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!
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.
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
- Refrigerate the dough as a whole if you don’t have space in your fridge for scoops. Let the dough come completely to room temperature before scooping, which may take a couple hours.
- Refrigerate pre-scooped dough if you’ve got the space, and can commit to keeping the scoops well sealed in an airtight container so they won’t dry out.
- Simply bake the pre-portioned scoops 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!)
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 the oven and immediately use a round cookie or biscuit cutter slightly larger than each cookie to gently reshape them into perfectly round, thicker cookies.
- 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.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Toffee Brownies
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Dulce de Leche Cookie Cups
- Peanut Butter Toffee Chocolate Chunk Bars
- Bourbon Rye Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Visit my full Cookie Recipes index for more recipes, tips, and insights into the science of cookie baking!
This post was originally published in 2014 and updated with recipe improvements, more tips, and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
AMAZING! The only recipe you need!
You should genuinely take this recipe down or adjust it. I followed your instructions exactly on the toffee and it split just like everyone else’s in its comments. This cookie recipe has way too much dry to wet ingredients, anyone can see that and if you make them to your instructions they come out as the same ball they go in as. The flavors good but everyone please just find a proper cookie recipe from Grandma or something because these millennial bloggers genuinely have no idea what they are doing and are wasting your time and money on basic knowledge ratios.
I have been making this recipe for over 2 years, only subbing the chocolate bars for dark chocolate chips (exact same weight) and have never had this problem. I even made these gluten free one time subbing the bread flour for oat as well as regular gf flour and they were amazing. They come out great every time, and everyone in my office loves them. Did you misread something on the recipe or perhaps sub an ingredient?
Ive made this recipe countless times and haven’t had this issue. Also if you follow Tessa you know she tests and retests all her recipes so the personal dig on millennial food bloggers was mean and unnecessary
I made these to taste test in my search for the perfect Christmas cookie for my family’s eve and they were amazing, and my mom and uncles loved them when they tasted them as well. The only problem was that the toffee stuck to the wax paper and they spread too much despite the chilling time. Will definitely make them again and hopefully fix the spreading issue.
What happens if the dough dries out on the freezer? It will be my first time freezing dough since I want to make them again for Christmas Eve and want to know what would happen it case in happens.
These are AMAZING!! I make them quite often and won 1st place at a huge fair!! I just do a few things different. I use guittard semi sweet wafers,Ghirardelli milk chocolate bar chopped and a dark chocolate bar chopped.I use your homemade toffee recipe and I also add toasted walnuts!! Best cookies ever!!! I get about 22 cookies at 2.5 Oz each.
Could you please tell me where to find the cookie ring you use at the end of the video to get those perfectly shaped cookies? Thank you.
Hi Krisan! That’s actually a biscuit/cookie cutter originally part of a kit that we sold! Unfortunately, it’s out of stock, and we don’t plan to get any more; however, here’s something similar on Amazon.
Thank you so much for your response. Made the dough this morning and can’t wait to bake them tomorrow 🙂
Hi! I absolutely love this recipe, I’ve made it more than a few times already and they’re a complete hit! Sometimes I’ll double the recipe just so I can freeze part of the batch and have them later
I was wondering if I would need to make any adjustments if I were to cool the brown butter before mixing it with the sugar… I live in a hot and humid place so my cookies sometimes spread a lot and I know with cold butter they don’t spread as much, but I don’t know if I would have to change anything.
So glad to hear you love this recipe 🙂 I live in Michigan where humidity can reach over 90%, and even with cooling the brown butter/sugar mixture completely, my cookies sometimes spread a bit. My main concern with cooling the brown butter completely before mixing it with the sugar is that the sugar won’t dissolve properly. Instead, next time I’d recommend adding 1-2 extra tablespoons of flour, and using a circular cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookies and swirling it around the edges as soon as they come out of the oven. That’s our go-to trick for thicker cookies! Learn more about how to bake thick cookies here. Hope that helps!
My sugar didn’t dissolve at all and I made it as directed is that going to be a problem for me now?
Question: how many cookies does this recipe make if you are using the 3 tablespoon scoop?! I want to make these for a Christmas cookie swap but I have to make 5 dozen so just trying to plan thanks in advance! 🙂
Hi Mariah! This recipe makes 25 large cookies with a 3-tablespoon scoop. You can find this information just above the section of the recipe where it notes the prep, chill, cook, and total time. If it’s easier, you could use a medium 1 1/2-tablespoon scoop and just bake for about 10-12 minutes instead. That’ll yield about 50 medium-sized cookies.
Question: Can a double batch of dough be made at one time?
Sure, just use a large enough bowl! If you plan to chill the dough as a mass in the fridge (rather than scoops), I’d recommend separating the dough into smaller containers so it comes to room temp more easily for scooping 🙂
Emily, thanks for the quick reply and the tip for separating the dough for chilling. I’m going to make these for our annual cookie exchange. ❤️💚
Well, it took me 10 years to find but finally! A recipe that encapsulates everything that I look for in a chocolate chip cookie- chewy, crispy edges, gooey chocolate, sweet but not overly sugary-tasting. These are absolutely perfect. I also made the toffee recipe rather than using Heath Bits and it’s wonderful. The dough freezes very well, so I can bake a few at a time and have fresh cookies whenever I get the craving! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Yay! So happy you found your new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! 🙂 Thanks so much for commenting.
Hi, I was just wondering if it is possible to make these as cookie bars and if so what would change in the preparation and baking. Thanks!
Hi Meg! We haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure what adjustments (such as leavener and bake time) would be needed. Please let us know how it goes if you experiment!
I accidentally put these in the freezer for 3 hours until I realized it should be fridge. I ran and put them in the fridge but how do I fix this before I bake them in a few hours 🙁
is there a specific reason to use a rubber spatula ? does it matter the type of spatula you use ?
Hi Kika, any spatula will do! We just recommend switching from a whisk to a spatula since the cookie dough gets a lot thicker once the flour mixture is added.