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Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Brown butter cookies with chunks of brown butter toffee; these cookies have chewy middles and crispy edges.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword brown butter, chewy cookies, toffee
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Servings 16 cookies

Ingredients

Brown Butter Toffee (makes double what you need for the cookies)

  • 113g or ½ cup unsalted butter (to be browned)
  • 200g or 1 cup brown sugar preferably light
  • 2 tablespoons fresh apple cider juice or substitute with: 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons tap water mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Brown Butter Cookie Dough

  • 170g or ¾ cups butter unsalted
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 150g or ¾ cups brown sugar
  • 50g or ¼ cups fine granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sour cream
  • 3 egg yolks from large eggs reserve the whites for another use
  • 200g or about 1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 100g toffee, chopped - about 2/3 cup from above
  • Flaky sea salt for topping

Instructions

Make the brown butter toffee:

  • Note: Have your ingredients ready and near your cooktop as once the butter is browned, the rest needs to be added asap.
  • Prepare a small cookie sheet by greasing it lightly then placing a sheet of parchment on top.
  • Set the butter in a light colored, heavy bottomed pot (like an enameled cast iron) over medium heat. Cook as the butter melts, then begins to sputter and separate. You’ll see little cream colored bits dropping to the bottom of the pan, stir frequently as those bits turn a toasty brown. Once all the bits have browned, add the sugar, apple cider, heavy cream and fine sea salt. It will bubble up as you do, stir it all in.
  • Stir with a long wooden spoon frequently until the sugar melts and you can’t detect any granules. Keep a thermometer nearby, we’ll cook the toffee until it reaches 300 F. Be VERY careful, this is hot sugar and will burn you if it touches your skin. As soon as it gets to 300 F, remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Whisk until smooth then pour onto the parchment on the prepared pan. Smooth it into an even layer (it should not fill the pan and should be about a quarter of an inch thick). Let cool completely, this can take about an hour.
  • If making the toffee ahead of time, once it’s completely cool, break it up and set it in a ziplock bag in the fridge.

Make the brown butter cookie dough:

  • Set the butter in a light colored frying pan. Follow the same steps as above to brown the butter. Once it’s browned, immediately transfer to a heat safe bowl. Stir in the salt and vanilla and set in the fridge to chill for about an hour. We’re aiming for a soft consistency; rather like softened or room temperature butter.
  • Set the butter in a large bowl and add the sugars (brown and granulated) to the bowl and use a hand mixer to beat until light and airy, this can take a few minutes. You may also make the cookie dough in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
  • Add the sour cream and egg yolks and beat until well combined. Then, add the baking soda, baking powder and the flour. Beat to just combine.
  • Chop up the toffee into bits that are about pea or bean sized; too big chunks will cause the most spreading in your cookies so aim for smaller bits. Add the toffee to the dough and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge overnight or for up to 48 hours (longer is better).
  • When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (use grease to help the paper stick to the pan). Do not use foil and do not bake the cookies directly on the pan.
  • Scoop the cookie dough into mounds that are about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie. If you like, add a bit of toffee on top of the dough so some is exposed. Leave loads of space between the mounds of dough as these. Will. spread.
  • Bake the cookies until browned on the edges, about 12 minutes. The longer the cookies bake the crispier the edges will get and the more they will spread.
  • They will be misshapen out of the oven, this is due to the toffee melting and pushing out the cookie dough. As soon as they are out and while still very hot, use a round container to gently nudge them back into a circular shape (this is kind of like cookie scooting but very gently or the cookies will tear, a spoon works too). Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and let cool completely on the pan.
  • The cookies should be stored in an airtight container overnight and will be good for 3-4 days.

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