Friday, January 31, 2014

Bourbon & Toffee Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies



My husband loves chocolate chip cookies and I came across these with added bourbon and toffee chips, I knew they would be a winner. It’s amazing how good a simple cookies recipe can become when you add a couple of special ingredients. You brown the butter also, so they are extra special. I wasn’t sure which type of toffee bits to use; the ones with or without chocolate? I went with what was at the store, which were the toffee bits with chocolate. I figure that adding additional chocolate to a cookie can’t be a bad thing.

This recipe tells you to refrigerate the cookies 2 hours, or ideally overnight. This worked out perfectly for me! Making the cookie dough doesn’t take long. Baking the cookies doesn’t take long. But if you combine both of those and add some chilling time, I could never get these done. I simply made the dough one night and baked them up the next. This is the perfect recipe for someone with a busy schedule.

The dough is a little hard when it comes out of the refrigerator, so I let it sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes and it was easy to work with. I shaped these up, perhaps a little bigger than I usually make cookies. I think chocolate chip cookies should be just a bit bigger! They look picture perfect when they come out of the oven. I baked mine for 13 minutes and they were a lovely golden color. Don’t over bake these as you don’t want them to be hard. These cookies have a crisp exterior and are super buttery.  The combination of flavors is out of this world!

Bourbon & Toffee Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons bourbon
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups toffee bits

Cut the butter into large pieces and place in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the butter melts. Continue heating until the butter starts to brown and smells nutty. Watch carefully as you don’t want the butter to burn. Pour the browned butter into a small bowl and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cooled browned butter, brown sugar and sugar until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Add the vanilla and bourbon and stir until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture ½ cup at a time. Stir just until the flour is mixed in. Add the chocolate chips and toffee bits and stir on low to combine.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on the baking sheets. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

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