These toffee cookies are ultra buttery, soft, chewy, and packed with homemade toffee in every bite! They are easy to make with simple ingredients and no chilling the dough needed!
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TOFFEE VS. CARAMEL
Both toffee and caramel are made with melted sugar, but there are a few key differences that set them apart!
- Taste/texture: Toffee is a brittle, hard candy, whereas caramel is soft and chewy! Caramel is usually less sweet than toffee since the sugar is caramelized farther when cooked alone. Unless you're making a salted caramel, toffee is saltier since originally it was always made with salted butter.
- Ingredients: Caramel is made with sugar, cream, and little to no butter. Toffee is made with sugar and a large amount of butter.
- Cooking method: For caramel, sugar is cooked by itself to a very high temperature until it turns golden brown, then the cooking is stopped by adding cream or butter just before the sugar is about to burn. For toffee, sugar and butter are cooked together until the sugar is melted and golden brown.
HOMEMADE TOFFEE
You can use store-bought toffee if you'd prefer, but homemade toffee tastes amazing in these cookies! It's also really easy to make with just 4 ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen!
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Corn syrup: Corn syrup is an inverted sugar that prevents the sugar molecules from sticking together and crystallizing. If you don't have corn syrup, honey will also work!
- Salt
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE TOFFEE
1. Melt the unsalted butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, as the sugar melts and begins to darken in color.
2. Continue to cook and stir over low heat until the toffee is a golden amber color, then pour it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Let the toffee cool for about 10 minutes until it's hard. Then crush it up into small, even pieces.
INGREDIENTS FOR TOFFEE COOKIES
- All-purpose flour: For the best results, I recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh the flour. If you don't have one, measure the flour by lightly spooning it into your measuring cup and then leveling off the top with the flat side of a knife.
- Baking soda + baking powder: Leaveners that make the cookies soft and puffy instead of flat and crispy.
- Salt: ½ teaspoon. If all you have is salted butter reduce the added salt to ¼ teaspoon.
- Unsalted butter: Softened to room temperature.
- Brown sugar + granulated sugar: Using both sugars gives these cookies the best taste and texture!
- Egg + extra egg yolk: One large egg binds the cookies, and the additional egg yolk makes them extra soft and chewy!
- Homemade or store-bought toffee: ½ cup, crushed.
- Chocolate chips (optional): I don't always make these with chocolate, but a couple of tablespoons adds nice flavor and texture to the cookies without overpowering the toffee.
HOW TO MAKE TOFFEE COOKIES
1. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the softened butter until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and extra yolk and mix for 2 minutes until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the cookie dough comes together.
4. Mix in the crushed toffee and chocolate chips, if using.
5. Scoop the dough into 2-4 tablespoon-size balls, depending on how big you want the cookies to be. Arrange the cookie dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart.
Note: You don't have to chill the dough before baking, but if time allows, refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes may help keep the cookies from spreading.
6. Bake the cookies in a 350°F oven, one baking sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes, or until they are just starting to brown around the edges.
HOW TO STORE TOFFEE COOKIES
Store the cookies in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for 4-5 days. If you refrigerate them, make sure they are in a completely sealed container since the cold air will turn them hard faster.
HOW TO FREEZE COOKIES
To freeze baked cookies: Once cooled, arrange the cookies on a baking sheet in a single layer and set the sheet flat in the freezer until they are mostly solid. Transfer them to a large plastic bag or an airtight container with sheets of parchment paper between the layers. Keep frozen for up to 2 months. To recapture that fresh-baked cookie taste and texture, reheat the frozen cookies in a 275°F oven for 10-15 minutes.
To freeze cookie dough: Scoop the dough into balls and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Set the sheet flat in the freezer until the dough is solid, then transfer the frozen cookie dough to a large plastic bag or an airtight container and keep frozen for up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, arrange the frozen cookie dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake straight from frozen (don't thaw) in a 350°F oven, a few minutes longer than the normal bake time.
MORE COOKIE RECIPES
📖 RECIPE
Toffee Cookies
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
Homemade Toffee:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
Toffee Cookies:
- 1 and ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ cup crushed homemade toffee, or store-bought
- 2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
Make the Homemade Toffee:
- Melt the unsalted butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, as the sugar melts and begins to darken in color.
- Once the sugar is completely melted and the toffee is a golden amber color, pour the toffee onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a spatula to spread it out into a thin, even layer.
- Let the toffee cool for about 10 minutes until hard, then break it up into small, even pieces.
Make the Toffee Cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and extra egg yolk and mix for 2 minutes until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the cookie dough comes together.
- Mix in the crushed toffee and chocolate chips, if using.
- Scoop the dough into balls about 2-4 tablespoons in size. Arrange the cookie dough 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies, one baking sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes each.
Anonymous
10 out of 10