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.
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!
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 and 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 molasses in the 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. Find out why 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 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 it.
What Kind of Chocolate for Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies?
I like to use semisweet Ghirardelli baking bars and chop them up coarsely for this recipe. 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 them at many grocery stores in the Heath brand with the other 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 tastes 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 brown 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 this process, and why it’s so important, 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 be sure to 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 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes:
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
Visit my Cookie Headquarters 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 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 10 ounces (283 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup toffee bits,
homemade or Heath - Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Instructions
- 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, salt, espresso powder, and baking 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.
November 2022 Baking Challenge
This recipe was one of two November 2022 chocolate chip cookie selections for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out everyone’s cookies:
I have this dough in my refrigerator right now (but all AP, no bread flour) and am just DYING to bake. I made this dough late yesterday afternoon, and am just not sure how long I can wait! What is the quality difference between 24 and 48 hours of chilling, in anyone’s opinion? Bonus points if you can answer having used all AP flour!
Cookies that have chilled for 24 hours will be absolutely thick, flavorful and delicious! If they have been chilling for 24 hours, I’d say go ahead and bake them up 🙂 Enjoy!
Umm… SERIOUSLY OUF OF THIS WORLD!
Worth taking the time to do EVERY STEP!
Yay! Thanks so much, Rebecca 🙂
Amazing & well explained Recipe. Hats off to the amalgamation of toffee, brown butter & chocolate. I tried this recipe at home, and results were so so delicious cookies 🙂
Thank you so much for putting in much efforts 🙂
So happy you loved these cookies 🙂 Yay!
This recipe was amazing. I made it exactly as the directions state and I was floored at how great these turned out. I did however use parchment paper over a cookie sheet I currently own and had no issues. My biggest take away that I will forever utilize when baking now is to remove the cookies from the oven when they still look slightly under done and right as they begin to brown around the edges just a bit (literally the smallest amount of brown). And they will be perfectly soft even a day after baking. These were a hit ! This was my first recipe from Tessa & I am forever a fan. Thank you !
I’m so glad you loved these cookies! I can’t wait to see which other recipes you try 🙂
cookies look delicious, question would the recipe be fine with regular light brown sugar?
That should be fine! Enjoy!
THE BEST COOKIE RECIPE YOU’LL FIND OUT THERE!
This recipe is simple as can be and takes less than an hour to make! I made Tessa’s homemade toffee as well and that added a WHOLE OTHER DIMENSION. The espresso is optional but I 10/10 recommend adding it. And the browned butter
Definitely recommend making this at least once because once you make it there’s no going back!
I’m so happy you loved these cookies so much! Hooray!!
I’ve been trying to find the right words to say about these cookies. Let me just say, I’ve tried a lot of cookie recipes over the years and usually felt pretty good about them. These cookies are not only delicious and gorgeous, but they also boosted my confidence in my baking skills. I don’t know if it’s Tessa and how she writes her recipes, or if it’s pulling off the browned butter. But wow. I’ve been walking on clouds ever since I made these.
Number one thing: trust Tessa’s tips! She will not steer you wrong and your cookies will be flawless.
This is so incredibly kind of you to say, Monica! I am so glad you find all of the tips helpful. SO glad you loved these cookies!
THE BEST COOKIES YOU’LL EVER TASTE! The recipe is perfect. It’s super easy to follow and no mixer required. The homemade toffee bits are super delicious and well worth the extra time. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. I went ahead and “marinated” my cookie dough for 48 hours and they turned out nothing less than phenomenal. I chilled the extra batch in the freezer. If you love chocolate chip and toffee, look no further! I totally recommend you make these cookies because you will not be disappointed. Thank you Tessa for an outstanding recipe! <3
So, so happy you loved these cookies! Thanks so much Eliza.
I truly wished there was a rating higher than 5 star. I found everything I ever wanted in a cookie in this Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chips cookie. Crispy edges, chewy and gooey in the middle, not overly sweet and the marriage of flavors was mind blowing, this recipe just won my heart over my former best, your giant chocolate chips cookie recipe. Thanks for all you do. The frozen cookie dough keeps calling me.❤
You are so kind! I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies so much! Hooray!! Smiling so big right now.
I mean c’mon. These are SCRUMPTIOUS. New fave recipe for sure 🙂
So glad you tried these cookies out!
Hands down the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made!!!!
I used extra dark chocolate wafers, broken into pieces, from Bulk Barn and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
I am going to make a large batch to freeze once I have scooped the dough into balls and will try your toffee recipe.
I learned that if I bake them a little too long they become a little too flat but they still taste amazing! Love browned butter.
Thanks so much, Tessa for keeping us happy and positive. 🙂
I’m honored these are the best chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever made! Hooray! Thanks so much for the kind feedback.
Hi! Instead of chopped semisweet chocolate could you sub 10oz of semisweet chocolate chips or do a combo of chocolate chips and the guittard semisweet wafers? Would the amount change if I used this instead?