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Home » Cookies » The Cookie

The Cookie

Published: Jun 7, 2020 · Modified: Apr 24, 2022 by Mara · This post may contain affiliate links - as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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The Cookie is the ultimate cookie! It's packed with chunks of dark chocolate, bits of homemade maple toffee, nutty brown butter, and flaky sea salt. This is my favorite cookie....Ever! Soon it will be yours too.

two hands holding The Cookie with dark chocolate chunks, toffee and sea salt.

Updated November 2020 with process photos, ingredient photos and more information. Updated April 2022 with ingredient notes and more information.

The Cookie is made up of a few of my favorite things - brown butter, dark chocolate chunks, toffee bits, and flaky sea salt. Make it oversized, gooey, and chewy and we are set. This is ONE. BIG. COOKIE. almost 8 ounces. It's about the size of your hand! Eating a whole cookie MIGHT give you a tummy ache but we're up for the challenge. The cookie is unbelievably indulgent. The outsize exterior is super chewy with the inside being soft and doughy.

Not enough time to make the Cookie but looking for a seriously delicious dessert recipes? Here's my go-to Fudgy Brown Butter Brownies. This recipe using 24 ounces of chocolate and its all worth it.

Why You'll Love this Recipe

  • A texture lover's dream (soft, chewy, doughy, and delicious)
  • Thick cookie with big chunks of dark chocolate
  • The perfect combination of chocolate, toffee and sea salt
  • Massive cookies! 8 ounces of deliciousness
  • The best cookies (I've ever had!)
A large cookie is one a white and pink plate with two hands holding it

Ingredients

A grid of each of The Cookie ingredients. Each one is labeled with a transparent white rectangle box with font in dark red all caps text

Ingredient Notes

  • Flour: I use a mixture of all-purpose flour and cake flour for the dough. Cake flour makes delicate cookies with a soft texture and fluffy center almost cake-like. All-purpose flour gives the structure we need in our cookie while making its the perfect balance between chewy and soft. This is due to the protein level in all-purpose flour aka the all-purpose flour has more gluten.
  • Sugar:  I use dark brown and granulated sugar to give us just the right amount of sweetness and chewiness. I like dark brown sugar for its robust taste and it also reacts with the baking soda.
  • Cornstarch: helps to make our cookies thicker, and it also makes them chewy
  • Baking Soda: it's our only leavening agent in these cookies. It reacts with the acidic molasses in the dark brown sugar. Which can result in a higher rise than using a light brown sugar.
  • Vanilla Extract: I recommend using a nice vanilla extract. You can also use vanilla bean paste. 
  • Butter: turns into our nutty brown butter. I like using unsalted so I can control how much salt I add to the cookies. The brown butter gives a delicious nutty flavor. Brown Butter is butter cooked past the melting point resulting in the milk solids in the butter to brown, which creates a wonderful nutty aroma. It's easy to do it just requires time and patience.
  • Eggs: Whole eggs and egg yolks bind the cookie dough, add moisture, and adds richness. 
  • Salt:  I use kosher salt in the dough and then top with flaky sea salt.
  • Maple Toffee Bits: our homemade toffee gives sweetness and caramel flavor
  • Dark Chocolate Chunks: gives the cookies a bitter bite which completes the sweetness of the cookies

Step-by-Step Instructions

The process for this cookie can be time-consuming but the end product is so worth it. We're making our own brown butter and Maple Butter Toffee which gives toasty, nutty, buttery caramel flavor. I used this Maple Pecan Butter Toffee recipe but made them without the pecans and then broke them into tiny bits. This recipe will you 4 cups but you only need roughly 2 cups. You could use storebought toffee bits as well but there's something special about making a cookie from scratch.

We're also refrigerating at least twice or freezing overnight. Chilling dough slows the spread because the fat inside solidifies. It does also dry out. That might sound like a bad thing but its the exact opposite. As the dough chills, the flavor becomes more concentrated.

Side by side photos. In the upper left corner is a # in white indicating what step. The left '1' has a metal bowl with dry ingredients. The right '2' shows a stand mixer with sugar and melted butter in the mixer.
  1. Whisk together both flours, salt, cornstarch, and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl.
  2. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine both sugars and brown butter on medium speed. Scrap the bowl as needed with a silicone spatula.
Side by side photos. In the upper left corner is a # in white indicating what step. The left '3' shows the a stand mixer with a wet dough. The right '4' shows a cookie dough in a stand mixer.
  1. At low-medium speed, add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time until each is incorporated. Then, add in vanilla extract. Scrap the bowl as needed with a silicone spatula. 
  2. Switch to the paddle attachment and mix in all dry ingredients.
Side by side photos. In the upper left corner is a # in white indicating what step. The left '5' has a metal bowl with the cookie cookie dough and a red silicone spatula. The right '6' shows the dough being cover with plastic wrap/
  1. Remove mixing bowl and by hand, combine chocolate chunks and toffee using a rubber spatula.
  2. Cover bowl and cookie dough with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.
Side by side photos. In the upper left corner is a # in white indicating what step. The left '7' has a ball of cookie dough on a small digital scale. The right '8' has 8 balls of cookie dough wrapped in plastic on a small baking tray.
  1. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out dough on top of each other. I used a food scale to accurately measure each dough ball to 8oz.
  2. Wrap cookie dough balls with plastic wrap and freeze for at least an hour preferable overnight.
Side by side photos. In the upper left corner is a # in white indicating what step. The left '9' shows 2 cookie dough balls on a silicone mat on a baking tray. The right '10' shows a baked cookie on a silicone mat.
  1. Place a silicone mat on a standard baking sheet and place 2-3 cookies on. Bake in a 425°F oven for 14-17 minutes until edges are medium brown and the top is lightly brown. 
  2. Sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt. Cool to room temperature and enjoy.

Expert Tips

  • Toffee, Homemade or store-bought? I love the taste of homemade toffee! Also, I think it makes these cookies extra impressive saying you made with your own toffee. But, in a pinch you can use store bought toffee. I usually find toffee bits in the baking aisle by the chocolate chips.
  • Let it cool! Do not move the cookies from the baking sheet until completely cooled. These cookies will continue to spread even when cooling. Also, the cookie taste best went cool instead of hot or warm. It gives time for the toffee to re-harden and you can really taste it in the cookie.
  • Patience is key! A lot of time goes into these cookies. But, they are so worth it. I've made these cookies multiple times and I have been told that they are the best cookies ever.
  • Doughy & delicious! These cookies are under-baked and a little gooey in the middle. That's personally how I like them and it makes the cookies super indulgent. If you are wanting the cookies to be more baked and less doughy or if you are worried about eating doughy cookies, I suggest baking them at 400 degrees F for a few extra minutes.
  • Measure with a digital scale (like this one)! This recipe is done by weight. It's easy to overpack your measuring cups and for a recipe that has so much detail and timing put into it, I want the most accurate recipe possible hence why it's in weight.
A stack of 4 The Cookies on a white plate with hands holding them

Recipe FAQs

What is brown butter and how do I make it?

  • In a saucepan, add sliced butter. Heat over medium heat. Stirring frequently with a whisk. Once the butter is fully melted it will begin to foam then stop. Watching very carefully, brown specks will begin to form at the bottom of the pan. If anything, you will smell a nutty aroma first. Working quickly, remove the pan from heat and pour the browned butter into a bowl. This will help it NOT burn. Make sure you scrape all the brown bits. If you do burn it, which you will know by black specks in the butter and the smell. Dump and retry again. This is very easy to make, you just need patience and a watchful eye. If you are a visual learner, Sugar Geek Show has an awesome video on how to make brown butter!
  • Can I make these cookies smaller?

  • Yes! I realize that 8oz cookies are VERY BIG. Alternatively, you can make 16 cookies that weigh 4oz each. I baked them at the same temperature only for 11-12 minutes, then let them cool until room temperature.
  • Do I really have to chill the dough?

    I know its annoying and time consuming but chilling the dough is SOOOO worth it. Especially with using brown butter, it needs time for the dough to firm up and let the flavors "marinate". Read more about it here.

    Do I really have to use cake flour?

    Cake flour has a delicate, tender texture that is irresistible. When mixed with AP flour in results in an super delicious texture to the cookies. While you can use all-purpose flour in a pinch, the texture will be slightly different from "The Cookie" texture.

    Under baked?

  • These cookies are under-baked! That's how I like them and it makes the cookies super indulgent. If you are wanting the cookies to be more baked and less doughy, I suggest watching them extra carefully and baking them for a few more minutes.
  • What was the inspiration behind this recipe?

    The inspiration for The Cookie is from three different cookies. Carol's Cookies Toffee Crunch Cookie, Bon Appetit's Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Levain Bakery's Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie. Carol's Cookies are thick, round, and tall with a super chewy texture. Levain's cookie is similar in appearance except the inside is much more molten and gooey (No, I have not yet tasted one YET this is what the internet has told me). Bon Appetit's recipe makes flat giant cookies filled with molten chocolate from the use of chocolate wafers. I essentially used the flavors of the BA's cookie, with the chewiness of Carol's and gooeyness of Levain's.

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    PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page? I always appreciate feedback. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

    The Cookie

    Mara
    Brown butter, dark chocolate chunks, homemade toffee, and flaky sea salt make the most amazing cookie. These are HUGE 8oz cookies. They are so good, you'll refer to them as THE COOKIE.
    4.77 from 43 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Resting Time 1 hr 45 mins
    Course Dessert
    Servings 8 cookies
    Calories 1083 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 & ¼ cup brown butter slightly cooled
    • 255 grams cake flour
    • 255 grams all-purpose flour
    • 5 grams kosher salt
    • 10 grams cornstarch
    • 6 grams baking soda
    • 285 grams dark brown sugar
    • 115 grams granulated sugar
    • 3 eggs room temperature
    • 2 egg yolks room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 250 grams toffee bits I use this recipe without pecans
    • 250 grams dark chocolate chunks I use Trader Joe's 5 lb chocolate bar (72%)
    • flaky sea salt optional

    Instructions
     

    • Whisk together both flours, salt, cornstarch, and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl.
    • In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine both sugars and brown butter on medium speed. Scrap the bowl as needed with a silicone spatula.
    • At low-medium speed, add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time until each is incorporated. Then, add in vanilla extract. Scrap the bowl as needed with a silicone spatula.
    • Switch to the paddle attachment and mix in all dry ingredients.
    • Remove mixing bowl and by hand, combine chocolate chunks and toffee using a rubber spatula.
    • Cover bowl and cookie dough with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.
    • Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out dough on top of each other. I used a food scale to accurately measure each dough ball to 8oz.
    • Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out dough on top of each other. I used a food scale to accurately measure each dough ball to 8oz.
    • Wrap cookie dough balls with plastic wrap and freeze for at least an hour-overnight.*
    • Place a silicone mat on a standard baking sheet and place 2-3 cookies on. Bake in a 425°F oven for 14-17 minutes until edges are medium brown and the top is lightly brown.
    • Once the cookies are removed from the oven, sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt. Cool to room temperature and enjoy.

    Notes

    *The Cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. But, they won't last that long!
    Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. Please calculate your own nutritional information if you want it exact to what you make and use my calculations as a guide only.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 8cookies | Calories: 1083kcal | Carbohydrates: 133g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 56g | Saturated Fat: 33g | Cholesterol: 220mg | Sodium: 537mg | Potassium: 389mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 77g | Vitamin A: 1413IU | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 6mg
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    Hi, I’m Mara! The home baker and cook behind Make With Mara. This is where I share my love of recipe testing, plating, and all things tasty. Let’s crEATe something delicious together! More about me →

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