Packed with tons of flavor and English toffee bits, these Brown Butter Toffee Cookies are unbelievably rich and chewy.
Call me an old lady if you wish, but I have to live my truth: a good English toffee bar is one of my favorite candies. Give me a Heath bar over a Reese’s cup or Snickers bar any day of the week. And when you chop up that Heath bar and add it into buttery, chewy brown butter cookies? Forget about it.
Ingredients
These cookies require just a few basic ingredients. In fact, you’ll notice this list looks a lot like the ingredients for regular ol’ chocolate chip cookies! But we’ll be swapping out the chocolate chips for English toffee bits, which give these cookies their signature buttery, nutty flavor. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom for the full list of ingredients with measurements!
To make these brown butter toffee cookies, you’ll need…
- Butter! I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but I firmly believe the salted vs. unsalted butter debate is, for the most part, a total racket. Modern salted butter is nowhere near as salty as the salted butter of yesteryear, and some food scientists even have evidence to suggest the butter you use doesn’t have that much impact on the final flavor of your baked goods. So all this is to say… use the butter you like best! We’ll be browning two sticks of it to add a ton of nutty flavor.
- English toffee bits. These are often available in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips (I look for Heath brand as an accessible standby). But if you can’t find them, you can make your own by chopping up a 8 ounces’ worth of toffee bars, like Heath or Skor.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar. We’ll use both kinds of sugar here to achieve the perfect crispy-outside-chewy-inside cookie texture.
- Baking basics: Flour, baking soda, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Flaky sea salt. This is optional, but I love finishing these cookies with a sprinkle of Maldon salt to make them feel extra fancy.
Instructions
If you can make chocolate chip cookies, you can make these. We’re adding a step by browning the butter, which I know can feel intimidating if you’ve never done it before. But trust me—you can do this! Be sure to scroll to the bottom for full instructions with cooking times.
Here’s how to make these brown butter toffee cookies:
- Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. I’ve included some tips to help you do this successfully if it’s your first time (see the Expert Tips section), plus a visual in the full recipe to demonstrate what we’re looking for.
- Let the butter cool to room temp. Congrats! The hard part is over. You did it!
- Cream together the butter and sugars, then add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix, then finish up the dough by mixing in the toffee chips.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours before scooping into balls, baking, and sprinkling with a touch of flaky sea salt.
Substitutions and Variations
- It’s important to note that most commercially made toffee bits do contain nuts (usually almonds). If you need these cookies to be nut-free, you can try making your own toffee (I like this recipe by Handle the Heat). Or, to keep things easy, try using butterscotch chips instead of the toffee bits for a similar flavor!
- If you’d like to make these cookies gluten free, feel free to use your favorite gluten free all-purpose flour blend as a 1:1 sub for the all-purpose flour.
Expert Tips
If there’s one area of opportunity for mistakes in this recipe, it’s the butter-browning step. Here are my top tips to make successful brown butter every time:
- Use a light-colored pot or skillet. You can, of course, make this recipe using whatever saucepan you have on hand. But if you have one that’s light in color, choose that one! It will help you see the browned bits as they form, thereby reducing your chance of burning them.
- Keep stirring. When the butter starts foaming, it can be hard to see what’s going on at the bottom of the pot. By keeping the butter moving, you’ll have a better idea of how brown things are getting.
- Remove from heat just before you think it’s done. The butter will keep browning a bit after you transfer it to the bowl. To avoid burning, take it off the heat just a few seconds before you think it’s there. Better to remove it too soon than take it too far and ruin the batch!
More classic cookie recipes:
White Chocolate Eggnog Cookie Bars
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
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PrintBrown Butter Toffee Cookies
Packed with tons of flavor and English toffee bits, these Brown Butter Toffee Cookies are unbelievably rich and chewy.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes + 3 hours chilling time
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 36 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 ounces English toffee bits (I used Heath brand)
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing, optional
Instructions
- Brown the butter: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir or whisk frequently for 5-7 minutes, or until the butter has bubbled/foamed and the foam begins to subside. Once the bubbles slow down, the butter will begin browning. Watch it very carefully (if it burns, you’ll have to start over!) and keep stirring until the browned bits at the bottom turn a light amber color, like this:
- Transfer the butter to a medium heatproof bowl, making sure to get all the browned bits (that’s where the flavor is—I recommend using a rubber spatula to scrape all that goodness off the bottom of the pot). Stick it in the fridge to firm up for around 30 minutes. We want it to cool until it re-solidifies a bit, like softened room-temperature butter.
- Combine the wet ingredients: Add the browned butter to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
- Add the dry ingredients: Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. Mix until the dough is just combined and no dry flour bits remain, then mix in the English toffee bits.
- Chill: Cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
- Scoop and bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into 2-Tablespoon portions, roll into balls, and place on the baking sheet 3 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until edges are set and cookies are light golden on the bottom. If desired, sprinkle with a bit of flaky sea salt right after removing from the oven.
- Cool and eat: Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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