Brown Butter Toffee Cookies are chewy and packed with tons of flavor. They have a delicious combination of vanilla, easy-to-make brown butter, and chocolate-covered toffee pieces that are sure to be a hit!

These brown butter toffee cookies have a soft and chewy center with a slightly crunchy edge and bits of chocolate toffee throughout. They’re not just any regular toffee cookies but prepared with brown butter for a next-level flavor. Trust me, you won’t want to stop indulging after just one cookie. All you need with these bakery-style cookies is a cold glass of milk.

Why this recipe works

Soft and chewy cookies.
Made with 9 simple ingredients.
Refrigerate overnight for maximum flavor.
Has a decadent combination of chocolate and toffee.

Before you begin

Take out the following baking equipment.

Digital kitchen scale
Small saucepan
Wood spoon
Large mixing bowl
Medium mixing bowl
Sifter
Whisk
Silicone spatula
Plastic wrap
2 baking sheet pans
Parchment paper
Large ice cream scoop
Wire cooling rack

Allow your eggs to come to room temperature.
Read the recipe through from start to finish.

Understanding ingredients

The key ingredient for these cookies is brown butter, which adds a rich, nutty flavor. It’s essentially clarified butter, which is made by heating the butter to evaporate the water and separate the milk solids. The only difference is that brown butter is cooked until the milk solids caramelize, providing a bolder flavor.

Using a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar gives cookies a nice spread and a subtle caramel flavor. Brown sugar contains molasses, which adds moisture to cookies and creates a softer and chewier cookie. Instead of using a 50/50 ratio, I increased the amount of brown sugar so that these cookies would be chewier. Using the granulated sugar helps with the spread of the cookies.

Toffee is made by caramelizing sugar and butter. It’s similar to caramel but cooked to a higher temperature to create its classic brittle texture. For these brown butter cookies, use your favorite toffee. I prefer using chocolate-covered toffee bits for an extra decadent flavor.

How to make brown butter for toffee cookies

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Cook, while occasionally stirring, until the butter begins to have brown specks throughout. You will begin to smell the nuttiness of the butter. Remove the saucepan from the heat and transfer the butter to a large mixing bowl. Set aside to cool, but not thicken. It’s important not to burn the butter. Not only will it taste burnt, but it will also evaporate too much liquid and affect the consistency of your cookie dough.

Can I substitute brown butter in any cookie recipe?

Brown butter adds a wonderful flavor to cookie recipes. It can transform a good cookie into a great cookie, which may make you wonder if you can use brown butter in any cookie recipe. The short answer is no, you cannot. It’ll work for some recipes, while for others, you have to test and adjust to accommodate the substitution.

Why can’t I always substitute brown butter? If a recipe originally calls for softened butter, using brown butter is not a simple substitution. The temperature of butter affects the overall texture of cookies. Adjusting baking recipes is very different than adjusting cooking recipes. Baking is a science and requires a bit more testing to achieve the ideal outcome.

As you boil butter during its browning process, a good amount of moisture is lost. Translate this into your cookie dough, and this loss of moisture will affect the final taste and texture of your cookies. If you’d like to use brown butter, you will have to make up for that loss. You could add extra butter or egg, but this also adds extra fat, which again can affect the texture. Instead, you could experiment with adding a small amount of milk.

Refrigerating cookie dough

It’s important to refrigerate this cookie dough for at least two hours or preferably overnight before baking. Because this recipe calls for brown butter, which is melted, chilling this dough will help prevent these cookies from overspreading. More importantly, refrigerating the dough will maximize the flavor of these cookies. The longer you chill this dough, the more time it will have to develop its flavors fully.

How to enjoy brown butter toffee cookies

These cookies are perfectly delicious on their own, served with a cold glass of milk. However, here are some other ways to enjoy these cookies.

Sandwich together with homemade vanilla ice cream for a delicious treat.
Make toffee s’mores cookie sandwiches. Spread melted chocolate over the bottom side of one cookie and top with a toasted marshmallow and second cookie for a decadent sandwich.
Drizzle with homemade caramel sauce for a tasty complement to the toffee.

How to bake perfect cookies

Make sure to use the right size eggs. It’s an important detail to follow because using a different sized egg could affect your cookies’ texture. Unless specified, use large eggs for baking as these are the standard size for recipes.

Use good quality pure vanilla extract. Vanilla not only adds flavor to your cookies, but it also enhances the flavors of the other ingredients. Never skimp on vanilla or use an artificial version, it will result in subpar cookies.

Bring your eggs to room temperature. Using room temperature ingredients will allow you to mix your dough more efficiently and consistently to create soft and chewy cookies. Allow your eggs to sit at room temperature for about 1 hour before using.

Remove cookies from the oven when the edges are golden brown, and the centers look slightly underbaked. Once you remove the cookies from the oven, they will continue to bake on the hot sheet pan. Allow them to sit for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Allow your sheet pans to cool completely before baking another batch of cookies. If you add cookie dough to a warm or hot sheet pan, it can cause the bottoms of your cookies to overbake.

Tips and takeaways

Always use unsalted butter for your baking. It will allow you to control the amount of salt that goes into a recipe.
For consistent cookies, use an ice cream or cookie dough scoop to portion the cookie dough. Scoop and drop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet pan. Using a scoop will also help bake perfectly round cookies.

If you love brown butter, try these other recipes…

Make sure to tag me @thesweetoccasion on Instagram and leave me a review below if you make these Brown Butter Toffee Cookies. I’d love to see your creations and read your feedback. And if you would like to make this recipe later, be sure to pin this recipe using the button on any of these images. Let’s make every occasion a sweet occasion!