Don’t think it’s possible to improve on a classic chocolate chip cookie? Well, you’ve got to try these chewy-in-the-middle, crisp around-the-edges chocolate chip cookies studded with buttery, crunchy bits of English toffee scattered throughout. But baker beware: this no-chill recipe will make all other chocolate chip cookies seem bland by comparison.
What makes these cookies different from every other chocolate chip cookie recipe out there are the added toffee bits, which melt and further caramelize in the heat of the oven, leaving crunchy pockets of sweet and salty toasted sugar goodness that only amps up the caramel notes from the brown sugar, butter and vanilla.
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My dad loves English toffee. It’s my fallback gift for him when nothing else seems quite right. And seeing that he’s tough to shop for in the first place, he gets his fair share of toffee. Birthdays… toffee. Father’s Day… toffee. Christmas… oh here dad, I thought you’d like some more toffee! Hey, at least it’s not a tie!
So when he was couch-ridden for two weeks after a knee operation, I decided it’d be nice to sent him a box of treats. At least his boredom would be sweet. Seeing that his love for chocolate chip cookies nearly matches his love for toffee, it seemed perfectly logical to combine the two.
Rather than using the standard pre-packaged toffee bits (which are totally fine to use here by the way!) I picked up a box of English toffee from Trader Joe’s. You know, the good stuff, with almonds and milk chocolate and an irresistible buttery crunch. Chopped up and mixed in to a basic chocolate chip cookie dough, the bits of toffee melted in the oven, leaving caverns of caramelized goodness inside. It was truly a beautiful thing.
I admit, I wasn’t entirely selfless. I kept some for myself. After all, I could only fit so many in the shipping box. :) I have to say, I quite enjoyed them! These may be a serious contender for next year’s holiday cookies.
The cookies come together in a flash, using softened butter creamed with white and brown sugar.
The dough is ready to bake immediately after you mix it—no chilling required! Though you can certainly chill the dough if you want to make it ahead of time, if so I recommend scooping and shaping your dough balls first, then chilling them on a cookie sheet until you’re ready to bake (bake time will be 1-2 minutes longer from chilled dough).
Tip: for picture perfect cookies, press some toffee bits and a few chocolate chips into the tops of the shaped cookie dough balls before baking!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Toffee: I’ve made this recipe with both chopped of chunks of English toffee (the kind with a layer of chocolate and finely chopped nuts surrounded the crisp and buttery toffee). You can also use a bag of toffee baking bits, like Heath or Scor (the main difference is Scor does not have chocolate while Heath does).
If you’re using baking bits the volume measurement is going to be a little bit lower, more like 3/4 cup. If you’re chopping it yourself, look for more like 1 1/4 cup. But feel free to mix in more/less depending on just how toffee-forward you want your cookies to be.
Butter: I use American-style unsalted butter in most of my baking recipes. If you opt for salted butter, reduce the added salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
If you use European style butter—which has a higher fat content—you’ll end up with a slightly richer cookie that may not spread quite as much due to the lower water content.
Alternatively, if you opt to brown your butter, add a tablespoon of milk to the dough to make up for the complete lack of water content so you don’t end up with greasy cookies! (Psst, if you’re looking for a killer brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe—to which you can certainly add toffee pieces—I’ve got you covered. Just don’t make me choose which recipe I like best, I won’t do it.)
Chocolate chips: I’ve been using Trader Joe’s dark chocolate chips lately and really love them; Ghiradelli would be my second choice for good quality dark chocolate chips. You can also use semisweet chocolate chips if you prefer.
Please note: this recipe was originally published in 2011. I have since rephotographed and updated the recipe with gorgeous new photos and more accurate gram measurements, but other than the scoop size (the original used teaspoonfuls for 42 smaller cookies, while the new uses medium cookie scoops for 24 satisfyingly-sized cookies) the recipe as a whole is mostly unchanged.
Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups / 290 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup / 226 g 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup / 100 g granulated sugar
- ½ cup / 105 g packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup / 110 g semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 ¼ cups / 125 g coarsely chopped English toffee, or use 3/4 cup toffee baking bits
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, cream the butter and the sugars until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix well. Add the vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and mix until almost fully incorporated, then stir in the toffee and chocolate chips.
- Spoon rounded tablespoonfuls of dough (I used a medium cookie scoop—about 35-40g per cookie). Roll into smooth balls.
- Arrange dough balls on ungreased, parchment-lined cookie sheets, leaving several inches between cookies to allow for spreading. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are puffed and no longer raw-looking, and edges are lightly browned.
- Cool the cookies on the sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
These are very similar to Mister’s cookies (he refers to them as his, but I’m the one who makes them). We use skor bits. English toffee is such a good idea!
I adore toffee, especially in cookies when they add that crunch and bite!
As a fellow toffee fan, I can only imagine how great these cookies were. What a great idea — I’m sure your dad was thrilled!
Your dad and I enjoyed these cookies so much that I now know what to do with the last box of holiday English toffee that I hid from myself!!! Thanks for the recipe!
what a great add in to regular ccc’s to switch it up a bit. yum
These look really good. I have some homemade butter almond toffee I made so I think I’ll use it and see what they come out like. TFS the idea and recipe.
Donna
I agree – both the cookie and plate look delicious — any chance you’d share the source of that lovely dish?
mmm, these look so delicious! i’m sure the toffee adds a tasty crunch.:) can’t wait to try!
As always, the food looks amazing and makes me jealous to not be a better baker. The plate though! That is gorgeous!
What a great idea to use TJ’s toffee. I sometimes see Heath or Skor bars on sale at Walgreens, so I’ve used those in the past.
PS. I’m so glad I got to eat one of these cookies! YUM! Now perhaps I’ll make them myself! Nathan loves toffee.
Delicious! We adore toffee…and cookies…so you know, toffee IN cookies pretty much puts us over the edge.
Yum! I used the same combination in biscotti that I took to a NYE party. It was a big hit and all gone by the next morning, even though there were only four of us there. :P
I have an insane love for toffee too – the recipe I’ve used doesn’t involve chocolate chips, but maybe it should! :)
These looks scrumptous. I always make my dad something sweet for holidays — i bet he’d enjoy these, too!
Yum I love toffee, too!
those look absurdly delicious. yummmm!!!!!
xxjj
Great recipe- I love toffee! :)
Oh my! These look so good. I actually have toffee bits and was pondering the other day what I would do with them! Thanks!
Great cookie combination.
these look amazing!
I can certainly understand your dad’s love for toffee and I would be happy to receive it – and these cookies – for every holiday (okay, non-holidays work, too).