Here’s the deal, my friends: A couple months ago I posted “Next Level” Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies, and today, this recipe for Chocolate Toffee Crunch Cookies is feeling like a level above that next-level! We have all the goodness of that original, with some slight modifications, and the addition of easy-breezy handcrafted toffee and chopped pretzels. The crunch, nuttiness, flavor, snap, chew all combined, has my family and friends calling it “the best chocolate chip cookie ever.” You can take it from them, or see what we’re raving about by making them with me. In my notes, I share how to make this recipe dairy free and gluten free.
This is the final post to my three-part recipe series, all about handcrafted toffee. The first was Chocolate-Toffee Bark. The second, and a necessary element to these cookies, is Just Toffee, posted here, below. You’ll need to make this toffee first, so that it has cooled and set, and made into pieces, before you begin preparing your cookie dough.
Just Toffee
Equipment
- cookie sheet, parchment paper or silpat mat, saucepan, spatula, candy thermometer
Ingredients
in a saucepan
- 1/2 cup salted butter, cut into pats (one stick or 8 tablespoons) To make this recipe vegan, simply switch the butter used to vegan butter. I typically use Earth Balance because it has very similar fat content to real butter.
- 2 tablespoons filtered water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar I tend to use dark, but any variety will work well.
set aside
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
optional additions to lay down before the toffee is poured
- coarse salt
- For brittle, try adding your favorites. My suggestions: sesame seeds, dried fruits, or if you can enjoy nuts, sprinkle cashews, slivered almonds or anything you wish.
Instructions
- Prepare a cookie sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper. If you are adding any ingredients to the toffee, sprinkle them onto the mat so that it is ready to go when the toffee is ready to be poured.
- In a saucepan, place pats of butter, water, granulated sugar, brown sugar.
- Place at medium heat and stir to melt.
- When all ingredients are melted, place a candy thermometer into the batch. You are looking for the temperature to reach 300 degrees Fahrenheit or 150 degrees Celsius.
- It will be bubbly and you'll stir every now and then. Once it hits temperature remove from heat.
- Remove the thermometer. Stir in the baking soda and pure vanilla extract.
- Once these ingredients have been mixed well, the texture will change to smooth with lots of air developed inside from the baking soda.
- Pour it all onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Smooth it out. If you prefer thick toffee, do not smooth. I do this so that it's easier to bite and better to handle on it's own and inside other desserts.
- Once you have smoothed out the batch, it should take up most of the cookie sheet. Allow it to cool completely before handling it. Once it has cooled/dried/set, you can break up the candy with your hands.
Now that you have that all set and ready to go, we can begin making our cookie dough!
Chocolate Toffee Crunch Cookies
Equipment
- I'm using a standing mixer for this example run-through. However, you can definitely use a big bowl and wooden spoon to put this all together. As with all cookies, you'll need cookie sheets and an oven.
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter – two sticks Make this dairy free by substituting vegan butter in the same quantity.
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla bean powder (optional)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 2 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour For gluten free cookies, substitute with an all purpose gluten free flour.
- 1 and 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips I'm using Guittard chocolate
- 1 and 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped pretzels I'm using Snyder's Old Tyme style pretzels. They are non-GMO and are not used in a facility that has cross-contamination with peanuts or tree nuts.
- 1/2 cup chopped handmade toffee Please refer to my "Just Toffee" recipe to make this separately, and beforehand.
Instructions
- If you really want to make these cookies happen, you have to first make the handcrafted toffee. Have this set aside and broken into small pieces to make up a half-cup. You'll also need to prepare your pretzels by chopping them up, and measuring one cup.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, coarse salt, vanilla extract and optional vanilla bean powder
- Add eggs, and combine.
- Add all of the flour, and combine.
- Add all of the chocolate, toffee and pretzels. You may want to add one at a time.
- Your cookie dough is set. Work into pucks to bake, for 9-11 minutes – depending on your oven – or chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes first. You can bake all of your cookies at once, or chill the dough in the fridge for up to 4 days. The dough can be in the freezer for up to a month.
- The toffee in the cookies may "run" in the baking process, but this is not a problem. The toffee can easily be worked back into the cookie so that they set nice and round as they cool.
The batter is unbelievable. There’s so much chocolate in every bite, and we like it that way!
I think you are going to love these cookies as much as my friends and family do. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions or comments.
