These Toffee Espresso Cookies are a soft, chewy cookie loaded with crunchy bits of toffee, creamy chocolate, and a caffeine hit of espresso! The warm caramel notes of the toffee pair perfectly with the bitter and strong notes of the espresso.
What are Toffee Espresso Cookies?
Toffee Espresso Cookies start off with my favorite cookie base of butter, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, and flour. This cookie base is super chewy with warm, nutty notes from the brown sugar. This cookie base pairs perfectly with the warm notes of fall, especially in these Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies.
Adding crushed up bits of toffee and chocolate chips creates a really nice crunch in the cookie and added sweetness. The espresso powder adds to the warm notes while also adding a touch of bitter notes to the cookie which helps balance out the sweetness of the cookie!
Toffee Versus Caramel
When I was trying to find toffee bits at the grocery store, one store only had caramel bits and I was tempted to use that instead, but what is the difference between toffee and caramel?
- The first difference could be the texture. Typically in baking, caramel is a little bit softer, while toffee still has some crunch to it. Think about the candy bars you've seen with caramel versus toffee. The caramel candy bars are more chewy, while the toffee bars are crunchy. With that being said, there are a few types of crunchy caramel.
- The second difference is the way that both are made. Toffee is made with butter, sugar and water, while caramel is made with butter, sugar, and cream.
- Caramel has more of a vibrant taste of nutty, sweet flavors. While toffee shares similar notes, it's a lot more subtle than caramel.
With that being said, if you can't find toffee at the store, or you just like caramel better, you can sub caramel pieces for the toffee in this recipe! The cookies may not have that extra crunch, but will still be delicious!
Do I have to chill?
I know, I know, chilling the cookie dough seems like the hardest step of these cookies! When that cookie craving hits, I know the worst part is letting that delicious cookie dough hang out in the fridge.
Letting the cookie dough chill helps the flour absorb the butter which helps reduce the spreading of the cookie. The colder the dough is before it goes into the oven, the thicker and chewier the cookie will be!
Of course, you can just bake them right away, but they will probably spread out in baking!
Ingredient List:
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Espresso Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
- Toffee Bits
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
These Espresso Cookies are a deliciously balanced cookie with sweet and bitter notes throughout. The espresso and toffee pair beautifully in this cookie! My only question now is 'should I have named these toffee coffee cookies?'
Cheers!
-Holly Michelle
Toffee Espresso Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick Butter
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- 1 Egg Plus 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 ¾ cups Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 tablespoon Espresso Powder
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ cup Toffee Bits
- ½ cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments until fully melted.1 stick Butter
- Let butter cool slightly before adding in brown sugar and egg plus egg yolk.1 cup Brown sugar, 1 Egg Plus 1 Egg Yolk
- Stir together, then add in vanilla extract.1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Once all the wet ingredients are mixed together, add in flour, espresso powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.1 ¾ cups Flour, ½ teaspoon Baking Soda, 1 tablespoon Espresso Powder, ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- Stir until the flour is almost mixed in before adding toffee bits and chocolate chips.½ cup Toffee Bits, ½ cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Cover and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to chill.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a small cookie scoop cookie dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet leaving about 2-3 inches of space. Bake for about 15 minutes.
- Let cool slightly and enjoy!
Leave a Reply