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Espresso Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Espresso brown butter toffee cookies with a deeply golden, nutty brown butter flavor and toffee bits throughout. Baked until the edges are set and the centers look slightly underdone for a chewy finish, then finished with flaky salt.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
cooling brown butter 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 2 minutes
Servings: 28 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 220
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2.25 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp espresso powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
  • 1 lb unsalted butter, browned and cooled to solid
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 0.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
Mix-ins and topping
  • 1 cup toffee bits (Heath bar pieces)
  • 0.5 cup dark chocolate chips
  • Flaky sea salt for topping Use for finishing right after baking.

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Brown the butter and cool
  1. Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden and nutty-smelling, then pour into a bowl and refrigerate until solid but scoopable, about 1 hour (keep it in the fridge to firm up).
Prep the dough
  1. Preheat the oven to 375F and line baking sheets with parchment sheets.
  2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt until evenly combined and speckled.
  3. Beat the solidified brown butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy, then add the eggs one at a time and mix in the vanilla extract.
  4. Fold in the flour mixture until just combined, keeping the dough from overmixing.
  5. Fold in the toffee bits (Heath bar pieces) and dark chocolate chips until distributed throughout.
Bake and finish
  1. Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon rounds and place on the prepared sheets, spacing them apart.
  2. Bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden but the centers look slightly underdone.
  3. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt immediately after baking, then cool on the pan for 5 minutes so the cookies set.

Notes

Pro tip: brown butter continues cooking as it cools—remove it as soon as it turns deep golden and smells nutty, then refrigerate until solid but scoopable. Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerate for up to 1 week; freeze baked cookies up to 2 months (thaw at room temperature). For a lower-sugar option, use a 1:1 baking sugar substitute for part of the brown and granulated sugars, but keep the packed brown sugar measurement since it drives chew.