Salty Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee
Do we really need another chocolate chip cookie in our lives? If it’s these Salty Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee, the answer is a resounding YES! You are going to fall head over heels for every chewy, crunchy, salty, sweet, chocolate-y, toffee-filled bite!!
There are so many elements to these cookies that we have to talk about, but let’s start with the brown butter part because it’s probably the biggest factor here that sets these apart from ordinary chocolate chip cookies, at least in terms of the actual cookie part.
So what is brown butter? Basically it’s just melted butter that you sort of overcook until the milk solids separate and toast. Adding brown butter to sweet and savory foods, gives them a sort of nutty, caramelly flavor that can’t be beat or recreated any other way.
And it’s easy to make. At first, as you melt the butter, you’ll see it sputter and foam.
Then, as the foam starts to subside, you’ll see that the melted butter has changed from bright yellow to a dark yellowish, lightish brown color with little flecks of brown solids on the bottom of the saucepan. It takes just a few minutes. The only rule is not to walk away because it can go from perfectly browned to burnt in just a second or two and you’ll have to start all over again😂😂
Now let’s talk about our additions. First up— the chocolate. We’re using bittersweet. And there’s lots of it.
Next, we’re adding chunks of buttery, crunchy, sweet toffee which adds just the right contrast!
And rounding everything out, is the flaky sea salt. Now normally, I’m not the hugest fan of salt on sweet things—it’s gotten a tad too trendy and overused, but it totally works with these cookies. I made some without the salt on top too and I can honestly say I like the salty ones better!
And finally, as if you need any more convincing, it’s the texture of these cookies that are just insanely irresistible. If you slightly underbake them, the centers stay soft and chewy, while the edges are just the slightest bit crispy which means that with every bite, you not only get gooey chocolate, crunchy toffee, plus the surprise of a little flake of salt, but also the absolute perfect ying/yang of crispiness and chewiness.
Yep, sometimes life is perfect!
Salty Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee
Makes about 2 dozen
Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes for dough to rest; Bake Time: 9-11 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 Heath or Skor bars, roughly chopped (if you’re using minis, it’s about 16)
1 ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt, like Maldon
The Recipe
1. Place butter in a medium heavyweight saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir often. Do not walk away. You will start to see the butter change color from bright yellow to light brown and it will get foamy. When the foam starts to lessen, you’ll see the butter solids start to separate, toast and fall to the bottom. This should take around 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl of the electric mixer and let cool a bit.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Add both sugars to the browned butter and beat on medium speed for 1 minutes. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula and add the eggs and vanilla. Beat for about 30 seconds, until the mixture begins to get lighter and thickens. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed just to mix. Remove from mixer and fold in toffee pieces and chips. Let the dough sit for at least 30 minutes to rest. The dough will thicken as it sits.
4. Center rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Form ping-pong size balls of dough (or use a 1 ½ oz ice cream scooper) and place 12 balls of dough on the sheet, giving them at least 2 inches of room between each other. Sprinkle with the sea salt. (If you don’t want to bake the whole batch at once, I would form all of the dough into balls and let chill until firm enough to place into an airtight freezer bag. Don’t salt till you’re ready to bake. You could also leave them uncooked in the fridge for 2-3 days in an airtight container—either way, you might want to tack on a minute or two more of baking time.)
5. Bake cookies one sheet at a time for 9-11 minutes, until edges are brown and firm but centers are still soft. They will seem underdone but resist the temptation to overbake or you’ll wind up with crisp cookies that have no chew to them. Let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes—cookies firm up as they cool.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine. I added more toffee bars (of course)!
