Chewy Double Dark Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Like the 16 million viewers who tune in each week, I’ve become seriously starstruck by Empire, the mega hit tv series about the music industry. More specifically, I’ve developed a giant girl crush on the lead character, known simply as Cookie. While her checkered past isn’t exactly admirable, she is a powerful female character who can stand up to any man while maintaining her feminine sensibility, edgy style, and smoking hot confidence.
In a word: Cookie is a badass.
With a name like Cookie, and in the interest of silliness and shameless fun, I felt compelled to get in the kitchen and bake a cookie for Cookie.
Yes, I’ve created a homemade treat for an entirely fictional character. And since Cookie and I have virtually nothing in common (no, I’m not a reformed drug dealer), it follows that this recipe is a departure from my usual whole grain, flaxmeal-flecked, honey-kissed sweets.
Cookie’s cookies are over-the-top just like she is. Indeed, these Chewy Chocolate Toffee Cookies are bold, rich, full of little surprises, heavily adorned, not too sweet, and just a tiny bit salty. They’re every bit as devilish as she is and, like her, are best enjoyed in small doses.
This recipe is inspired by Jill O’Connor, a master of over-the-top cookie baking. You might want to check out her Hunka Chunka Chocolate Chip Cookies from Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey Treats for Kids (Chronicle Books).
Chewy Double Dark Chocolate Toffee Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter, melted (4 ounces)
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3/4 cup toffee bits (see note)
- 1/2 heaping cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
- Flaky salt
Instructions
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Put the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla into a large bowl. Mix on high with an electric mixer until creamy and blended, about 30 seconds. You can also do this vigorgously by hand.
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Measure the flour, cocoa power, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a sifter (I set the sifter on a piece of parchment to catch anything that escapes). Sift into the bowl with the butter/sugar and mix until smooth and combined.
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Add the toffee bits, dark chocolate chips, and pecans. Mix just enough to incorporate into the dough. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour, up to overnight.
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Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment/Silpat or lightly grease them.
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Spoon the dough onto the baking sheets in rounded 1-tablespoon balls, figuring 12 per sheet. Use your hand or the bottom of a juice glass to gently press down the dough so it looks like a 1/3-inch-thick disk. Crumble a tiny pinch flaky salt to the top of each cookie.
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Bake until the cookies just barely lose their raw looking quality across the top, about 10 minutes. If your dough wasn't refrigerated, figure 9 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Toffee chips are sold in the candy or baking section of supermarkets. Heath is a common brand. If you can't find the toffee bits, you can chop up a couple of Heath bars by hand or use butterscotch chips instead.
Comments
10.06.2015 at9:05 AM #
Jill O'Connor
I’m honored! All the cookie lovers in my house will love this version you created. Glad to see “Hunka Chunka” inspiring indulgence in your kitchen. You can’t beat a good cookie:)
10.06.2015 at9:05 AM #
Katie Morford
I’m honored to be friends with such a fine cookie baker. I think “Cookie” would want to be your bff if she met you.
10.07.2015 at12:04 PM #
Pam H.
These sound GREAT!
I’m curious about the comment about refrigerating for “better” texture. Do you mean they’ll then become chewy (and I do imagine these would be better as a chewy cookie)? I’m asking because I prefer chocolate chip cookies to be crispy (rather than chewy) and find that baking them when the dough is room temperature vs. out of the fridge makes that happen. Do you know what’s causing that?
10.07.2015 at12:04 PM #
Katie Morford
Ahhh. So you’re one of THOSE people….the crispy cookie lover. I think you are best NOT refrigating the dough since it will spread more and be crispier. You might also sub in some white sugar for the brown since that makes a crispier cookie. Lastly, cook it a tiny bit longer too. I’m no Alton Brown, but this is what I’ve found.
10.13.2015 at10:08 AM #
Kate
I didn’t think I could love you more than I already do but the fact that you A: Love Cookie as much as I do and B: Went so far as to dedicate a blog post and create a cookie for her really puts my admiration over the top. Also…I’m making these cookies. Yum!!
10.13.2015 at10:08 AM #
Katie Morford
Thanks Kate. Hope you like the cookies as much as you like Cookie.
10.18.2015 at3:14 PM #
Sonali- The Foodie Physician
I’ve never seen Empire (I know, shame on me!) but I do know that THESE cookies are badass! I love your photos and I’m pretty sure I could eat that whole stack right now!
10.20.2015 at10:58 AM #
Sarah Grace
OH MY YUM. I am a chocolate LOVER so these are..just perfection.
xo
10.20.2015 at10:58 AM #
Katie Morford
Hard to go wrong with chocolate plus toffee plus pecans 🙂
12.01.2015 at3:52 PM #
Jess
I only have coconut flour on hand tonight, do you think I can use that instead of all purpose?
Stuck in the house tonight with baby under the weather and this recipe looks yummy!
12.01.2015 at3:52 PM #
Katie Morford
Hi Jess
I haven’t baked much with coconut flour, but I think it can be tricky to use as a straight up substitute for other flour. I’d hate to have you go to the effort without great results. King Arthur has some useful info on their site about Coconut Flour http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2015/02/13/gluten-free-baking-tips/ They also have pretty reliable recipes, so you might turn to them for inspiration until you can gather all the ingredients for my recipe. In the meantime, I hope your baby is better soon.
05.09.2017 at8:21 PM #
Cookiestartswithbutter
These cookies sound great but the directions say to mix the melted butter with the brown sugar etc, however there is no amount of butter. Is it the standard 2 sticks/ 8 oz?
05.09.2017 at8:21 PM #
Katie Morford
Oh goodness! I converted my recipes to a new format and there have been some glitches. It’s 1 stick of butter. Thanks for catching that!
08.26.2022 at6:46 AM #
Kari Musil
I decided to roll these in powdered sugar because they were so sticky (I probably made a mistake somewhere…). It helped! ; ))
My only suggestion is that this fabulous cookie needs a really cool name.
08.26.2022 at6:46 AM #
Katie Morford
I’m open to suggestions 🙂 Glad you liked the cookies.