Coffee toffee cookies are a sweet and nutty cookies made with browned butter, espresso powder, toffee bits and a good sprinkling of salt. They're such a good mix of flavors.
COFFEE TOFFEE COOKIES
It all started with an ice cream flavor that I've become obsessed with called coffee toffee. Then one day when I was browning some butter I wondered what would happen if I just added some espresso powder to that perfectly golden butter. Well, these cookies happened. And it might be the best thing that's happened to me lately. We can't get enough!
The nutty flavors coming through from both the browned butter and the toffee chips, along with the coffee flavor from the espresso powder is such a winning combo. Then top it with some flaky sea salt and it's perfection!
WHY YOU'LL LOVE THESE COOKIES
COFFEE & TOFFEE- The slightly bitter taste from the espresso powder pairs so well with the sweetness from the toffee.
CRISPY EDGE & CHEWY CENTER- My favorite cookies tend to have crispy edges without being a complete crispy cookie. The chew in the middle is a must. These cookies are the perfect combo of both!
SMALL BATCH- I decided because this isn't a flavor that lends itself to everyone, ie kids, that 8 cookies seems like a good amount to have on hand. Of course if you're like me you'll be doubling it so you have extra cookie dough for when the craving hits!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
- Butter
- Espresso Powder
- Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Flour
- Heath Toffee Bits
- Flaked Salt
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Browning butter may sound like a daunting task to someone who’s never done it before, but it’s not hard at all. And I promise once you try it and smell it you’ll never want it another way again.
Put ½ cup of butter (1 stick) in a medium saucepan over medium heat. You are going to want to stir it while it cooks, go past boiling, and past foaming, til it turns a nice golden brown with a nutty smell. Make sure you are keeping an eye on it because it goes from the perfect brown to burnt fairly quickly.
Once you have finished browning the butter, pour all of it, even the brown bits on the bottom, into a glass bowl. Pour 1 tablespoon espresso powder in and allow to dissolve in hot butter. Place in the fridge to allow to solidify again. This will take about an hour or two.
Place butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the egg, mix until smooth on low speed, about 30 seconds each egg. Beat in the vanilla.
And baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour mixture to bowl and mix on low, being careful not to overmix. I usually like to stop mixing when I still have flour remnants around the bowl. Fold in toffee chips.
Scoop the dough into large balls. I like to use a ¼ cup cookie scoop. At this point I usually like to chill my dough for 24 hours if time permits, but at least a few hours.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place 8 cookie balls on your baking sheet, and sprinkle with some flaked sea salt. Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes. You're looking for a nice golden brown outside rim.
HELPFUL TIPS
These cookies will keep fresh for 2-3 days on the counter stored in a ziplock bag or air tight container. I always freeze mine the night that I baked them and then pull them out as needed from the freezer. This way they taste just as fresh as when you baked them.
I used the Heath Toffee Chips that had toffee and chocolate in the bag. If you can't find that you could easily use the plain toffee bits and add chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate. Or you could chop up any kind of toffee you have on hand.
I like to salt my cookies both before and after baking. When you do it before some of the salt will fall off onto the baking sheet. This allows for bits of salt to end up baking underneath the cookie as well. Then I salt again after baking to make sure they have little bits of salt all along the top.
IF YOU LOVE BROWN BUTTER MAKE SURE YOU TRY:
Brown Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, my most favorite.
The always classic Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Butter Salted Toffee Blondies, which come together so quick and easy!
Or, the perfect summertime Brown Butter Peach Crisp
For more yummy treats follow me on instagram @thesaltedsweets. And be sure to tag me and comment below if you make them and love them as much as I do.
Coffee Toffee Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter browned and solidified
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temp
- ½ tablespoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup heath toffee bits with chocolate
- flaked sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Start by browning the butter. You'll take ½ cup of butter (one stick) and melt in a medium saucepan, and then continue to cook past the point of boiling. You will do this over medium heat, past the point of the butter foaming, until it turns a nice golden brown, and has a nutty smell. Make sure you are stirring and watching it, because it will turn from perfectly brown to burnt fairly quickly. Once finished browning, pour into a glass bowl, and add espresso powder. Mix until no clumps of powder are left. Place the bowl in the fridge to solidify again. You will want it to become a soft solid again to start the cookie dough. This should take a few hours.
- Place butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the egg, mix until smooth on low speed, about 30 seconds each egg. Beat in the vanilla.
- And baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour mixture to bowl and mix on low, being careful not to overmix. I usually like to stop mixing when I still have flour remnants around the bowl. Fold in toffee chips.
- Scoop the dough into large balls. I like to use a ¼ cup cookie scoop. At this point I usually like to chill my dough for a 24 hours if time permits, but at least a few hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place 8 cookie balls on your baking sheet, and sprinkle with some flaked sea salt. I sprinkled a few more toffee bits on top too. Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes. You're looking for a nice golden brown outside rim.
- Allow cookies to cool on the pan before moving to a cooling rack to hold their shape.
Christine Ford
Another amazing cookie recipe! Husband & kids approved. Crispy edges & chewy centers, yum! Browning the butter & re-chilling is an extra step but so with it with the something extra from the espresso powder. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
brooke
Thank you so much Christine!!
Andrea
These were AMAZING!!! My husband and kids gobbled them up!! I even served them with vanilla ice cream in between to make it a cookie sandwich. So good! Every recipe I’ve made of yours is fantastic! Thank you!
brooke
Thank you so much Andrea!!
Deneva
I LOVE your recipe!! They are so delicious, it’s my go-to cookie now! However, every time I make them, I cannot get my espresso powder to dissolve, it clumps up. It doesn’t seem to affect the taste of the cookie, but do you know why this happens? Am I doing something incorrectly?
Thank you!!
brooke
Thank you! My guess would be that it's seizing up because the butter is so hot. Try letting it cool for a few minutes and then stirring it in. Let me know if that fixes it.
Deneva
Thank worked! Thank you so much!!
Bonnie
These were the HIT of our Christmas cookies, so much so that I'm making them again for Christmas in July this week!
brooke
I love that!! And that idea of Christmas in July! That sounds so fun!
Cindy
These cookies are amazing. The combination of the brown butter with the espresso adds such depths of flavor. Love the small batch recipes - perfect for my husband and I. Even though we could eat a dozen each! Just delicious. Thank you
Laura
A new go-to for me! I've made them big, as indicated, and using a smaller scoop, and both work out perfectly! The layers of flavor are so good.
Rachel
Incredible cookies! The coffee is subtle but there, not just enhancing the dark chocolate chips I added! I made em two weeks ago and I already am craving more! But first, I'm gonna try the pumpkin cookies!
brooke
Yay!! Love hearing this. Thanks for trying them and coming back to share!
Barbie
I would like to triple or quadruple this recipe for a large gathering. Would you make any adjustments to the multiplied ingredients? Example: if increasing to 4x would 4T. of espresso powder be to much?
brooke
I would probably do 2 double batches and follow the recipe as stated. When you start to do too large of quantities it can affect the cookies with how well things get mixed and sometimes small adjustments need to be made.
Jenn
Holy crap! The flavor of these cookies is phenomenal. I used the toffee chips from Trader Joe’s and chopped them up. My only issue was the dough was very wet and sticky even after I added two more tablespoons of flour. They spread so much. Not pretty, but yummy none the less! Next round, I’m going to go with 1 and 1/4 cups of flour. Hopefully that will be enough to make them keep their shape.
Jenn
I mean 1 and 1/2 cups of flour 😂
Traci
Just made these and they are so so good. They taste like my favorite piece of Sees candy.
brooke
That is the biggest compliment ever!! Thank you so much!
Kim
Do yourself a favor and make these! They are so good. You probably will want to at least double the recipe so you can have some dough balls in the freezer because if you’re anything like, there won’t be any left over to freeze!