Brown Butter Cookies//Homemade Toffee Chunks//Dark Chocolate Chunks
This is the recipe that I use to make the best homemade cookies ever! The base is a brown butter cookie, infused with plenty of vanilla and sea salt, with homemade toffee and dark chocolate chunks throughout. Due to several different factors (the usage of some bread flour, brown sugar, an extra egg yolk, and baking the cookies at a high heat for a short period of time), the cookies are just amazingly chewy (and gooey!) in the middle, and wonderfully crispy on the outside. The depth of flavour from the brown butter, brown sugar, and absolute bombing of vanilla (with the perfect amount of salt to compliment it all!) is just incredible. Not only is the cookie dough so delectable to sneak a taste of, but the flavour remains deep and unctuous even once baked (which is something that I find isn’t the case in many chocolate chip cookie recipes). The flavour and crunch from the toffee is just to-die-for, and is offset by just the right amount of rich and slightly bitter dark chocolate. And I feel that the size and bake time + temperature are absolute perfection, for maximum indulgence and the ultimate texture.
This recipe is a slightly tweaked version of Tessa Arias’ recipe titled Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies from the blog Handle the Heat. What a gift to the world! This is why I write “This is the recipe that I use to make the best homemade cookies ever!”, and I want to make clear that this is Tessa’s recipe, with some small, but important, tweaks that I have made over time (quantities, slight method differences, and a different baking temperature and bake time). I prefer baking the cookies at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for a shorter amount of time, over 350, with an increase in size, as this yields a more unctuous and chewier centre with a crispy exterior. I also elect to use less chocolate, with a more precise amount of toffee (the recipe for the toffee below makes the exact amount that you need for the cookies). But, of course, if you’re a chocolate monster, feel free to up the ratio! I have increased (multiplied by almost 5!) the vanilla and salt too for a maximum depth of flavour. Minor other tweaks are made, but those are the most important ones. I’m thrilled to be sharing this tweaked version of Tessa’s cookies. Many friends have asked me for the chocolate chip cookie recipe that I use (wow are these ever a crowd pleaser! I love watching people’s eyes widen in delight!), and I figured I would create a blog post of it so that I don’t have to keep sending the laundry list of tweaks that I personally recommend making, along with the link to the original recipe. So, here you go friends! I’ll pop a link to the original recipe below, there’s lots of extra information on there that’s really interesting to read.
I hope that you enjoy making and devouring these cookies as much as I do. Feel free to get creative with the add-ons too! And, if you do want to share (no pressure though!), I promise that these will turn anybody at a social gathering or event into your new best friend. They really are a showstopper. Ready to make the best homemade cookies ever? Let's get started!
Recipe:
Makes 15 large cookies
This recipe was slightly adapted from Handle the Heat. More info in the foreword.
Notes
I call for cold eggs because I don’t want to have to wait for the brown butter/sugar mixture to cool down before using, and the cold eggs help to cool it down more quickly. I specify to whisk in the vanilla extract before the eggs to somewhat cool it down before the eggs (there’s 3 tbsp of it which is quite a lot). And I also specify to whisk the eggs in quickly so that they don’t cook, as the mixture will still be warm.
I call for an optional 1/2 tsp of instant espresso powder or finely ground espresso. This will yield a very mild espresso flavour. Note that the two are different—the non-instant grounds are obviously textured, but there’s so little of it in the recipe that I find it works, if you don’t have instant espresso on hand, and don’t want to buy it.
Absolutely don’t exceed 310 degrees Fahrenheit for the toffee, or it will start to burn. Similarly, don’t cook it for less than specified, as this will yield a granular toffee.
If you have (high-quality!) caramels or even fudge on hand (YUM), feel free to use this instead of the homemade toffee.
I specify the type of salt used, as different salts are more or less salty than others. If you don’t have the same kind of salt used, be mindful of this and adjust accordingly.
If you happen to have vanilla bean paste, feel free to add some in (along with the vanilla extract). I love lots of vanilla in my cookie dough. I wouldn’t add any more extract in though, as it will thin the batter out too much. A totally unnecessary addition, but if you happen to have some, go for it!
This recipe makes 14 large (85 g), and 1 jumbo (100 g), cookies! If you want all absolutely jumbo cookies, make each 100 g.
In her recipe post, Tessa specifies that the cookie dough needs to chill between 24-72 hours before using. And for sure, this will yield absolute perfection. But I have made these cookies many times, and through experimenting, my stance is: At minimum, refrigerate until the dough has hardened enough to form scoops. I prefer to make/typically make the cookie dough the night (or day) before I bake the cookies. This allows the depth of flavour and texture to develop. The absolute ideal is to refrigerate between 24-72 hours, but I typically don’t have time for that/don’t think that far ahead, so no stress to do this. Having tried them for all different chilling times, I don’t feel that the difference is extreme, but I do feel that chilling the dough overnight(so 8-9 hours) makes the biggest jump in terms of difference. So do with that as you will!
Toffee Chunks
Ingredients
85 g butter, any temperature
150 g brown sugar
3/4 tsp fine white salt
Instructions
Line a pan or cutting board with parchment paper.
Place butter in a medium sized saucepan, and melt over medium heat.
Add in brown sugar and salt. Whisk continuously until the toffee forms (the butter should be fully combined, and the mixture should appear homogenous), and a thermometer reads 295-305 degrees Fahrenheit. 5-10 minutes.
Pour the toffee onto the parchment paper, and ensure that it’s spread out to your liking. Let cool at room temperature until hard. [Go make the cookies during this cooling period, the toffee will be perfect once the cookie dough is made.]
Hit the toffee with a big knife, or whatever you’d like, to shatter it into chunks. I love this part, it’s so fun! Donezo.
Brown Butter Cookies
Ingredients
230 g butter, any temperature
190 g all-purpose flour
130 g bread flour
Optional: 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder or finely ground espresso
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
100 g white sugar
200 g brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp fine white salt
3 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, cold
1 egg yolk, cold
200 g dark chocolate
The toffee chunks (recipe above)
Instructions
Place butter in a large sized saucepan. Brown the butter over medium heat. [If you don’t know how to do this: cook, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes, until the butter is a caramel colour and smells nutty.] Complete steps 2 and 3 while the butter browns.
While the butter is cooking, prepare the dry mix. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, espresso powder if using, baking soda, and baking powder.
Chop the chocolate into chunks.
Once the butter has browned, immediately take the pan off the heat. Whisk in the white sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Then, whisk in the vanilla extract. Then, quickly whisk in the eggs.
Pour the brown butter/sugar/egg mixture into the dry mixture. Whisk until combined.
Check the temperature of the dough by touching the outside of the bowl. If it feels warm to the touch, place the bowl in the fridge for 5 minutes before stirring in the chocolate and toffee chunks.
Stir in the chocolate and toffee chunks, using a spatula.
Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use. At minimum, refrigerate until the dough has hardened enough to form scoops. I prefer to make/typically make the cookie dough the night (or day) before I bake the cookies. This allows the depth of flavour and texture to develop. The absolute ideal is to refrigerate between 24-72 hours, but I typically don’t have time for that/don’t think that far ahead, so no stress to do this.
When ready to bake, remove the dough from the fridge, and leave at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, to allow the dough to soften enough to scoop.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and ensure that 2 oven racks are positioned in the middle. Line 2-4 baking trays with parchment paper, just depending on your preferences outlined below.
Scoop then roll cookie dough into balls, 85 g each. Your last cookie will be closer to 100 g, so you will have one super-cookie!
Place the cookies on baking trays. You can do up to 6 per tray, but if you want to be a perfectionist and be certain that none will melt into each other, do 4 per tray.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops are golden. This will yield a perfectly crunchy exterior, and chewy + gooey centre.
Remove from oven. If you want to be a perfectionist (hi, this includes me!), grab a bowl that has a slightly larger circumference than that of the cookies. Place it on top of each cookie, upside down, and gently make swirling/circular motions on the tray. The cookie will hit the sides of the bowl, and this will bring in the edges, creating a perfect circle of a cookie! Boom.
Let the cookies cool on the tray for 3-4 minutes, then transfer them to cooling racks using a spatula. (You can either wait these 3-4 minutes and re-use the same trays for the next round of dough, or just line extra trays.)
You can obviously enjoy the cookies warm for the oven! I personally prefer to let them cool completely, as this makes them settle into a chewy texture, which is my favourite!
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Sounds delicious ❤️✨❤️