Looking for all the decadence of a brownie but in cookie form? Then this recipe is for you! These rich, chocolatey cookies are the epitome of a fudge brownie, filled with homemade toffee and topped with flaky sea salt. This is the perfect combination of salty and sweet and is definitely a recipe you’re going to make over and over again!
Recipe tips
- Underbaking the cookies: This is essential to getting the texture right. I bake my cookies for 10 minutes on the dot and then remove from the oven and let cool completely on the cookie sheet. Letting them cool on the hot pan will keep cooking them but at a lower temperature, not drying out the cookie entirely. If you prefer a crispier cookie, feel free to bake for 12 minutes. They’re still delicious, but I’m a sucker for a fudge chocolate cookie 🙂
- Corn starch: Corn starch gives the cookies that chewy texture (along with baking for the correct time) and makes them soft on the inside. If you aren’t able to use corn starch I have had people substitute arrow root. I’ve never tried it but I heard it works well!
- Chilling the dough: Chilling the dough will help with two things: cookie spreading and flavor. These cookies will spread when they bake but by chilling the dough for 30 minutes prior to baking, it will keep them from spreading too much! Also as the dough chills the flavor will enhance. It’s truly a win win 🙂 ** If you chill for longer than 30 minutes you may need to add 1-2 extra minutes onto the bake time
- Cookie dough scoop: I always get a ton of questions about what scoop I use, so I wanted to link the ones I used for this recipe! I like this set because it comes in 3 different sizes. For these cookies I used the medium size. Using a cookie dough scoop gives you perfect cookie dough balls that are even and therefore will bake evenly!
- Baking sheet: For all of my cookie recipes you I suggest you use a cookie sheet. You can use a jelly roll however I find the edges of the cookies tend to brown a little faster and they bake differently.
- Flaky sea salt: I was able to find this at my local grocery store in the baking aisle. This is a finishing salt and meant to be sprinkled on top of something. You don’t want to use small granular salt or table salt.
Homemade toffee:
Let me start this off by saying you can definitely use store bought toffee. No shame! You’re already making homemade cookies, why not make it easier on yourself but using store bought toffee chips. I’ve done it 🙂 However, I highly recommend you use this homemade toffee because it takes these cookies to another level. It may seem intimidating but all you’re doing is gently boiling butter, brown sugar and salt on the stove for 10 minutes, then pouring the mixture onto parchment paper and letting it cool. It’s that simple! You want to cook the mixture until the sugar dissolves, which in turn will allow the mixture to harden when poured out. You can also use a candy thermometer and bring the mixture to 300 degrees!
How to make perfectly round cookies every time
Since these cookies will spread as they bake in the oven I highly suggest you use this tip! As soon as the cookies come out of the oven and while they are still hot use a large round cookie cutter, or something else round and larger than the cookies (I’ve used a glass or bowl before). Place it overtop of the cookie and move it around in a circular motion for 3-5 seconds, gently bouncing the cookie around inside. This will round the edges of the cookie out giving that perfectly circular shape. This will make your cookies pretty and uniform! You can also use a butter knife or other utensil to god around the edge of the cookie and press it in to shape the cookie.
Salted Toffee Brownie Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- ½ cup salted butter
- 3 eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup toffee chips homemade or storebought
- flaky sea salt for garnish
For the toffee:
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup salted butter
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
For the toffee:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In small pot whisk together the butter, sugar and salt over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and looks like melted peanut butter, about 10 minutes, or until it reaches 300° on a candy thermometer. The mixture will melt, bubble and become lighter in color, and then turn amber.
- Once the mixture is ready pour onto the prepared pan. Let it cool and harden for about 20 minutes. Once completely cooled and hardened, use a heavy object (mallet, rolling pin, etc.) to crack it into small pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
For the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. In a microwave safe bowl add chopped chocolate and melted butter. Heat for 30 seconds at a time, mixing in between each, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer beat together the eggs granulated and brown sugar, and vanilla, until the mixture is light and combined, about 3 minutes. Pour in the melted chocolate and stir to combine.
- Add in corn starch, baking powder, flour, salt and cocoa powder and mix until just combined. Use a spatula to fold in the chocolate chips and toffee bits. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Use a cookie scoop to make 24 even dough balls. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place cookie dough about 2 inches apart. These cookies will spread a bit so make sure there is enough room in between! Bake for 10minutes or until the edges are just set.
- Remove from the oven and immediately use a round cookie cutter or utensil to reshape the cookies (see the blog post above for a detailed description on how to do this). Allow to cool completely on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cookie rack!
Meggie
So easy to make and delicious! A big hit! Thank you for the recipe!
Shannon
Do I sprinkle the finishing salt before I bake or after they’re out of the oven?
Emily
After they have baked 🙂