These sweet and salty brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy in the centers with deliciously crisp edges. Brown butter is melted butter with a nutty caramelized flavor brought on by gently cooking it on the stove. And it tastes absolutely phenomenal in cookies, especially when you add toffee and sea salt. Because of these flavorful additions, these fancied-up chocolate chip cookies will fly off the serving tray!
I originally published this recipe in 2012 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
Can you make a perfect thing even better? Sometimes you just don’t mess with classic chocolate chip cookies, but in case you feel fancy and want to experiment, these brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookies are consistent crowd-pleasers. (I’m writing this nearly a decade after this recipe was originally published, so yes, I say from experience that these cookies are always a hit!) They’re a spin on my popular chewy chocolate chip cookies with the addition of brown butter, toffee chips, and sea salt.
One reader, Jordan, commented: “These cookies are HANDS DOWN phenomenal. I have friends that I made these for and everyone was asking for the recipe! These are my go-to chocolate chip cookies recipe now. JUST SO DELISH. ★★★★★”
Another reader, Kathee, commented: “Made these cookies and they were FABULOUS! I have never used brown butter before… wow, what an incredible taste… ★★★★★”
These Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies Are:
- Loaded with a buttery caramelized flavor
- Extra soft and chewy in the centers
- Crisp on the edges
- Chock-full of sweet and salty toffee chips*
- Packed with chocolate chips
*I just use Heath bar “Bits O’ Brickle” English toffee bits found near the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. Same ones I use for salted vanilla toffee cookies.
Brown Butter
If you’ve never browned butter before, take a minute to review my How to Brown Butter guide. It’s a very quick and easy process. After you brown it, let it cool for a few minutes before working on the rest of the wet ingredients.
Unlike in my regular brown butter chocolate chip cookies, we do not have to chill the browned butter to solidify it before working on the cookie dough. That step takes extra time especially since we have to chill that cookie dough too—but it does promise thicker cookies since the butter has been chilled. However, I appreciate that this recipe is quicker and that it produces thinner, crispier cookies. We use the same cookie dough when making dark chocolate pecan cookies, too.
Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies Success Tips
- Expect a crumbly dough: This cookie dough is very crumbly as you try to combine the wet ingredients, dry ingredients, and add-ins. It’s not nearly as crumbly if you leave out the toffee chips. They’re so small that it makes the dough break apart easily. Continue mixing until it all comes together—it will, I promise!
- Use a cookie scoop: Scoop and roll the cookie dough into balls after it comes together. This medium size cookie scoop is perfect because each dough ball should be around 1.5 Tablespoons of dough.
- Chill the cookie dough balls: Cover and chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before baking. Remember that chilling cookie dough helps guarantee that your cookies won’t overspread. Because of the melted (browned) butter in this cookie dough, the dough will spread into greasy puddles if you do not chill the dough balls prior to baking. Chilling cookie dough also enhances its flavor—the nutty brown butter flavor seeps into every last morsel of dough.
Toffee pairs wonderfully with the caramel and butterscotch undertones in the brown butter. I added it all to the cookie dough and the result is an amazingly chewy, caramel-y, chocolate-y, buttery cookie with an incredible toffee crunch. A regular chocolate chip cookie, but elevated. You’ll love that!
Bake a double batch because these always go quickly!
Print
Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 32-36 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These sweet and salty brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy in the centers with deliciously crisp edges. Brown butter is the secret to their unbeatable flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/4 cups (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (150g) Heath Bar Bits O’ Brickle English Toffee (see Note)
- optional: coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Set out a medium heat-proof bowl because you’ll need it at the end of this step. Slice the butter into Tablespoon-size pieces and place in a light-colored skillet or large pot. Light colored helps you determine when the butter begins browning. (See note if using a dark skillet or pot.) Melt the butter over medium heat and stir or whisk constantly. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring/whisking. After 5-7 minutes, the butter will begin browning and you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan. It will have a nutty aroma. Once browned, remove from heat immediately and pour into the bowl, including any solids that have formed on the bottom of the pan. (You want those solids for flavor.) Cool brown butter for 5 minutes. Don’t cool longer than that because the butter will begin to thicken and, as a result, the cookie dough will be difficult to mix and its texture will be too crumbly.
- Whisk the brown sugar and granulated sugar into the brown butter and then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the chocolate chips and toffee, then stir together with a large spoon or silicone spatula. The dough will seem too dry at first, but keeping stirring until it comes together. Dough will be greasy, thick, and a bit crumbly.
- Scoop dough into balls, about 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of dough each, and place on a large plate or baking sheet. I like to roll each cookie dough ball between my hands to smooth them out since they can be a little crumbly. Cover and chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for 2 hours and up to 3 days before baking. (You can also freeze the dough balls, see Freezing Instructions below.)
- Towards the end of chill time, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Arrange cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. If desired, lightly sprinkle coarse sea salt on top of each. Press the salt down into the cookie dough balls if it’s not sticking.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips or toffee pieces into the tops—this is only for looks! Cookies are extra soft out of the oven, but become chewier as they cool.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked cookies freeze well up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Here’s how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Light-Colored Skillet or Stainless Steel Skillet | Whisk | Glass Mixing Bowls | Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Medium Cookie Scoop | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Toffee: If you can’t find store-bough toffee bits, try this homemade toffee bits recipe.
- Darker skillet/pot when browning butter: I recommend using a light-colored skillet or large pot when browning butter so you can see when the butter is done. (It’s only a quick few seconds between browned butter and burnt butter.) Towards the end of 5-7 minutes, check for doneness by spooning some butter into a glass bowl to determine if it has browned.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Okay, so I made these cookies and followed the recipe to a tea (used skor bar chopped instead of chips) but as I was mixing it just wasn’t combining and seemed dry, my eggs were kinda small so I figured that was why and added another which seemed to work! I chilled and put in oven and they didn’t spread at all and stayed in balls they hardened upon cooking and just all around felt wrong, did I mess up? i’m lost and really wanna try again!!
Hi Denae, How are you measuring your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured, which can dry out the cookies. Using the proper sized eggs is also important. A large whole egg weighs about 57g (or 50g out of the shell). You can use these weights to determine how many of your eggs you’ll need to reach the correct amount for this recipe. That will be the best way to bring the dough to the correct consistency. Hope this helps for your next batch!
These cookies are the best cookies ever! I have made then several times, and people say they are the best cookies they have ever had. I follow the recipe and they are perfect. I keep the dough refrigerated for 48 hours. Thank you for this recipe.
These are my favorite cookie of all time! I’ve made these a few times and personally haven’t had any issues with them spreading. I use parchment paper, not silicone mats. Scooping the dough into balls before refrigerating is WAY easier than trying to scoop the dough when it’s super hard and cold.
can these be frozen for a few weeks?
Hi Barbara, yes, definitely! See the recipe Notes section for freezing information.
These are delicious every time I make them they disappear quickly. Love this recipe!
Questions:
What will happen if you make a smaller cookie?
Replace with cake flour?
Add nuts?
Thanks for your feedback!
Hi Jennifer, you can make smaller cookies if you prefer. Bake time will be shorter. We recommend sticking with all purpose flour for these cookies, we find cake flour is too fine. You can absolutely add nuts – you can replace some of the chocolate chips with chopped nuts. Happy baking!
Had a some cookie spread. When using brown butter in this or other recipe’s. Should you add 1 Tbsp of milk /stick of brown butter to replace the lost moisture?
Hi Mike, are you saying that the cookies you baked over-spread? This recipe accounts for the lost moisture, so I don’t add any additional liquid. IF your cookies are over-spreading, a little more flour could help, such as 2 extra Tbsp into the dough.
Read the “How to Brown Butter” tutorial , there it mentions moisture loss so….I added 1 Tbsp of milk. Didn’t realized you accounted for the moisture loss. Thank you for the clarifications { Your a excellent Baker ! }
My dough is never dry or crumbly am I doing something wrong? They taste delicious
These cookies are absolutely amazing! I have made several times and they are always a hit! However, you used to have a link to simple recipe for easy homemade toffee as an option instead of using Heath chips. I’ve always made them with the homemade version and now I can’t find the recipe anywhere. Please help!
Hi Magoo! I have made and enjoyed these homemade toffee bits from Handle the Heat website before! They’re excellent to use in cookies.
So, as many others have noted, these cookies, as written, spread out to cracker-like greasy mess. I tried letting my brown butter cool for 45 minutes in my 70 degree kitchen, which was not enough to solidify it, but did cool it down. I tried rolling the cookies into “turds”, as I read somewhere, but they were literally puddling on my cool baking sheet as I rolled them. I remixed the cookies with 4 additional tbsp of flour and froze them overnight. I baked them from frozen at 375 degrees for 12 minutes, and success! I might try to back off to 3 additional tbsp next time, but I’m on track.
These look really good! Would it work to replace the chocolate chips with extra Heath Bits?
Hi Beth, That would work. Enjoy!
Hi, I love this recipe and I’ve made it so many times! Is there anyway the flour amount is supposed to be 2 and 1/4 cups of flour? I wasn’t sure and when I used 2 and 1/2 cups it was too much flour for sure. Just wanted to see if I missed something. Thanks!
Hi Saleha, we’re so glad you’re enjoying the cookies! The amount of flour as written is correct. How are you measuring your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured, which can dry out the cookies. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Can these be made into a bar cookie? 9×13?
Thanks
Hi Trish, We are sure the recipe could be turned into cookie bars, but we are unsure of the best bake time. We would try a 9×13 pan. Let us know if you give it a go!
I didn’t read the recipe all the way through and decided to make these a few hours prior to a Super Bowl party. I had no time to chill so I just baked them — and they were delish! I made these with ingredients I had on hand…salted caramel chips and dark chocolate chunks. Sprinkled a little Fleur de Sal on top–perfection!
This recipe tastes great, but the cookies looked horrible and spread out way too much, very greasy.
These have become my signature cookie that everyone asks me to make. I’ve given out the recipe so many times. Truly an amazing recipe! I bake mine at 375, just find that I like that better. Thank you for all the work you do to provide these recipes, I use so many of your recipes!!
Sally! These cookies are amazing! I made them for a couple of events around the holidays. I am now getting constant requests from friends/family/coworkers to make them. I have everyone HOOKED. 🙂
Should this recipe be adjusted for elevation?
Since moving all my cookies are spreading like crazy.
Hi Brittany, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Perfect cookie recipe!! I loved it so much. Big hit with the family. My one uncle who “doesn’t eat sweets” had 3! I used dark chocolate chips which is my new go to for cookies and I felt that helped bring out the caramel/toffee vibe
These cookies were amazing! Mine did spread out a little more than expected. I read on your browned butter blog that you should add a little extra, maybe a tablespoon, of butter because there will be some that evaporation. So that’s what I did and I had exactly one cup of melted browned butter. But then I was wondering if this was the issue. Did you already account for the evaporation in the recipe? Should I have not added more butter? Thanks!
Hi Sarabeth, yes – we’ve already accounted for the loss of moisture in the measurements provided. So no need to add any more. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Can I substitute M&Ms for chocolate chips?
Dawn, we haven’t tried it but can’t see why it wouldn’t work! Enjoy!
Ok this recipe is *off the hook*. I used some semi-sweet mini-chips that I had around but a smaller amount (probably 1/2-2/3 c) and added some finely chopped walnuts to make up the difference. This recipe is an instant addition to our family favorites recipe binder.
Double win! These were great! I made another batch with gluten free flour, adding a teaspoon of baking powder. They were great also! Love your recipes!
How many cookies does this make? I have to make 4 dozen of them for work, and wondering if I need to quadruple the recipe.
Hi Sarah, this recipe makes 32-36 cookies.
I am on year two of using this recipe! It is a house must have! We do triple batches and sometimes change things for different chocolates, nuts, oats, it has been so much fun! We portion and freeze into ziplocks and just thaw a dozen or less or more then bake! We even gift them .
I loved these cookies and I love making cookies. But, it’s the first time I tried cooking the butter. My nephews thought they were great but I think I can do better by browning the butter a little bit longer. Hint, always brown the butter in white enamel pan so that you can see how its doing. Would love to add nuts but don’t want to mess with a sure thing.
DELICIOUS!!!! Makes as directed by Sally and you won’t have any issues. Sally is my go to for all things baking. These were a total knockout and my fave thing is how many cookies this recipe yields! I throw some in the freezer and bake whenever the cravings come around. 10/10!
Sweet baby Jesus, these cookies are delicious! It took about ten minutes for my butter to brown. And I had to bake them for about five minutes longer. But there are so good and so worth every minute. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
In the book “Sally’s Cookie Addiction” it says divide the two sticks of butter and brown only one of the sticks, here it doesn’t say to divide the butter. Also in the video it looks like only one stick of butter is used in total. Is it 1 or 2 sticks of butter? And do you brown all of the butter or reserve half like the book said? I made this recipe from the book once already and my cookies seemed like there was way too much butter. They spread out very thin. I accidentally browned both sticks of butter instead of just half. I thought this might have been the reason my cookies spread so thin. Now I think maybe there is was because there was too much butter. I don’t know what to do from here. I read someone’s comment about how the book said to add baking soda and baking powder. This recipe online says just baking soda. Could THAT have played a role in the cookies spreading too thin? Having the baking soda and baking powder?
Hi Jodie, this online recipe was inspired by the cookies in Sally’s Cookie Addiction, but as you mention there are a few key changes. Both recipes call for 1 cup of butter (2 sticks, or 16 Tbsp, or 226 g). As for why they spread so much, there are a few different factors that could be in play. This post with 10 tips to prevent cookies from spreading will be helpful for further troubleshooting. We do tend to prefer this newer, updated recipe on the website, so we’d recommend following this one in the future, should you decide to make them again. Thank you for giving them a try!
Hi there! Making this recipe now, so excited! Can i chill the dough in the bowl overnight and then roll them into dough balls? I just don’t have room in my fridge for all the pans and dough balls.
Hi Alexandra, the dough may be a bit too hard to scoop, but you can leave it out at room temperature for a few minutes after chilling before trying to scoop and roll. Or, if you want to scoop before chilling as written, you can place the dough balls on a plate and cover so that they’re taking up less room. Hope you enjoy the cookies!