The rich flavor of espresso combined with the sweet, caramelized crunch of toffee meet in this crisp-chewy coffee toffee cookie, perfect for the holidays. This a cookie for coffee lovers, ‘not-too-sweet’ people, and cookie-for-breakfast people. (Raises hand.)
I’ve been working on my holiday cookie baskets for friends and neighbors and was reminiscing with Greg about our favorite new cookies of the year. I make quite a few cookies each week so there was a lot to think about. Some of them were too light or summery for inclusion in a holiday gift tin (Although I’m usually not picky, just prioritizing time, ha!). One of the standouts from the year was these Coffee Toffee Cookies which originated from America’s Test Kitchen. The first one or two times I made them we loved them and the only tweak I thought I would make for personal preference was to go even stronger with the coffee flavor to give them a little oomph so they didn’t spread so much. That’s where we are here.
These cookies are noticeably java flavored, using instant espresso dissolved in warm water, and they have little bits of crunch from Heath toffee bits. Since there is a bit of melted butter and sugar, the cookie is at the edge of ‘stick to your teeth’ chewy, which I love, but also not overly sweet.
coffee toffee cookies
adapted from america’s test kitchen
makes about 14-16 3-inch cookies
ingredients:
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (4 1/2 ounces) toffee chips (I used Heath milk toffee bits)
- Position oven racks in the middle thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk espresso powder and hot water together until espresso powder dissolves (you may need to swirl it with a spoon if the attachment doesn’t catch the bottom). Add the melted and cooled butter and the granulated sugar and mix until combined. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla until smooth.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture into the butter coffee mixture until incorporated. Swirl in toffee chips.
- Scoop cookie dough and place onto prepared cookie sheet, leaving 3 inches between each scoop since they tend to spread a little. Bake until puffy and the edges are set but the middles still look a little wet, 14-16 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly on the sheets before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
Enjoy cookies for breakfast? You might also like these coffee cake cookies.