Food and Recipes Recipes Toffee Cookies 5.0 (1) 1 Review These salty, sweet, chewy cookies are sure to bring in compliments. By Marianne Williams Marianne Williams Marianne Williams is a recipe tester and developer who has been working in the Dotdash Meredith test kitchens since 2016. Her recipes are featured in Food & Wine, Southern Living, Real Simple, Rachael Ray, Health, Cooking Light, and in various other publications and digital platforms. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on November 16, 2021 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Photographer: Isaac Nunn, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn Active Time: 25 mins Freeze Time: 4 hrs Total Time: 4 hrs 45 mins Yield: 18 cookies Jump to recipe While it's impossible to choose just one sort of cookie to rule them all, there is something extra indulgent about a chewy, slightly doughy cookie, and this recipe delivers on it. The perfect combination of salty and sweet, these toffee cookies have the classic chewy cookie texture, but stay soft and almost slightly underdone on the inside. You get nutty, caramel notes from the crunchy toffee bits, and the addition of chopped chocolate creates pockets of melted chocolate and flakes throughout. While our recipe was tested when cooked at various levels of freezing and chilling, there was one unanimous winner: Freezing the dough balls ahead for four hours produced the most delicious cookie. "Like biting into a pillow," one tester said. However, refrigerating anywhere from two hours to overnight were runner-ups for less spreading and more gooeyness. If you're in a time crunch, baking straight from the mixer is possible, but expect cookies that spread out more and don't have quite as much chewiness. This is the best toffee cookie recipe to have under your sleeve. Ingredients 2 ⅓ cups (about 10 oz.) all-purpose flour 1 (3.5-oz.) pkg. butterscotch pudding mix (such as Jell-O Butterscotch Cook & Serve) 1 teaspoon baking powder ¾ teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 cup (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar ⅓ cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 ounces chopped 70% dark chocolate (from 1 [3.5-oz.] bar) 1 ¼ cups toffee bits (such as Heath), divided 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt (such as Maldon) Directions Whisk together flour, pudding mix, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until well combined and mixture starts to become fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat on low speed just until incorporated. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, and beat on low speed just until combined. Fold in dark chocolate and 1 cup of the toffee bits. Using a (1 1/2-oz.) ice-cream scoop, scoop slightly rounded mounds of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a large plate, and freeze until very firm, at least 4 hours. (At this point, you can transfer frozen dough into a resealable storage container or freezer bag and keep frozen for up to 3 months.) When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F. Remove 6 cookies from freezer, and transfer to another baked sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing cookies 3 inches apart. Top evenly with 1/3 of the remaining 1/4 cup toffee bits, pressing to adhere. Bake in preheated oven until cookies are golden brown and have spread but still appear soft on top and gooey in center, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven, and sprinkle cookies with flaky salt. Repeat baking process with remaining frozen cookies. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on baking sheet. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature. Rate it Print