Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Sep 11, 2024 Looking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever? Well, these aren’t straight chocolate chip cookies, but they are something to experience. Chocolate Toffee Cookies made in a convection oven are a treat you’ll make again and again.
The BEST Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
There are defining moments in life, when a sudden thought sticks with you and won’t go away.
Epiphany, or lightbulb moments, that strike so intensely that you can’t shake them off. They work their way to your core, and the deep guttural unction they produce forces you to act on the idea in some way.
That… is the sort of feeling I had several years ago when I started this blog.
I knew nothing about blogging, technology, or photography, but I had this persistent gnawing that I must start a recipe website. The evasive concept wouldn’t leave me alone, no matter how many times I told myself it was a waste of time.
Needless to say, I followed the unction and it changed my life. Over the years, I’ve learned to trust epiphany moments as guidance from above.
Another lightbulb moment occurred in my life several years earlier, while I was teaching 3rd graders writing techniques.
I had given my students an assignment to write clear step-by-step instructions on how to make chocolate chip cookies.
Surely all 9-year-olds had made cookies with mom or dad at some point, I thought. Though many of them would not know all the necessary ingredients or proportions, I still expected to receive papers that read:
- Mix flour, sugar, butter, and chocolate chips in a bowl.
- Scoop the dough onto cookie sheets.
- Bake the cookies in the oven.
Instead, what I received was:
- Open the cookie dough log with scissors.
- Cut the dough into circles.
- Place the circles on the cookie sheets and bake.
Or even worse…
- Open the package of cookies.
- Pour the milk and dip.
I taught a generation of children who never baked homemade cookies with their parents. Everything they ate was pre-packaged.
Epiphany: I must develop the absolute best chocolate chip cookie recipe and share it with people. That way, they experience the kind of cookies that can spark a desire to learn to cook.
Ok… maybe my idea wouldn’t change the world, but it would provide a lifelong memory to a handful of people and would help them discover the many glorious attributes of cooking/baking from scratch.
Convection Oven Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee
I set off on a lengthy journey to test cookies for the very best chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Of course, defining the term “best” is personal and objective. What I consider the perfect cookie, might not appeal to someone else.
So let me tell you what I consider a really exquisite “chunk” style drop cookie.
The cookies must be large and somewhat thin, with a crispy exterior and chewy interior. The dough should taste rustic grains, vanilla, and brown sugar, and have a fine texture. There should be plenty of chocolate chips (or various chunks) in each bite that can be seen from the top and bottom of every cookie.
Sound reasonable? This is my idea of the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I’ve made it many times, with many variations.
Baking Cookies in Convection Oven
Today’s Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies are one of my very favorite varieties. The addition of the english toffee bits brings out the earthy essence of my secret ingredient, ground oats.
Powderized dried oats provide a hearty grain flavor and a substantial texture, that doesn’t come across as course or gritty. It is a fantastic cookie enhancer.
As with most drop cookies, you should chill the dough, so the cookies don’t become too thin.
This is also a great dough recipe for freezing. I’ll often bake several cookies from the chilled dough, then roll the rest of the dough into a log and freeze it for quick convenient “log” cookies that are homemade!
Since our kitchen remodel, I’ve been experimenting with convection baked cookies.
I baked half of these cookies in my new KitchenAid oven on standard conventional bake, and the other half on convection bake. I was very pleased with the extra crispy texture of the “convection” cookies, while still retaining the soft chewy center. I also noticed the “convection” cookies held their shape and didn’t shrink as much when they came out of the oven.
See?
If you have a convection setting on your oven, give convection baked cookies a try. Otherwise, bake in your conventional oven and enjoy.
Ingredients Needed
- All-purpose flour
- Ground oats
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- English toffee bits
Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup ground oats
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 12 ounce semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup English toffee bits
Instructions
- Place a heaping 3/4 cup of dry oats in the food processor. Process until finely ground.
- Dump both sugars and the vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer. Turn on low and add the melted butter, mix to combine. With the mixer running, pour in the eggs. Add the baking soda, salt, and slowly add the flour and powdered oatmeal. Scrap the bowl and mix to combine, then fold in the chocolate chips and toffee bits.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes, OR form into a log on a piece of freezer paper. Wrap and freeze.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (or 300 degrees F convection.) Line baking sheets with parchment paper and place equal two 2 1/2-tablespoon portions on the baking sheets 3 inches apart. Use either a cookie scoop or cut the frozen dough into rounds.
- Bake until the edges are golden, but the centers look slightly under baked. Remove from the oven and cool on the cookie sheets until firm enough to pick up. (Baking time varies greatly on the temperature of the dough and whether you are baking with a conventional oven or convection. Conventional: chilled dough 15-20 minutes, frozen dough 20-25 minutes. Convection: chilled dough 10-12 minutes, frozen dough 18-22 minutes.)
Just made these…delish! Perfect combination of chewy center and crisp edges. I didn’t make mine quite so large, maybe half the size and they turned out normal sized. They stuck to the cookie sheet quite a bit but I was able to get them off intact ( maybe because I didn’t line with parchment paper…didn’t have any) but they still turned out great with out using it. Thanks so much for the recipe!
sorry i took so long to tell you how they came out but they were so DANK! Making them again right now!
I just made the batter for these cookies but I also added 8 ounces of chopped walnuts I know it seems a little much but I’ll tell you how they turned out
I made these cookies this morning and they turned out amazing! The toffee and chocolate chips are so good together!
Gorgeous. These sound so good, and those convection ones look store bought. I envy the convection option on your oven. My poor $150 gas range doesn’t even have a timed cook option, and definitely not convection. Someday I’ll give the fluffy, crispy, chewy cookies a try.
Can’t go wrong with toffee and chocolate chips in a cookie!
I am so jealous of your double oven — I’m so in need of a kitchen makeover myself! Oh, and the cookies look fantastic!
Yum! Even coming off a major cookie-bender this weekend, if these were in my house right now, I’d demolish them all…
It’s so hard to get enough toffee! I cringe to think that we’re raising a generation that doesn’t know the joy of homemade chocolate chip cookies!
Love, love, love the added crunch of the toffee in these cookies!
I love that you showed the side by side comparison, so interesting. These cookies look delicious, I have to save this recipe :)
I think this recipe would inspire anyone to put away that package of cookies and break out the flour and eggs!
Nice to see an actual comparison of the difference between traditional baking and convection. I have a convection setting on my oven, but am never sure how to adjust my baking time for cookies vs. other baked goods. I’ll give these a try to see how they work in my oven. Great recipe!