Every bite of this cookie is full of sweet pools of melted chocolate that perfectly balance out crunchy toffee chunks. The homemade toffee brings caramel undertones to wonderfully soft and satisfying cookies.
This recipe was the result of an unfortunate accident. I’d brought back Alyonka chocolate bars from my trip to Moscow, stacks of them to give out to friends. It happened that my arrival back to San Francisco coincided with a 90+ degree heat wave. The chocolates melted in their wrappers and I was left with a pile of ruined milk chocolate. They were too dusty and powdery to eat, so they only solution was to disguise their ruin in a baked good.
Despite their sweet flavor profiles, we all know that milk chocolate and caramel are a perfect pairing – I mean have you tried a Heath bar?? I knew I wanted these cookies that have the creaminess of milk chocolate with the caramelized crispness of toffee, but something was needed to balance out all that sweetness. Enter flaky sea salt, my forever favorite secret weapon ingredient because it just elevates everything it goes on. Sprinkle some on top of these toffee milk chocolate cookies and BAM you have a sweet and savory combo that is a for sure winner.
The process
These cookies are super simple to pull together and don’t require chilling the dough.
The first step is to make the toffee, using just butter, sugar, and salt. We’ll then make a basic cookie dough by creaming together the butter and sugars, then adding an egg, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, and flour. The dough uses both white and brown sugar for texture and flavor. White sugar makes the cookies spread more, and brown sugar provides moistness and rich molasses flavor.
To finish off the dough, we’ll fold in chopped milk chocolate and the toffee. There’s no need to chill before baking, so you can just pop them straight into the oven.
Helpful tips for perfect cookies
- To be extra precise on the toffee, you can use a candy thermometer. However, if you do not have a candy thermometer you can just eyeball the color. Even if it goes a little over, you’ll just get a smoky flavored toffee.
- If you don’t want to make your own toffee, you can use store-bought toffee nibs instead
- Make sure the butter is room temperature so it can be smoothly creamed with your sugars.
- You can use either dark or light brown sugar for these cookies. To learn about the difference between the two sugars, you can read about them here.
These are fabulous cookies for when the weather gets cooler. Make them for holiday cookie parties or for cozy gatherings with loved ones. I personally have been munching on these with a nice hot cup of black tea!
Other cookie recipes I love (because you can never have too many cookies!)
- Super chunky chocolate chip cookies
- Pecan print shortbread cookies
- Easy vegan and gluten free sugar cookies
If you make this recipe, let me know! I always love to see what you are baking. You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway or #halicopteraway.
Salted toffee chocolate chunk cookies
Equipment
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- Hand or stand mixer
- Food thermometer (optional)
- Baking tray
- Parchment paper or aluminum foil
Ingredients
For the toffee
- 1/4 cup (56g) butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
For the cookie dough
- 1/2 cup (113g) butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 cups (220g) all purpose flour
- 120 g milk chocolate, chopped
- flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
For the toffee
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Combine butter, sugar, and salt in a pan on low-medium heat
- Stir frequently until butter and sugar has melted and bring to gentle boil. Remove from stove once the toffee is at 285°F (140°C). It should be caramel brown color.
- Quickly pour mixture onto parchment paper and allow to harden (about 15 minutes)
- Tap on toffee with spoon to break into small pieces
For the cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy
- Mix in egg and vanilla extract until well-combined
- Stir in salt and baking soda
- Add flour in batches, combining well between each batch.
- Fold in chocolate chunks and toffee bits. I like to save some milk chocolate and toffee to press on top of the cookies before baking.
- Place 2 tbsp scoops of dough on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Press saved milk chocolate and toffee pieces on top.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 10 – 11 minutes or until dough is slightly golden brown
- Sprinkle with additional sea salt and allow the cookies to cool and solidify before serving.
Looks heavenly! 🍪🍪🍪
Thanks Bernice! They were delicious and it was fun to try out new flavors 🙂
💕💕💕
This recipe didn’t work for me. The flour was too much.
Hi Lauren, I’m sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you! Did you scoop the flour straight from the bag? This can cause the flour to be packed down, which will add more flour than expected. I recommend using the spoon & level method or using a food scale. I’d love to help you troubleshoot so we can find a way to make this recipe work for you!