4.97 from 174 votes

Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Name: Brown Butter Toffee Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter; 1 cup brown sugar ((light or dark is fine, I like to use a blend of the two)); ⅔ cup white sugar; 2 eggs (room temperature preferred); 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon cornstarch (cornflour in UK); 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; ¾ teaspoon salt; 1 cup milk chocolate toffee pieces ((Like Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Pieces)); sea salt (for sprinkling on top of the cookies (fine or coarse, your preference))

By Sam MerrittPublished Nov 11, 2024

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320 Comments

Servings: 24 cookies

40 mins

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My soft and chewy brown butter toffee cookies are packed with toffee pieces and flavored with vanilla, brown butter, and sprinkling of sea salt. Never browned butter before? I’ll show you how! Recipe includes a how-to video!

Cookie made with brown butter and toffee missing a bite.

The BEST Toffee Cookies

I first shared these brown butter toffee cookies over 7 years ago. Since then, they’ve remained one of my favorites, a guaranteed-to-please go-to that everyone, without fail, asks me for the recipe for.

The inspiration for these cookies came to me via the cafeteria of the hospital where Zach and I used to work. The original was quite a bit underwhelming–too artificial, dry, and not enough butter flavor–but it provided me with some good starting points for my own creation.

My version is anything but underwhelming; we’re talking slightly crisped exteriors, crunchy milk chocolate toffee bits, and a nutty, buttery flavor in every bite (especially in those soft centers!). These cookies are so good!

Stack of brown butter toffee cookies with the top cookie missing a bite.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Makes a fantastic fall cookie that’s both pumpkin and pumpkin spice free (if you’re not into that kinda thing). Something about the warm, buttery flavor just makes me think of fall in all the best ways. Feel free to make them year-round though–I certainly do!
Brown butter provides the best, butteriest flavor that complements the toffee add-ins so well. If making brown butter seems intimidating to you, just know that it’s a simple process. I’ll walk you through every step below!
No chilling or mixer required! Though you can always cover and chill the dough if you would like; this would likely give the cookies an even richer, more buttery flavor. Keep in mind that that the dough gets a bit crumbly when chilled and will need to come to room temperature before you can scoop and bake.
Soft and chewy texture that lasts for days, thanks to my tried-and-true baking technique. On the other hand, if you like crunchy cookies, try my butter crunch cookies!

What You Need

Overhead view of ingredients including toffee bits, butter, brown sugar, and more.

Brown sugar. I recommend a blend of dark and light brown sugar, though you can use all light brown sugar if that’s all you have on hand.
Toffee bits. Use the crushed milk chocolate toffee bits (Heath bar bits). You can usually find these near chocolate chips in the baking aisle of your grocery store.
Vanilla. A hefty pour of vanilla (half a tablespoon!) adds SO much flavor to these cookies. I love using homemade vanilla extract in this recipe; if you haven’t made your own yet, you need to!
Salt. While we are using regular table salt in the dough, I recommend sprinkling flaky sea salt on the cookies just after removing them from the oven. This really intensifies all of the already robust flavors of these brown butter toffee cookies.
Butter. We’re using a full cup (two sticks) of butter today. We’ll brown this and let it cool completely before adding it to the dough. Note that unless otherwise indicated, you should measure your butter before browning it.

SAM’S TIP: Since we are using room temperature butter, it’s best if you use room temperature eggs as well. I have a trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature if you forget to set yours out ahead of time.

This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Brown the butter

Browning the butter is the key to adding truly incredible, jaw-dropping flavor to this recipe. It’s a key ingredient in my brown butter frosting, brown butter chocolate chip cookies, and pistachio cake and it’s every bit as important here, too.

To make it, add the butter to a light-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, increase the heat to medium and stir constantly as the butter bubbles, foams, and pops. Pay close attention, and once you notice a toasty aroma and see brown bits forming on the bottom of the pan, remove from the heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl. You’ve just made brown butter!

Make sure to let the butter cool for 25-30 minutes before adding your other ingredients, otherwise you run the risk of melting your sugars and creating a seriously runny, unusable dough.

Overhead view of a bowl of cookie dough made with brown butter and toffee.

Make the dough

The dough comes together like most standard doughs. Once the butter has cooled (completely! Make sure the bottom of the bowl that it’s cooling in doesn’t feel even a little warm), you can add the sugars then the egg and vanilla.

Whisk the dry ingredients together separately then gradually fold it into the wet ingredients. This is a stiff dough, so I do this in 3-4 parts for the easiest combining.

Fold in your toffee bits until evenly incorporated, then you’re ready to scoop! No more chilling needed, you waited long enough for the browned butter to cool so you’re ready to go now!

Overhead view of cookie dough balls on a baking sheet.

Bake the cookies

Scoop and roll the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon balls, then place on parchment lined baking sheets.

Bake until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown (the centers will still look a bit underdone, then remove and sprinkle with sea salt (you need to do this while the cookies are still warm, so it sticks). The cookies will continue baking outside the oven on the hot cookie sheets. This is my favorite trick for soft and chewy cookies that stay soft for days!

SAM’S TIP: The toffee bits tend to stick to the baking sheets as the cookies cool, so I like to gently wiggle the cookies with a spatula after they’ve been out of the oven for a few minutes.

Overhead view of brown butter toffee cookies on a cooling rack.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make the dough ahead?

It’s not ideal with this recipe as the dough doesn’t spread as much after a prolonged period of time in the refrigerator and can even become crumbly. However, if you absolutely must save the dough, you can cover and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. Note that you will likely need to let it completely come back to room temperature before attempting to scoop and roll it, and the dough might be a bit crumbly even with thawing. You may be better off chilling the dough in pre-portioned balls instead.

Do I have to add the cornstarch?

You don’t have to, but your cookies won’t be quite as soft and tender or thick if you skip it. I recommend substituting flour for the cornstarch if you must leave it out.

Why are my toffee cookies flat?

The most likely cause is adding the sugars to the butter while it is still just a bit too warm. The butter melts the sugars and creates a super greasy dough which unfortunately cannot be remedied (even chilling won’t help).

This can also happen if you put your cookie dough on hot baking sheets–never do that!

Two brown butter toffee cookies stacked on top of each other with the top cookie missing a bite.

I highly recommend that you re-heat your toffee cookies briefly in the microwave before enjoying (about 9-seconds per cookie, in my microwave). Warm cookies are the best cookies!

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