Browned Butter White Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Browned Butter White Chocolate Toffee Cookies - made dough July 11, 2015, recipe adapted from Baker by Nature

These cookies were part of my Tahoe weekend last month with my sister, my nieces and their boyfriends. Whenever I meet up with them, I know to bring banana bread for my sister's SO as well as my niece's boyfriend. I asked my other niece what else she wanted me to bring and her answer is always her favorite: white chocolate chip cookies.

Now I could just take a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and substitute white chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate chips but why pass up a chance to try out another new recipe? Besides which, a true white chocolate chip cookie is actually different from a regular chocolate chip cookie. They lean more towards brown sugar than granulated sugar and the white chocolate pairs well with the caramel/butterscotch flavor of the cookie.

For this experiment, I went with this white chocolate toffee version but I mixed the batch and, before adding the toffee, scooped half of it into toffee-less cookie dough balls, added the toffee to the remaining cookie dough and finished mixing and portioning into what the cookies were originally meant to be. One of the boys is allergic to nuts and the commercially made toffee bits I added to the batter had a high probability of being made in a facility with nuts so I left it out of half the cookies to play it safe.

From appearances, this had all the earmarks of what I look for in a good cookie: it stayed thick, was chewy in the middle, had somewhat crisp edges and I loved the texture. However, it was a tad too sweet for me. I think it's partially because I've cut back on sugar a lot (I know, you probably can't tell from what I bake and blog but it's true) and whenever I do eat sugar, it's really sweet. I also think the toffee and white chocolate add more sweetness to the cookie since that's what they're there for. It's still a good cookie though so you could either portion them small, cut back on the toffee and/or white chocolate, add macadamia nuts for a texture and flavor contrast to cut the sweetness or just make as is and decide for yourself.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted until browned
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chocolate toffee bits

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat melt butter, whisking constantly, until it reaches a golden brown color; remove from heat at once. Transfer melted butter to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. 
3. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and mix just until combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, mixing just until combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and toffee bits. 
5. Using a large ice cream scoop or a 2 tablespoon measuring spoon form golf-size balls with the dough. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight. 
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment and evenly space frozen cookie dough balls. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating the pan for even color and baking. 
7. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.