemic office (i.e. not exactly a full house) and they all disappeared in one day! People were flipping out for them.
These are delicious! I followed the recipe almost exactly (for the chocolate I chopped 1 Ghirardelli 60% and 1 Ghirardelli 70% bar). I didn’t have espresso powder but will add that next time. I also tasted with/without sea salt. I personally loved both but the sea salt has a slight edge since the rest of the cookie is so sweet. I will definitely be making these again!
So happy you loved this recipe, Elizabeth! The espresso powder adds yet another layer of flavor, it’s soo good! Thanks for taking the time to comment! 🙂
Hi – I make a chocolate chip cookie pie & was wondering if this recipe would work as a pie. They are our favorite cookies and my husband is requesting them as a cookie pie!
These were AMAZING! I made them for my coworkers and I got rave reviews. I was only able to “marinate” for 4 hours or so and I think that was sufficient in a pinch for the dough to chill all the way through. It was a real challenge to scoop! But the taste was absolutely on point. Definitely don’t skip the finishing salt on this one! It is essential for balancing all the sweetness. I actually think I might play around with the amount of white sugar in this next time to see if I can lessen the overall sweetness a bit, but that is really to suit my personal preference for not-as-sweet desserts.
Also, I’d love a guide on how to tell when cookies are done and ready to come out of the oven. I made mine using a 2 tbs scoop and I ended up having them in for 15 mins and then letting them sit on the cookie sheet for another ten minutes to continue cooking out of the oven, Though they firmed up to a good consistency when cool, they seemed very soft and underdone and were a challenge to move to the cooling rack.
So happy your cookies were such a hit, Charlotte, and thank you for your feedback! Marinating the dough for at least 24 hours will help to enhance the texture and flavor of these cookies as well as hopefully ‘balance out’ the sweetness for you as the flavors meld together more. The best way to know when cookies are done is actually the sensory indication provided to complete the step (for this recipe, it’s “until golden brown”). It’s interesting that while you used a smaller scoop than suggested, your cookies actually took longer to bake. Do you have an oven thermometer to ensure that your oven is baking at a consistent temperature?
Is there any way to cut down on the sugar in this recipe without compromising the results? I know the brown sugar probably plays an important role in the moisture content, but I was just wondering as it sounds like a lot of sugar in the base to then add the chocolate and toffee bits too.
Emily @ Handle the Heat
— July 26, 2021 at 12:10 pm
Hi Charlotte! Honestly, these cookies aren’t overly sweet, especially if you add the flaky sea salt for finishing. The combination of semisweet chocolate, toffee (homemade toffee is amazing!), and espresso is so delicious! We haven’t tried this recipe with less sugar, you are correct that the brown sugar plays into the moisture of these cookies-it also gives them a delicious butterscotch flavor. I’d suggest making the recipe as it’s written to see what you think, then experiment if you think it needs any adjustments based on your findings. Let us know what you think!
These cookies were a huge hit, but I wanted them to be a tad thicker. Since there is so much butter and it causes the cookies to spread more, what do you suggest adding to make them more chewy? If it is more bread flour, how do you balance the recipe out with the other ingredients so they don’t become too dry?
Emily @ Handle the Heat
— July 21, 2021 at 11:14 am
These cookies are pretty thick, so I want to make sure you’re chilling your dough? There is quite a bit of butter, but the cookies shouldn’t spread very much after they’ve been chilled. We haven’t experimented with this recipe other than the written recipe, but you might be interested in our article How to Bake THICK Cookies. You could try any of the suggested ideas on there, I’m thinking scooping tall mounds of cookie dough might be a great place to start. Let us know how it goes!
Thanks Emily! I chilled the dough for 24 hours and made sure they were 3 Tablespoons worth, which yielded 25 cookies per the recipe…they aren’t too thin, but I was hoping they’d come out thicker. I did let the dough sit out for about an hour after I took it out of the fridge so I could scoop it more easily. Maybe that caused them to spread out more? I’ll try out this recipe again and try some of the tricks from the thick cookies article. 🙂 THANK YOU!
Emily @ Handle the Heat
— July 21, 2021 at 1:03 pm
All depending on how hot it is where you live, that is a possibility; however, you do need to let the dough sit out so it scoops more easily after being in the fridge that long, you don’t want to break your cookie scoop! 🙂 Once scooped onto the pan though, you could always place the cookies back into the fridge or freezer while the oven preheats. That will help too! Let us know if you try anything else! 🙂
This is probably my new favorite cookie, hands down!! It takes a bit longer to make but it is so worth it. It’s a really tasty salty sweet combo. I used the toffee recipe and flakey salt and its perfection! I tried your recommendation to freeze the dough and make 1 or 2 when you want them and I freeze dough in advance all the time now so thanks for the tip!
I was always afraid of browned butter recipes but Tess’ directions were easy to follow and now I’m an expert – these cookies and the browned butter brownies are some of my faves 🙂
Yes these cookies are a bit of extra work compared to a standard basic CCC but these are totally work the extra effort especially if you are hoping to WOW someone. Just one of these cookies, served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream was an amazing dessert tonight! Every recipe from handletheheat that I’ve tried has turned out so incredible, I just keep coming back for more recipes! My husband always raves about how I make the chewiest, best cookies — it’s all thanks to Tessa! This recipe is easy to follow, the instructions are clear and the outcome is delicious! If you are considering making these, go! Start now!
Hello, this looks so amazing!
What chocolate chips do you use? Could I use a Lindt dark chocolate and just chop it up or regular baking chocolate chips?
Thank you!
I actually use either Ghirardelli or E. Guittard semisweet chocolate bars for this recipe and chop them up for the best flavor 🙂 You’re definitely welcome to use Lindt dark chocolate and chop it up 🙂 Enjoy!
Just wondering why you dropped the amount of chocolate from the original recipe? I get why you added espresso powder but you always seem to love the very chocolatey cookie as it was.
What original recipe are you comparing this to? I have a few different chocolate chip cookies on my site, and they’re all different purely because I love all sorts of chocolate chip cookies and having a variety 🙂 I start fresh with each recipe I make-keep in mind this cookie recipe also has toffee, which adds to the sweetness 🙂 I think this recipe is a perfect balance of salty and sweet, especially when adding the salt at the end, and didn’t need any extra chocolate 🙂
Exited to try this recipe! A little confused! So once your dough has been chilled for minimum of 24hours, let rest at room temperature for about an hour, bake? And for the remaining dough, portion on baking sheet and freeze until solid, airtight container to follow? When baking the extra frozen cookies, bake from frozen or thaw until preferred texture?
Once your dough has been chilled for a minimum of 24 hours, you have to let it rest at room temperature until the dough is soft enough to scoop 🙂 Otherwise you’ll break your cookie scoop haha! Once the dough is soft enough to scoop, you can portion it out and freeze until solid, then airtight container to follow just like you said. I’ve got a great article linked here about freezing and then baking: How to Freeze Cookie Dough and Bake from Frozen
I always recommend using unsalted butter because the hard thing about salted butter is that different brands have different amounts of salt in them, so you have no idea how much salt you’re actually using. If you have to substitute, a general rule to would be to reduce 1/4 tsp salt per 1/2 cup (115g) of butter.
I’d estimate the baked cookie to be about 3-3 1/2 inches long when using the 3T scoop, but I’m unsure of the weight. I found this guide online: https://bakeorbreak.com/2018/08/cookie-scoops-guide/, which could give you an idea of weight (#20 scoop size), but I’d probably add a bit more with the addition of toffee/chocolate chips. Hope this helps!
These were the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had/made. I’m not a novice baker but not a professional by any means either. I made the toffee from scratch and didn’t get it 100% right but it still turned out well enough to incorporate into these cookies. The browned butter makes a huge difference in the taste of the dough base. Sooo good! Definitely going to make again.
I made this exactly as written (weighed, etc.) , but the cookies came out a bit thick. What should I do to make it come out more flat like in the pics?
I think these pictures are actually deceiving since you can’t see the cookies from the sides because they’re quite thick cookies! If you’re looking for a flatter cookie, you can try using only AP flour in the recipe, but you’d miss out on the chewiness that the bread flour brings. I’d try letting your cookies sit out longer on the counter before you put them in the oven. The colder the batter is, the thicker they’ll be. You could always push them down with your fingers a bit too before putting them in the oven as well. Hope this helps!
THESE!! These cookies are ALL the things! Hands down the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have tried. Tessa’s tips from how to measure the ingredients, to the quality of ingredients, to finishing tricks for perfect cookies make this recipe top quality. Amazing!
Carefully followed the recipe, measuring ingredients by weight. Added the optional espresso powder, Heath chips instead of homemade, used about 3/4 cup Guittard semisweet chocolate chips plus added about 3/4 cup toasted pecans. Dough was quite soft before refrigerating, but after chilling 24 hours, it turned very stiff and definitely required an hour at room temperature to be able to scoop. Baked them just until golden brown and a bit underdone. The cookies didn’t really spread, so I pushed them down just a little to slightly flatten them, then cooled completely before eating. The texture was perfect, tender inside, crispy outside, good rich flavor, and a bit of chewiness from the toffee. I’m sure the homemade toffee would be even better. And I think they would make a great cookie even without the toffee. I’ve made many different chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years, but none have matched the perfection of this recipe. Simply the best!
I am SO SO happy you love this recipe, Jodi! It’s one of my favorites for sure! Doesn’t the toffee just give it that something extra?! I hope you try the homemade toffee next time, it’s incredibly easy to make, and it’s nice snacking on the leftovers not used in the cookies 🙂
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I’ve made these cookies so many times because they are that good. I’m wondering if I could successfully double the recipe for more cookies. Thanks!
Absolutely! The more the merrier 🙂 Others have had success even tripling the recipe, just keep in mind how much your personal mixer can handle!
I bake a lot and these are delicious! I baked a couple right after putting the ingredients together (because I couldn’t resist) and they are SO good. Can’t wait to try them tomorrow when they’ve been in the fridge for a day!
Yay! Happy you loved them, Jessi! They’re a favorite of mine too 🙂 I have to bake some right away as well!
Hello! What’s your favorite chocolate for cookies? Have you tried Callebaut 811? Thanks!
Hi Karina! For semisweet chocolate bars (as used in this recipe), Tessa prefers Ghirardelli or E. Guittard. She hasn’t tried Callebaut 811, let us know how it goes if you give those a try!
I agree with Tricia’s take, good enough cookies but couldn’t really taste the toffee and browned butter. I don’t think it was worth the extra steps and marinating time.
Hi! I noticed that every time I make cookies with toffee chunks in them, the toffee melts in the oven and creates craters in the cookies. It seems that the melting pools of toffee are also pushing out the cookies while baking, and I usually have to rush to scoot them back into shape right after pulling them out of the oven. The resulting cookies do taste good but they are always thinner than I would like and not thick like your pictures appear. It even happens when I refrigerate the dough! I’ve wondered if maybe my toffee chunks are too big, but they look like yours do so I’m not sure what’s going wrong. Have you ever experienced this?
Hi Sonia! It sounds like your butter may be too warm! Typically the toffee will melt in the oven, but as the cookies cool, the toffee will firm up again. If you’re noticing that your cookies are coming out thinner, I’d first make sure your brown butter mixture has completely cooled before additional ingredients are added. Even if you chill your dough, the temperature of your brown butter mixture prior to adding the additional ingredients can still affect the outcome. I’d also try using a digital scale to measure your ingredients, if you’re not already, to ensure accurate measurements. I hope that helps, and I hope you give this recipe another try!
These cookies are delicious. Perfect texture. Ooey gooey with a crispy edge. I followed the recipe exactly. I browned the butter and it smelled amazing. I waited for the dough to set in the fridge for 24 hours. But I was a bit disappointed in the flavor. I couldn’t taste the browned butter and I can’t really tell there is toffee in there. They taste like an amazing chocolate chip cookie. But I can’t detect that extra depth of flavor from the browned butter and toffee. The extra work didn’t seem to make them any different than a regular chocolate chip cookie to me.
I am gluten intolerant. Can I replace the flour with oat flour instead?
We don’t bake with gluten free flour, but a long as you’re substituting with all purpose 1:1, it should be fine! I’m not entirely sure about the oat flour. Let us know how your cookies turn out!
I’ve been looking for a recipe for toffee chocolate chip cookies. This is the one! Great cookie!! !
Glad you enjoyed them!
No kidding, these disappeared! What a satisfying cookie.
Hooray!!
I want to make these to include in some care packages that I need to ship. If I heat seal them will they stay fresh beyond 3 days? Probably a silly question but I don’t want to ship inedible goodies. Thank you 🙂
After 3 days, the cookies will likely begin to stale. You could try shipping them with a tortilla in the box to try to keep them soft for longer. Good luck!
If I cut the recipe in half would I need to split the egg yolk in half or can I omit that? Thanks!
Hi Chelsea! We’d personally recommend keeping the egg yolk in the cookies as it adds extra chew 🙂 To halve an egg yolk, use about 1 tablespoon or 1/2 ounce of the yolk. Or if you’d rather, feel free to omit. I hope that helps!
I made these for my son’s second birthday and they were a huge hit among the kids and adults both. I chilled the dough for 48 hours and the cookies were bursting with all the right flavors. These are my go to cookies from now on.
Great to hear! Glad everyone enjoyed them 🙂
Pinned your recipe months ago and have just tried it. Great results! Just wanted to mention I only used the recipe after stumbling on packages of Nestle Espresso Morsels at the grocery store! Bought several packages! Who’d a guessed, right? Thanks for sharing your recipe. Much appreciated.
So happy you enjoyed these cookies! And I may have bought a package of those espresso morsels too, yum! Thanks for the comment 🙂
OMG-these sound AMAZING…and given someone just gifted me three 5.5lb bags of Callebaut dark chocolate calets (yes-a total 10 16.5 lbs that she accidentally ordered and didn’t feel like returning♀️) I MUST MAKE THEM! Quick question…I see that you call for “marinating them” and then scooping them….and include directions that allow for freezing the dough balls after those steps…is there any reason one can’t scoop them first and then marinate them? Would be easier to scoop in my mind and no need to then leave on counter and risk it being too warm. Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try them!
Hi Sheila! WOW, what an amazing gift!! You are going to LOVE these cookies, I can’t wait for you to try them! Check out more details about the importance of marinating your dough in a mass ball rather than scooping before marinating here: https://handletheheat.com/the-1-reason-why-you-should-chill-your-cookie-dough/. Let us know what you think of this recipe!
I made the dough on Sunday and couldn’t help myself and baked 6 “test” cookies. They were fantastic! Stuck the rest of that batch along with a second batch of dough in the fridge until Tuesday. I mean,, seriously, the flavor development by letting it sit and get happy…don’t be tempted to skip this step. Or the flaky finishing salt. Wonderful recipe, absolutely delicious!
Hooray!! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Dawn! You’re not the only one who has to bake up a few right away haha, it’s too tempting to eat the dough straight from the fridge otherwise! Thanks for the rave review 🙂
Haha I did that last night too.
Thanks so much! That was an interested group link….think I willl do a bit of testing when I try these…scoop off just a few and chill and chill the rest as big ball…that way I can see if I taste enough difference to make it worth the more difficult scooping :-). I will try and remember to report back! Thanks again for your quick reply-much appreciated!
No problem, happy to help 🙂
I’ve been looking for a toffee chocolate chip cookie recipe and I can stop looking!! The recipe is fantastic!
Hooray!! So happy you love this recipe!
Hi! These are amazing, even without dark brown sugar which is not available where I live, so I can only imagine they are even better with! Can I add some molasses together with granulated sugar or is it important to make the brown sugar first and then use it? Thanks!
Hi Milena! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 We haven’t tried substituting with molasses/granulated sugar before, so I can’t say for sure how they’d turn out! If you give it a try, please let us know how it goes!
So, so, so delicious. Crisp but tender, kept their shape (although I did some cookie scooting while they were hot to achieve maximum uniformity, and not too sweet. I put the dough balls on top of the Maldon salt sprinkle – highly recommend that alteration.
Great idea! So happy you loved this recipe, Marji! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I am so looking forward to making these! I’ve had my eye on them ever since I discovered HTH and every time I see them my mouth waters!!! Unfortunately, I’ve had to wait a few weeks now because our country (New Zealand) is out of brown sugar for possible lead traces so it’s all been recalled! Oh well, guess I’ll have to wait it out! Might have to make some of your other cookies in the meantime!!
Abby xx
Oh, my heart hurts for you! Hopefully there will be brown sugar in time for the holidays! I can’t wait for you to enjoy these cookies (especially with the homemade toffee!), they’re an absolute favorite of mine 🙂
Thanks! Still waiting for the brown sugar and still staring at the pictures drooling!
If you are using all-purpose flour, do you need 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 cups. This is confusing.
Hi Ginny! The only time you’d use 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour is if you don’t have bread flour on hand, just keep in mind that will affect the texture of these cookies. As stated in the recipe, you need 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) of all-purpose flour and 1 cup (127 grams) of bread flour. I hope that helps! Can’t wait for you to enjoy these cookies!
These are easily the best cookies I’ve ever had, absolutely amazing!! I’m curious if we’re supposed to scrape the browned butter that’s stuck to the bottom of the pan or do we only use what we can pour out? Also, if we froze some of the batter, do we need to let it defrost at all before baking? Thanks!
Just saw your additional question on this comment! Check out the pink tip box above the recipe for more details regarding baking frozen dough 🙂
I really wanted to love these but somehow, even after following directions exactly they were super flat and did not hold their shape at all. I am not new to baking so I was surprised. I might try them again.
Hi Trina! I’m sorry to hear your cookies didn’t turn out right! Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? It sounds like something may have been off if the cookie aren’t holding their shape. Flat cookies tend to happen when butter is too warm. You want to make sure that the browned butter/sugar mixture is cooled completely to room temperature before adding to the recipe. Even though the cookie dough is chilled before baking, the temperature of the butter in the beginning is crucial to the outcome of the cookies. Check out our article on How to Bake THICK Cookies, hopefully that will help solve what happened. We definitely hope you try these again, please let us know how it goes!
These are absolutely amazing! Hands down one of the best cookies I’ve ever had. Quick question tho, are we supposed to just pour out the browned butter or scrape up all the browned pieces of butter at the bottom of the sauce pan as well?
Hi Drew! You definitely want to keep all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan as they hold the majority of the browned butter flavor. I just updated the recipe to be a bit more specific in that section, thanks for the feedback!
Thanks for the recipe! How far apart do you space the cookies on the tray?
We typically leave at least 2 inches between each ball of dough. When using a half-sheet pan, we make a total of 8 cookies, three in one row, two in the next, then three again. Hope that helps!
hello, how much (in grams) is the butter after cooking it?
Hi Daniela! I’m not sure, that’s not a measurement needed to make these cookies! You don’t need to add additional butter to this recipe after browning the butter 🙂 I hope that answers your question!
Took THREE DOZEN of these to my post-pandemic office (i.e. not exactly a full house) and they all disappeared in one day! People were flipping out for them.
Ahh! This is so wonderful to hear!
How do I stop eating the batter so I’ll know what the cookies taste like??? My goodness…..delicious!
haha love it!!
Best cookies I’ve ever made
These are delicious! I followed the recipe almost exactly (for the chocolate I chopped 1 Ghirardelli 60% and 1 Ghirardelli 70% bar). I didn’t have espresso powder but will add that next time. I also tasted with/without sea salt. I personally loved both but the sea salt has a slight edge since the rest of the cookie is so sweet. I will definitely be making these again!
So happy you loved this recipe, Elizabeth! The espresso powder adds yet another layer of flavor, it’s soo good! Thanks for taking the time to comment! 🙂
Hi – I make a chocolate chip cookie pie & was wondering if this recipe would work as a pie. They are our favorite cookies and my husband is requesting them as a cookie pie!
Hi Ann! We haven’t tried that, though it sounds absolutely delicious!! Please let us know how it goes if you give it a try 🙂
Well worth the extra effort. Definitely incredibly delicious gourmet cookies.
So glad you enjoyed these, Matt! They’re of fave of mine too!
Hi Tessa! Are there any ingredient measurements that I need to tweak if I double the recipe?
Nope! You can double this recipe exact. Enjoy your cookies, Alexis 🙂
Any recommendations for how to adjust the recipe at 4500 ft of elevation? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Anne! We suggest making any alterations that you normally would when baking at a higher altitude, we haven’t tested it!
These were AMAZING! I made them for my coworkers and I got rave reviews. I was only able to “marinate” for 4 hours or so and I think that was sufficient in a pinch for the dough to chill all the way through. It was a real challenge to scoop! But the taste was absolutely on point. Definitely don’t skip the finishing salt on this one! It is essential for balancing all the sweetness. I actually think I might play around with the amount of white sugar in this next time to see if I can lessen the overall sweetness a bit, but that is really to suit my personal preference for not-as-sweet desserts.
Also, I’d love a guide on how to tell when cookies are done and ready to come out of the oven. I made mine using a 2 tbs scoop and I ended up having them in for 15 mins and then letting them sit on the cookie sheet for another ten minutes to continue cooking out of the oven, Though they firmed up to a good consistency when cool, they seemed very soft and underdone and were a challenge to move to the cooling rack.
So happy your cookies were such a hit, Charlotte, and thank you for your feedback! Marinating the dough for at least 24 hours will help to enhance the texture and flavor of these cookies as well as hopefully ‘balance out’ the sweetness for you as the flavors meld together more. The best way to know when cookies are done is actually the sensory indication provided to complete the step (for this recipe, it’s “until golden brown”). It’s interesting that while you used a smaller scoop than suggested, your cookies actually took longer to bake. Do you have an oven thermometer to ensure that your oven is baking at a consistent temperature?
Is there any way to cut down on the sugar in this recipe without compromising the results? I know the brown sugar probably plays an important role in the moisture content, but I was just wondering as it sounds like a lot of sugar in the base to then add the chocolate and toffee bits too.
Hi Charlotte! Honestly, these cookies aren’t overly sweet, especially if you add the flaky sea salt for finishing. The combination of semisweet chocolate, toffee (homemade toffee is amazing!), and espresso is so delicious! We haven’t tried this recipe with less sugar, you are correct that the brown sugar plays into the moisture of these cookies-it also gives them a delicious butterscotch flavor. I’d suggest making the recipe as it’s written to see what you think, then experiment if you think it needs any adjustments based on your findings. Let us know what you think!
These cookies were a huge hit, but I wanted them to be a tad thicker. Since there is so much butter and it causes the cookies to spread more, what do you suggest adding to make them more chewy? If it is more bread flour, how do you balance the recipe out with the other ingredients so they don’t become too dry?
Thank you!
These cookies are pretty thick, so I want to make sure you’re chilling your dough? There is quite a bit of butter, but the cookies shouldn’t spread very much after they’ve been chilled. We haven’t experimented with this recipe other than the written recipe, but you might be interested in our article How to Bake THICK Cookies. You could try any of the suggested ideas on there, I’m thinking scooping tall mounds of cookie dough might be a great place to start. Let us know how it goes!
Thanks Emily! I chilled the dough for 24 hours and made sure they were 3 Tablespoons worth, which yielded 25 cookies per the recipe…they aren’t too thin, but I was hoping they’d come out thicker. I did let the dough sit out for about an hour after I took it out of the fridge so I could scoop it more easily. Maybe that caused them to spread out more? I’ll try out this recipe again and try some of the tricks from the thick cookies article. 🙂 THANK YOU!
All depending on how hot it is where you live, that is a possibility; however, you do need to let the dough sit out so it scoops more easily after being in the fridge that long, you don’t want to break your cookie scoop! 🙂 Once scooped onto the pan though, you could always place the cookies back into the fridge or freezer while the oven preheats. That will help too! Let us know if you try anything else! 🙂
This is probably my new favorite cookie, hands down!! It takes a bit longer to make but it is so worth it. It’s a really tasty salty sweet combo. I used the toffee recipe and flakey salt and its perfection! I tried your recommendation to freeze the dough and make 1 or 2 when you want them and I freeze dough in advance all the time now so thanks for the tip!
Amazing!! I’m so happy to hear this, Laura! You just made my day 🙂
I was always afraid of browned butter recipes but Tess’ directions were easy to follow and now I’m an expert – these cookies and the browned butter brownies are some of my faves 🙂
*Tessa (sorry!)
🙂
Amazing!! I’m thrilled to hear that, Mel, you just made my day! 🙂
Hi,
Was wondering if there is any substitute fir eggs? I so want to try these cookie’s, but unfortunately we don’t have eggs.
I haven’t tested this recipe without eggs, I believe they’re an essential ingredient to these cookies, sorry!
Yes these cookies are a bit of extra work compared to a standard basic CCC but these are totally work the extra effort especially if you are hoping to WOW someone. Just one of these cookies, served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream was an amazing dessert tonight! Every recipe from handletheheat that I’ve tried has turned out so incredible, I just keep coming back for more recipes! My husband always raves about how I make the chewiest, best cookies — it’s all thanks to Tessa! This recipe is easy to follow, the instructions are clear and the outcome is delicious! If you are considering making these, go! Start now!
You just made my day, Julia, with your sweet comment! I’m absolutely thrilled you love this recipe!
Hello, this looks so amazing!
What chocolate chips do you use? Could I use a Lindt dark chocolate and just chop it up or regular baking chocolate chips?
Thank you!
I actually use either Ghirardelli or E. Guittard semisweet chocolate bars for this recipe and chop them up for the best flavor 🙂 You’re definitely welcome to use Lindt dark chocolate and chop it up 🙂 Enjoy!
Thank you!!!!
Just wondering why you dropped the amount of chocolate from the original recipe? I get why you added espresso powder but you always seem to love the very chocolatey cookie as it was.
What original recipe are you comparing this to? I have a few different chocolate chip cookies on my site, and they’re all different purely because I love all sorts of chocolate chip cookies and having a variety 🙂 I start fresh with each recipe I make-keep in mind this cookie recipe also has toffee, which adds to the sweetness 🙂 I think this recipe is a perfect balance of salty and sweet, especially when adding the salt at the end, and didn’t need any extra chocolate 🙂
Exited to try this recipe! A little confused! So once your dough has been chilled for minimum of 24hours, let rest at room temperature for about an hour, bake? And for the remaining dough, portion on baking sheet and freeze until solid, airtight container to follow? When baking the extra frozen cookies, bake from frozen or thaw until preferred texture?
Once your dough has been chilled for a minimum of 24 hours, you have to let it rest at room temperature until the dough is soft enough to scoop 🙂 Otherwise you’ll break your cookie scoop haha! Once the dough is soft enough to scoop, you can portion it out and freeze until solid, then airtight container to follow just like you said. I’ve got a great article linked here about freezing and then baking: How to Freeze Cookie Dough and Bake from Frozen
Crazy good! They are loved by all!
I don’t have unsalted butter is it okay if I use salted butter??
I always recommend using unsalted butter because the hard thing about salted butter is that different brands have different amounts of salt in them, so you have no idea how much salt you’re actually using. If you have to substitute, a general rule to would be to reduce 1/4 tsp salt per 1/2 cup (115g) of butter.
Hi! these look delicious!
I had two questions before i make these – 1) How big are the baked cookies? 2)Would you be able to help with the weight of each dough ball? Thank you!
I’d estimate the baked cookie to be about 3-3 1/2 inches long when using the 3T scoop, but I’m unsure of the weight. I found this guide online: https://bakeorbreak.com/2018/08/cookie-scoops-guide/, which could give you an idea of weight (#20 scoop size), but I’d probably add a bit more with the addition of toffee/chocolate chips. Hope this helps!
These were the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had/made. I’m not a novice baker but not a professional by any means either. I made the toffee from scratch and didn’t get it 100% right but it still turned out well enough to incorporate into these cookies. The browned butter makes a huge difference in the taste of the dough base. Sooo good! Definitely going to make again.
So happy to hear you love these cookies and that you tried the homemade toffee as well!
I’ve tried this recipe and love it!! I make it 3x a week. Just a question, can I use this recipe to make double chocolate cookies? Thanks!
Hi Tessa,
I made this exactly as written (weighed, etc.) , but the cookies came out a bit thick. What should I do to make it come out more flat like in the pics?
I think these pictures are actually deceiving since you can’t see the cookies from the sides because they’re quite thick cookies! If you’re looking for a flatter cookie, you can try using only AP flour in the recipe, but you’d miss out on the chewiness that the bread flour brings. I’d try letting your cookies sit out longer on the counter before you put them in the oven. The colder the batter is, the thicker they’ll be. You could always push them down with your fingers a bit too before putting them in the oven as well. Hope this helps!
The absolute best cookies I have ever had. My family requests them every month…
Wonderful to hear!
These were a huge hit! Next time I’m making a double batch for my coworkers.
Wonderful to hear! I bet they love working with you! 🙂
I’ve made these cookies before and they are amazing. I was just wondering if I could somehow incorporate peanut butter into these cookies? Thanks 🙂
That’d be something you’d have to experiment with as I haven’t tried it! Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Made these with 2 flax eggs, otherwise I followed the recipe to a T and they were perfect!!!!!
Looks good! Will do a test run today.
Hi Tessa! Is it alright to omit the vanilla extract?
I always recommend making a recipe as written to guarantee best results! The vanilla adds extra flavor, but you’re welcome to experiment on your own 🙂
THESE!! These cookies are ALL the things! Hands down the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have tried. Tessa’s tips from how to measure the ingredients, to the quality of ingredients, to finishing tricks for perfect cookies make this recipe top quality. Amazing!
This is my go to cookie recipe, everyone loves it! Just a question, can I use this recipe to make a big cookie cake? ❤️
Ooooo I haven’t tried that, but I would imagine it’d work fine! Let me know how it goes!!
Thanks for this delicious looking cookie recipe. I’m wanting to know if I have to use the bread flour?
When you call for semisweet chocolate, what percentage are you talking about? Thank you. Very excited to make these!
Carefully followed the recipe, measuring ingredients by weight. Added the optional espresso powder, Heath chips instead of homemade, used about 3/4 cup Guittard semisweet chocolate chips plus added about 3/4 cup toasted pecans. Dough was quite soft before refrigerating, but after chilling 24 hours, it turned very stiff and definitely required an hour at room temperature to be able to scoop. Baked them just until golden brown and a bit underdone. The cookies didn’t really spread, so I pushed them down just a little to slightly flatten them, then cooled completely before eating. The texture was perfect, tender inside, crispy outside, good rich flavor, and a bit of chewiness from the toffee. I’m sure the homemade toffee would be even better. And I think they would make a great cookie even without the toffee. I’ve made many different chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years, but none have matched the perfection of this recipe. Simply the best!
I am SO SO happy you love this recipe, Jodi! It’s one of my favorites for sure! Doesn’t the toffee just give it that something extra?! I hope you try the homemade toffee next time, it’s incredibly easy to make, and it’s nice snacking on the leftovers not used in the cookies 🙂