Chocolaty, Nutty, and Crunchy!
These cookies hit all the best notes: crispy, crinkly edges, gooey centers, a deep nutty brown‑butter flavor, melty dark chocolate, and crunchy homemade toffee in every bite. I chose to use sourdough discard as it helps adds that subtle tang and extra chew—perfect for balancing out the sweetness in this cookie!
If you don’t have sourdough discard, heres another option/version!
Ingredients
Toffee Bits
- 113 g (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter
- 200 g (1 cup) light brown sugar
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
Cookies
- 150 g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter
- 30 g (2 Tbsp) milk (almond, oat, or dairy)
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 95 g (½ cup packed) brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 1 tsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 175 g (1¼ cup) all‑purpose flour
- ½ cup (120 g) sourdough starter discard (100% hydration)
- 75 g semi‑sweet chocolate chips
- 75 g dark chocolate, chopped
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
1. Make the Toffee
Line a small baking sheet with parchment.
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar and salt; whisk constantly until it’s smooth and glossy (~10 min, ~300 °F—soft‑crack stage).
Pour into the pan; let cool and harden (~20 min).
Break into small shards and set aside.
2. Brown the Butter
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium. Swirl until foamy, then golden-brown with nutty aroma.
Remove from heat, stir in cold milk (it’ll sizzle!) and cool 5–10 min.
3. Build the Cookie Dough
Whisk in both sugars until smooth.
Add egg, vanilla, and maple syrup; whisk until lightened (~1 min).
Mix in baking soda and salt.
Fold in flour until barely combined.
Gently stir in sourdough discard. Dough will be soft and sticky.
Fold in chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, and toffee shards.
4. Chill & Scoop
Chill dough for at least 1 hour (up to 48 h for deeper flavor).
Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
Scoop 3 Tbsp dough balls (~golf-ball size); place 6 per parchment-lined tray.
(Optional) Press extra chocolate or toffee bits on top; sprinkle with flaky salt.
5. Bake
Bake 10–12 min until edges are golden, center still looks slightly underdone.
Let cool 5–10 min on tray (they’ll firm up), then transfer to rack.
Iski Note
Texture tweaks
Gooey center? Bake 10 min and pull early.
Crispier edges? Go full 12 min and don’t underbake.
Flavor boost
Chill dough longer for deeper taste—and perfect spreading.
Storage
- Room temp: airtight for 3–4 days (if they last that long!).
- Bake from frozen dough: add 1–2 min to bake time for crisp edges.
- Freeze baked: up to 3 months; thaw & enjoy.
