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Espresso Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Espresso brown butter toffee cookies with nutty browned butter and espresso powder for a deep, coffee-forward flavor. The dough bakes to golden edges with slightly underdone centers, studded with toffee bits and dark chocolate.
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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: 270
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
Brown butter and sugar
  • 1 lb unsalted butter, browned and cooled to solid
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 0.5 cup granulated sugar
Wet ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
Mix-ins and topping
  • 1 cup toffee bits (Heath bar pieces)
  • 0.5 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 0.25 tsp flaky sea salt for topping

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Brown the butter and chill
  1. Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden and nutty-smelling. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until solid but scoopable, about 30 minutes.
Mix and bake
  1. Preheat the oven to 375F and line baking sheets with parchment. Keep the pans ready for the cookie rounds.
  2. Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt together. Whisk until the color is evenly distributed.
  3. Beat the solidified brown butter with both sugars until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla extract.
  4. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Stop mixing as soon as no dry streaks remain.
  5. Fold in the toffee bits and dark chocolate chips. Distribute them evenly throughout the dough.
  6. Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon rounds and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Leave space between rounds for spreading.
  7. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers look slightly underdone. Look for a set edge while the middle still appears soft.
  8. Sprinkle the cookies immediately with flaky sea salt. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving.

Notes

Pro tip: when the browned butter cools to solid but scoopable, the dough will spread less and hold those toffee bits in place. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months. For a dairy-free swap, use a high-fat plant-based butter (sticks work best) and brown it the same way.