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!
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The science-based guide so you can bake perfect cookies every time!
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
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
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.
This post was originally published in 2014 and updated with recipe improvements, more tips, and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Is it OK to use salted butter instead of unsalted butter?
Is it OK to use light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar?
Hi Patricia! We don’t prefer to use salted butter in recipes as explained in this article about Salted vs. Unsalted Butter. As Tessa explains in the Tip Box (above the recipe), “You can use light brown sugar instead, but you may lose some of the additional flavor.” Let us know what you think of these cookies once you have given them a try!
Love these cookies! Delicious and easy to make. Only issue I had is the toffee bit (used the homemade recipe, so yummy!) fell to the bottom of the cookies while baking and caramelized the bottom. It was still good but how do I prevent this?
Thanks!
Hi Parisa! Glad to hear that you enjoyed these cookies! If preferred, next time, you could try rolling the balls of cookie dough more specifically, avoiding any toffee sitting on the bottom of the cookie. You could alternatively try only mixing in half the toffee to the cookie batter, and then top the cookies with the rest of the toffee right before baking, so less of the toffee is exposed to the bottoms of the cookies. I also recommend checking out Tessa’s Best (and WORST) Baking Pans article here as perhaps your cookie pans are overbrowning the bottoms of your cookies! I hope something here helps! Happy baking 🙂
the best
Hey, I don’t have bread flour, what would be a good substitute? Would all-purpose, cake, or pastry work? I know there’s a way but I am too lazy to look it up. thanks !
Hi Eloise1 As Tessa mentions in the tip box (above the recipe), “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 and barely spread.” I also recommend reading through all the other tips Tessa added to that tip box – there’s a ton of helpful information there. I hope that helps! Let us know what you think of these cookies once you give them a try! 🙂
These are the yummiest cookies that I have ever made. I brought them to the office and everyone was raving about them. I will definitely have to make twice as many next time with how fast they went. So SO yummy.
If freezing- how long should the dough sit in the freezer to get “just frozen”? I have never frozen cookie dough but I’m leaving some for my SO. Also, if they are making from frozen, how long should the dough sit out before baking? Or should they be moved to the fridge the night before then left on the counter for an hour?
Hi Jamie! Every freezer is different, so the time it will take for your dough to solidify will depend on your freezer, but about an hour should be great. Check out Tessa’s article on freezing cookie dough here for more info on how to bake from frozen. Alternatively, you can thaw for about 30-60 minutes at room temperature, or leave in the fridge overnight to thaw, before baking as directed in the recipe. I hope that helps! Happy baking!
What’s the shortest time I can leave dough in fridge ?
Hi Cheryl! We recommend 24 hours at minimum (and up to 72), but feel free to experiment with a little less – just note that much less time in the fridge may result in less flavorful cookies than spread thinner in the oven. Let us know what you think of these cookies once you have given them a try!
Hi!!! I have never made cookies, and I see that the shaped dough can be store in the freezer, when I get them out, can I bake them right away? or do I have to wait so the dough is room temp.? Thanks!!!
Hi Paulina! Nope, you can bake them right away, just with a couple of adjustments to the oven temperature and baking time. Find out more in our article on How to Freeze Cookie Dough (& Bake From Frozen) here 🙂
I’ve been eyeing this recipe for a while and was intimidated by it since I’m a beginner. Turns out I was right to be. I have a scale and all the ingredients including the bread flour. idk if it was left to chill for too long or what but they didn’t spread at all, they just became puffy. I’m so sad lol
Hi Syd! I’m sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t work as it should. The texture you describe sounds like you may have accidentally added too much flour. How do you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure ingredients (particularly flour) and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe – resulting in puffy cookies that don’t spread. Check out Tessa’s article here, where she talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time. I hope that helps, and I hope you give this recipe anther try – they really are amazing, and I know you can nail it! Happy baking 🙂
Ashley is right! I have made many many many different kinds of cookies, and these are by far the best! Not difficult and consistently. Amazing!
Hi! first things first this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Everytime I make it I get rave reviews and can no longer show up to functions without them. But I have a question recently I had a party canceled but I already baked the cookies. Are there any instructions for freezing them then thawing so they’re still good?
Hi Kristen! Sorry for the delayed response, we were out of office for holiday break! I’m so happy to hear how popular these cookies are with your friends 🙂 We haven’t tried freezing them already baked, but you’re welcome to, just make sure they come to room temperature before serving as the toffee may be even crunchier after freezing. I’d recommend freezing them in an airtight container with layers separated by parchment. I hope that helps! (though I’m sure you’ve frozen them by now since it’s two weeks later lol!)
I just finished combining all ingredients and putting them in the refrigerator to chill.
The dough seems a bit runny, is that normal? I weighed all ingredients with a scale.
What should the dough be like before putting in the fridge?
Hi Brianna! Sorry for the delayed response, our office was closed for the holidays! The dough should be pretty thick in consistency when it’s placed in the fridge to chill. Did you allow your butter and sugar mixture to cool completely to room temperature? How was the end result?