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!
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!
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
- 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.
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!
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
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!
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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Brown Butter Toffee Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar (light or dark is fine, I like to use a blend of the two)
- ⅔ cup (135 g) white sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch cornflour in UK
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (170 g) milk chocolate toffee pieces (Like Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Pieces)
- sea salt for sprinkling on top of the cookies (fine or coarse, your preference)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (177C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cut your butter into Tablespoon-sized pieces and place in a medium-sized saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat.1 cup unsalted butter
To Brown the Butter (It’s easy, I promise!)
- Once butter has melted, increase heat to just above medium heat.
- Swirl and scrape the sides of the pan frequently with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula – the butter will bubble and pop. Once the bubbling/popping slows, the butter will begin to turn brown, it will look like this once it’s finished:
- Watch the butter very carefully at this point, and once it begins to brown and you smell the nutty aroma of browned butter, remove from heat quickly and pour into a large, heatproof bowl.
- Allow butter to cool for 25-30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
Cookie Dough
- Add sugars into cooled browned butter, stir well.1 cup (200 g) brown sugar, ⅔ cup (135 g) white sugar
- Stir in eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.2 eggs
- Add vanilla extract and stir.1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring until ingredients are nearly completely combined.
- Add milk chocolate toffee bits and stir until ingredients are well-incorporated.1 cup (170 g) milk chocolate toffee pieces
- Drop by heaping, rounded 1 ½ Tbsp (45g) scoops onto prepared cookie sheets, placing at least 2" apart.
- Bake on 350F (177C) for 9-10 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn golden brown (cookies should still be quite soft when you remove them from the oven, and may even appear slightly underbaked in center).
- Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.sea salt
- Allow cookies to cool on baking pan for about 3 minutes and then use a spatula to gently scoop beneath them and carefully wiggle them free from the parchment paper, as the toffee tends to stick.
- Allow to cool several more minutes and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Cody Alkema
I’ve been baking cookies for at least 40 years and these are the best I’ve ever made! I used plain toffee bits and added 60% dark chocolate chips and walnuts. They are incredible! I love any baked good with butter in it (if it doesn’t have real butter in it it’s not worth eating) and I have never tried browning butter before. It made all the difference!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Cody! 🙂
Arie
These are great! I chilled for a hour and then warmed to room temperature.
Anna
Hi there. Can I can make the receipts the night before and leave the dough in the fridge/freezer to bake the next day ? Will that ruin them or will it work ?
Thank you 🙂
Sam
Hi Anna! The dough will be fine in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure to wrap it tightly. 🙂
Paula
omg. That’s how I’ll start. So, I bake a lot of cookies. I mean, A lot of cookies, but I have never made a browned butter cookie…until today. omg…these are incredible. Browning the butter is easy, but you have to be patient, as it takes several minutes. And, I made my own toffee. I found a 3 ingredient recipe and made homemade toffee pieces, which I would highly recommend. The flavor of the homemade cookie with the homemade toffee pieces is ethereal. I like bigger cookies, so I weighed each ball of dough ( 1.75) oz each and got 23 cookies. Make these!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Paula! 🙂
Anonymous
Oohh, what toffee recipe did you use if you dont mind my asking?
Paula
Hi! If you are replying to my comment about me making homemade toffee pieces, I used Handle The Heat’s 3 ingredient Homemade Toffee Pieces recipe. It’s super easy and really good!! I only use homemade toffee pieces in these Brown Butter Toffee cookies. I opted for no chocolate.
Paula
Hi! Came across your recipe today, and after reading reviews, I will definitely make. Maybe you can give some feedback: I will be making my own toffee because I don’t want any chocolate in this particular cookie. I really want to make a toffee cookie. I do like larger cookies (like 3″ diameter), and I am also hoping that they aren’t flat. Do you think I can get the size and moderate thickness I am looking for? Sorry to be so specific. 🙂 Thank you so much!! P.S.- I have enjoyed some of your other recipes, so thank you for that!!
Sam
Hi Paula! My cookies are probably 2 – 3 inches in diameter. You can make them larger if you’d like and it shouldn’t change the thickness of them too much. I hope you love these too! 🙂
Claretta
You are a great writer!
Sam
Thank you! 🙂
Teri
Do these cookies have to be heated in the microwave before eating them. I’m making them for a party and won’t be able to heat them before serving them.
Sam
Oh no, it’s not a necessity! It’s just a nice extra indulgence to enjoy them warm, but they’re perfectly delicious at room temp! I hope everyone enjoys, Teri!
Gioia
Hi there. These are a cookie you should make over and over again. Every single detail in the directions is spot on. Mine baked up in 10 mins. I used an Italian sea salt for the tops. These are one of the top 5 cookies I’ve ever baked.
Sam
What a compliment! Thank you so much for the kind words, Gioia! I’m so glad you enjoyed 🙂
Mindy
Can I omit the cornstarch if I don’t have any on hand?
Sam
Hi Mindy! I would recommend adding a little additional flour to make up for the lack of the cornstarch. 🙂
Dana K
These are INCREDIBLE!!! I have always been a big fan of McAlister’s heath bar cookies, and wanted something similar. The whole family loves these, and agrees these are better than McAlister’s! Question, is it safe to half the recipe? Do I need to make any other adjustments? OR can the dough be frozen?
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoys them so much, Dana! You can half this recipe without issue. If you want to freeze the dough I would portion out the cookies, wrap them individually in cling wrap and store in a freezer bag. You can bake them from frozen, they will just need an extra minute or two. 🙂
Karyn
I just realized I bought Heath English toffee bits instead of milk chocolate – could I sub some for chocolate chips and combine the two?
Sam
Hi Karyn! That should work fine here. 🙂
EB
Was craving for toffee cookies and this was the first one that showed up. I normally don’t leave comments but with this one I felt like I had to. These are so delicious and the best ever! Followed recipe as described except I added walnuts which added more texture and flavor. I used a tablespoon scoop and baked them for 8-9 mins, left on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes before placing on cookie rack. Your tip on microwaving cookies before eating makes all the difference.
Will definitely be making more of these! Thank you so much for sharing 😊
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Nicole C Fishman
I made these cookies for the first time 6 days ago and WOW!!! My family has decided these are our new favorite cookie. I’m already browning the butter as we speak because as soon as the first batch was gone, they were begging for more! Thanks for a great recipe to follow. Love, love these cookies
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Nicole! 🙂
Melissa Kennard Flower
I am not a baker but I made these with some toffee christmas candy that wasn’t very nice and OMG, I love love love these cookies. And please dont forget the sea salt on the top.
Jackie
Maybe one of the best cookie recipes I have ever made!!! YUM
Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe!
Malcolm Williams
I noticed you said stir, can I use my hand mixer?
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂
Samantha
Love these cookies! Always a big hit during the holidays! Question: does the dough freeze well? How about baked cookies?
Thanks!
Sam
Hi Samantha! I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies! I haven’t personally frozen them, but they should do well in the freezer, baked or unbaked. 🙂