caramel

Giant Brown Butter Toffee Cookie

August 25, 2020 by Natalie 2 Comments

Just because giant cookies are fun and different…. a Giant Brown Butter Toffee Cookie. Made with a rich, brown butter cookie dough infused with toffee bits, each bite is rich and chewy. Once baked, it’s topped with homemade chocolate caramel, toasted almonds, more toffee bits and chunks of dark chocolate! Wow!

This Giant Brown Butter Toffee Cookie is everything a cookie should be: rich, delicious and fun! Brown butter, brown sugar, vanilla and toffee bits make for a chewy, flavorful cookie that you just want to sink your teeth into! Salted chocolate caramel sauce, more toffee, chopped chocolate and toasted almonds add even more sweetness and crunch on top!

ABOUT THIS GIANT COOKIE

Giant cookies= fun! Fun to make, fun to look at, and fun to eat! The difference between individual cookies and giant cookies is how they are baked. The dough for this easy, delicious cookie bakes up in a pan rather than a cookie sheet and gets sliced up like a cake.

WHAT’S IN THIS COOKIE?

What I love most about this giant toffee cookie is that it’s almost like two desserts in one: the delicious brown butter toffee cookie AND the rich chocolate caramel sauce.

BROWN BUTTER: Brown butter is just butter that is basically just butter that is toasted. It adds a slightly nutty, caramelized, delicious flavor to desserts!
TOFFEE BITS: I love the delicious burnt caramel flavor of toffee bits, but feel like they’re not used in baking enough! This giant cookie features over a cup of toffee bits. For another cookie recipe with both brown butter and toffee bits, make my Brown Butter Chopped Chocolate Toffee Cookies and/or, for a shortbread recipe, definitely try these Chocolate Almond Toffee Slice and Bake Cookies!
BROWN SUGAR: The brown sugar gives this cookie a soft, chewy texture and adds lots of flavor.
VANILLA: Two teaspoons!
SALTED CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SAUCE: What’s not to LOVE about thick, homemade salted caramel sauce with lots of dark chocolate melted in it? If you love caramel sauce AND chocolate (which I’m sure you do), you’re going to love this. Like me, you’ll probably want to put it on everything. My Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Pretzel Bars are another delicious recipe to make with chocolate caramel!

MADE BETTER WITH TOPPINGS!

I know, the cookie and chocolate caramel are already more than enough deliciousness, but why not add more toppings!? These toppings hint at the flavor already inside and on top of the cookie and add even more flavor and texture! Check out these delicious toppings:

TOFFEE BITS: For two reasons, to hint at the toffee bits in the cookie dough AND because they’re sweet and slightly crunchy to bite into!
CHOPPED CHOCOLATE: In combination with the chocolate caramel sauce, chopped chocolate definitely increases the chocolate factor! I used dark chocolate since the toffee and brown sugar add enough sweetness.
TOASTED ALMONDS: Snickers is my favorite candy bar, so no surprise that I love almonds and chocolate together. The almonds add a nice crunch and just make the tops of this giant cookie look more interesting. They taste like the nuts you’d get on top of a hot fudge sundae as a kid!

HOW TO MAKE A GIANT BROWN BUTTER TOFFEE COOKIE

Start by making the brown butter. Brown butter is butter that gets browned on the stove top before it’s used in a recipe. It adds a rich, slightly nutty flavor to recipes. If you find yourself craving more desserts with brown butter, try my Brown Butter Chocolate Cookies and these Brown Butter Brownies!

While it’s not hard to make, you definitely read through the directions BEFORE making brown butter especially if you’ve never done it. For more of a tutorial, check out this post on How to Brown Butter from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Once you’ve browned the butter, you’ll want to let it cool slightly before using it in the recipe. You can gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients while the butter cools.

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set this mixture aside.

Beat the brown butter and brown sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then mix in the vanilla followed by the egg and then the egg yolk.

Add the dry ingredients: With the mixer on low speed, slowly beat in the dry ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Stir in 1 cup of the toffee bits then press the cookie dough evenly into the pan. Bake the cookies for 19-21 or until the sides are golden brown but the center is still soft. While the cookie is cooling, make the chocolate caramel sauce!

TIPS FOR MAKING HOMEMADE CARAMEL SAUCE

I know caramel sauce can sound intimidating, but it’s super quick and easy especially after you’ve made it a couple of times. If you’ve never made it before, here are a few tips:

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. It takes less than ten minutes to make caramel sauce, BUT you do need to WATCH for the sauce to change color so that you know when to add the remaining ingredients.
BE ORGANIZED. Make sure you have all your ingredients and tools nearby BEFORE you start. You’ll start with the sugar, water and corn syrup, but definitely have the remaining ingredients measured out and next to the stove. I even position my ingredients in the order that I’ll need them so that I don’t have to refer to my recipe to know what to add. Just a little visual clue.
KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR. For this chocolate caramel recipe, we want to heat the sugar, water and corn syrup until it’s medium amber. Since people’s ideas of color is different, it’s definitely helpful to have a clear idea of what color you’re going for. Bon Appetit has this cool post on The Caramel Spectrum complete with pictures. It’s especially helpful since we’re not using a thermometer to tell us what stage our caramel is in.
USE A POT WITH TALL SIDES AND DON’T BE SURPRISED WHEN YOUR CARAMEL HISSES! The hot caramel will definitely bubble up and sputter when you add the cream and butter, so it’s good to expect that. It’s also good to use a pot with tall sides so that you don’t get burned and it doesn’t bubble over.

Once the cookie has cooled, go ahead and drizzle the chocolate caramel sauce over it. I used between 1/4 and 1/3 cup but you can definitely use more if you like!

Now that we’re approaching fall, I think this cookie would be delicious with my maple caramel drizzled on top! You can really use any caramel you have or like.

To toast the almonds, just put some raw almonds on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake them at 300 F for about ten minutes. Once they’ve cooled slightly, just chop them up.

This Giant Brown Butter Toffee Cookie has perfectly slightly crispy edges and a flavorful, doughy, chewy middle. With their brown butter, brown sugar and toffee cookie dough and super delicious toppings, these cookies are incredibly flavorful! Top them with flaky sea salt to really set them off!

Giant Brown Butter Toffee Cookie

Author: Natalie
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 21 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 1 minutes
Yield: 12 squares 1x
Category: Desserts, Cookies
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Description

This easy, rich Giant Brown Butter Toffee Cookie is like no other cookie! Made with a chewy brown butter-toffee base and topped with homemade chocolate caramel, toasted almonds, more toffee bits and chunks of dark chocolate!

Scale

Ingredients

14 tablespoons (1 stick plus 6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
11/4 cup toffee bits, divided
1/3 cup almonds, toasted, chopped
5 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SAUCE

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 ounces chocolate, dark or bittersweet, chopped

Instructions

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Use a light colored pan if possible as this will help you better notice the butter change color. Stir the butter constantly. It will start to foam and will change to a light, amber color then to golden brown in about five minutes. Once the butter is golden brown, remove from heat and pour into a heat safe bowl. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a 13 x 9 inch rectangular pan with parchment paper. Leave some excess parchment paper on two sides. This will make the cookie easy to remove once baked.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the brown butter and brown sugar on medium speed for 4-5 minutes until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then mix in the vanilla followed by the egg and then the egg yolk.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly beat in the dry ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Stir in 1 cup of the toffee bits then press the cookie dough evenly into the pan.
Cook for 19–21 minutes or until the sides are golden brown but the center is still soft. Set the pan on a cooling rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.
While the cookie is cooling, make the chocolate caramel sauce.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SAUCE

In a saucepan with tall sides, stir to combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat and allow to cook/bubble without stirring. Gently lift and swirl the pan a few times to help the ingredients cook evenly. Cook until caramel turns light to medium amber (about 8 to 10 minutes) then remove from heat.
Immediately but carefully add the heavy cream followed by the butter, salt and vanilla and finally the chocolate. The mixture will bubble and hiss with the addition of these ingredients. Stir with a whisk, spatula or wooden spoon until smooth.
Drizzle about 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the chocolate caramel sauce over the cooled cookie (refrigerate the remainder of the caramel for future use). Top with the remaining toffee bits, chopped chocolate and chopped almonds. Top with flaky sea salt if desired. Pull up on parchment paper to remove from pan. Set bars on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut them. Enjoy!

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SAUCE

Keywords: chocolate, toffee, toffee bits, chocolate caramel, Caramel sauce, salted caramel, giant cookie, cookies, brown butter, brown butter cookie, toffee cookie, almonds, toasted almonds

Caramel Popcorn Dark and Milk Chocolate Cookies

June 28, 2020 by Natalie

Caramel Popcorn Dark and Milk Chocolate Cookies. Soft, chewy, and packed with caramel popcorn, and a mix of dark and milk chocolate. Topped off with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Delicious, easy, and fun to make and eat, these cookies will have you anticipating every bite until the cookie disappears!

CARAMEL POPCORN

Have you ever had a food just drop into your life that you never knew you needed? That happened to me recently with Caramel Popcorn! I saw a recipe for it in one of my grandmother’s old cooking magazines and instantly felt the need to make it.

It took a few attempts to get it just right since I wanted to make a recipe without corn syrup. Brown sugar and honey made the perfect healthier (er…less unhealthy) substitute!

I used 3 cups of my caramel popcorn recipe for these cookies. It’s the best option, in my opinion, because you can make the caramel popcorn as a treat to enjoy and still have enough to add to these cookies!

Caramel popcorn couldn’t be easier to make! You just mix up a simple caramel, mix it with fresh popcorn, and bake it for about 20 minutes.

OTHER POPCORN OPTIONS

Store bought caramel popcorn: I haven’t used store bought, but I think it’d be fine.
Cracker Jacks! Since Cracker Jacks are basically caramel popcorn with nuts, this would definitely work especially if you like nuts.
Plain or buttered popcorn. I haven’t used buttered popcorn yet, but I’m so curious to try it in these cookies! Buttered popcorn chocolate chip cookies, anyone?!

Popcorn Cookies

I came up with the idea for these cookies because, honestly, I just wanted another way to enjoy this caramel popcorn! Popcorn and cookies sounded fun together and I knew the textures and flavors would be DELICIOUS!

DARK AND MILK CHOCOLATE

Dark chocolate = GOOD! Dark and milk chocolate = EVEN BETTER! I happen to love both and I also like how they taste together. Also, since my husband prefers dark and I prefer milk chocolate, there’s something for everyone.

If you love combining milk and dark, check out my Brown Butter Toffee Cookies with Mixed Chopped Chocolate. If you love white chocolate, you could even add some chopped white chocolate!

I used more dark chocolate here since I’m using caramel popcorn which is already pretty sweet. I usually use Lindt bars and just chop them up. I usually get the 70% dark bars. Use all of one type of chocolate, or combine them to make 1 cup like I did.

OTHER CHOCOLATE OPTIONS

Chocolate Chips: Instead of the cup of chopped chocolate, you could use 1 cup of chocolate chips! Use dark, semisweet, or even white chocolate! (By the way, I have so many chocolate chip cookie recipes for you to try! I’ll start by recommending two of my most popular which are these Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies and Shortbread Cookies with Mini Chocolate Chips!
Chocolate Chunks: These would also be delicious and I think would be amazing texture-wise!

FLAKY SEA SALT

Speaking of chocolate, I should mention that these chocolatey cookies are finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Why did chocolate remind me of sea salt? Because salt intensifies the chocolate flavor! It also balances out the sweetness from the milk chocolate and caramel popcorn.

Add the sea salt to the dough balls just before they go into the oven or sprinkle it on as soon as you take them out.

Ok…that was a lot about the add ins! The caramel popcorn and chocolate are so important and so GOOD in this recipe, so I had to be sure to share all the details.

HOW TO MAKE POPCORN COOKIES

The cookie dough itself doesn’t need as much explaining since it’s pretty much your standard chocolate chip cookie…butter, sugar, eggs, and flour.

I like to use dark brown sugar and some granulated sugar. The dark brown sugar helps the cookies get their nice chewy middles and adds a tasty molasses flavor! I prefer dark, but you can also use light brown sugar.

Once the dough is mixed, fold in the popcorn and chocolate. The popcorn will break a little but that’s okay! You’ll end up with some whole pieces and some smaller pieces of popcorn.

These are definitely MONSTER popcorn cookies which is how I like my cookies these days. To scoop them onto the cookie sheet, I use a large ice cream scoop (size 16). You can also measure out 1/4 cup of dough and form it into balls. If you prefer smaller cookies, be sure to reduce the baking time by a few minutes.

No need to flatten the dough and no chill/rest necessary with this dough. Bake until the edges are golden brown.

I have never seen a cookie more fun or delicious tasting than these Caramel Popcorn Dark and Milk Chocolate Cookies! They’re made with lots of vanilla and brown sugar, packed with caramel popcorn, dark chocolate and milk chocolate and topped with flaky sea salt. When you taste how good they are, you’ll realize why they needed to be monster sized!