About This Recipe
Before I tell you about the recipe for Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies, a little story.
You may not know it, but there has been quite a debate in the foodie world about how to make the best chocolate chip cookies. Should you use more flour? Less? Should the butter be used in solid form, or should it be melted? Is browned butter better? If you brown the butter, should it be chilled again, or used in its liquid form? How many eggs does a cookie recipe need? Should the egg whites be left out?
My contribution to the controversy borrowed from the famous Mrs. Field’s Cookies recipe story. You remember – that recipe made the rounds a few years ago because of an urban legend. The story is that a woman requested the recipe for these fabulous chocolate chip cookies from Neiman Marcus. The company sent it to her, and allegedly billed her $250. So she vowed to spread the recipe far and wide as revenge.
That story is not true of course, but the legend lives on. That recipe used ground oatmeal in the cookies and added a grated Hershey bar. Those ingredients are known as “finely divided solids” in the food world. They act as emulsifiers, making the recipe smoother.
But after a conversation with my husband, I thought I could go one better. How about adding ground toffee bits to the recipe? You can use either plain toffee bits or the chocolate covered toffee bits. And to increase the caramel flavor, I browned the butter and used it while it was still liquid and melted. Another egg yolk stops the ground toffee from making the cookies hard.
Wow! These Browned Butter Chocolate Chips Cookies are wonderful. It was hard to restrain ourselves from eating the whole batch. Try them and see for yourself.
Tips for the best Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Measure the flour correctly. Spoon the flour lightly into a measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Adding too much flour ruins baked goods.
- Chill the dough before you bake the cookies. This step helps relax and gluten and softens soft doughs made with less flour.
Why this recipe works:
- The combination of browned butter, which adds more complex flavors, along with the ground oatmeal, makes for a superior texture and flavor.
- These ingredients, along with the egg yolks, make a very tender cookie.
- The melted and browned butter automatically makes chewier cookies because there is less air in the dough.
Steps
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1
Done
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Place the butter in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter. |
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2
Done
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Turn the heat to medium-low and let the butter brown. It will make lots of noise at first as the water boils off. Just swirl the pan from time to time to check on the color. When the butter gets close to being ready, it will start smelling nutty. Keep a close eye on it, because it can burn easily. When the butter is a nice brown, take it off the heat and pour the butter (carefully) into a mixer bowl. |
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3
Done
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While the butter is browning, combine the toffee bits and oatmeal in a food processor. Process until finely ground and set aside. |
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4
Done
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Add the sugars to the butter in the mixer bowl and mix for a minute. Let stand for 10 minutes. This helps the sugar dissolve so the cookies are creamier. |
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5
Done
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Beat the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture. |
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6
Done
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Beat the oatmeal/toffee mixture into the batter. |
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7
Done
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Add the flour and baking soda and mix well. |
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8
Done
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Then add both kinds of chocolate chips. |
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9
Done
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Cover the dough and chill for at least 3 hours. The dough is soft, and it needs this step for the cookies to have the proper shape. |
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10
Done
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When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F. Form the dough into balls, using 2 tablespoons per ball. Place them 3" apart on a cookie sheet. |
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11
Done
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Bake the cookies for 13 to 18 minutes or until they are light golden brown. Don't overbake them or they will be hard. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool. |
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12
Done
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Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. |
