Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
These gluten-free cookies are really something special. With an addictively crispy edge, a softer center and pockets of gooey melted dark chocolate and butterscotch toffee studded throughout, these cookies are your humble chocolate chip cookie amplified to 10!
Here’s Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Originating from the viral recipe made by Alvin Zhou we’ve tweaked the iconic recipe to be gluten-free.
- These cookies use pantry-staple ingredients and are clean eating.
- These cookies are a great way to amplify the humble chocolate chip cookie for a treat that is truly special.
- These cookies can be frozen before or after being baked.
- The flavor profile of these cookies are intense. From the cookie dough to the dark chocolate to the toffee chunks, your mind will be blown!
And while I will say that making your own butterscotch toffee chunks from scratch might seem intimidating I promise you it’s SO easy to do. So without further ado, let’s get right into it making these amazing cookies. Starting with…
How To Make Butterscotch Toffee Chunks:
Ingredients:
We’ll need to gather the following ingredients:
- Sugar: You can use raw cane sugar, I’ve finely blended mine to make it easier to melt down, but you can also use evaporated cane juice sugar.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted, the choice is yours.
- Molasses: This adds great flavor and texture to our toffee chunks.
- Salt: The use of salt really complements and amplifies the sweetness of our toffee chunks. I’m using a Himalayan Pink salt but you can also use a sea salt.
Directions:
Making our butterscotch toffee is as easy as adding all the ingredients into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan on medium heat (1) and stirring it continuously until everything melts together, combines and comes up to 300F (2,3 & 4).
Then, once the thermometer hits 300F, we’ll pour our toffee onto a parchment-lined tray and let it cool at room temp until it has hardened and is completely cooled (5).
Next comes the fun part! Once it’s completely cooled and hard, we’re going to break it up into small chunks. I do this by cracking it with the back of a spoon to shatter it and then I break each shard down further. You can put the shards into a food-safe bag and crush it with a mallet or rolling pin (6 & 7).
You want your chunks to be irregularly shaped and about the size of your chocolate chips. Be sure you use every last piece including the smaller dust-like bits. And there you have it! Our butterscotch toffee chunks are ready to go!
How To Make Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Ingredients:
- Almond Flour: Finely ground blanched almond flour is our main flour
- Coconut Sugar: I love this lower GI sugar for it’s lovely caramel flavor.
- Raw Cane Sugar: This helps our cookie to have that much sought after chew in addition to adding sweetness of course!
- Coconut Flour: A small touch of coconut flour adds both flavor and texture to our cookie.
- Molasses: Thick and bittersweet, it adds incredible depth of flavor. Opt to use unsulphured instead of blackstrap for this recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: You can use just vanilla extract or bump things up by using half vanilla and half maple.
- Baking Powder: Our main rising agent. Ensure you’re using baking powder and not baking soda.
- Salt: I’m using my favorite Himalayan pink salt but you can sea salt or any salt you prefer.
- Espresso Powder: This is a finely ground espresso that is designed for baking. A small touch of this powder adds incredible flavor and enhances our chocolate.
- Butter: I’m using salted butter but if you prefer you can use unsalted.
- Egg: I’m using a US standard large egg.
- Dark Chocolate Chips: For variety you can blend % by using a 60% and 80% or any preferred blend. Another great trick is to chop your chocolate into irregular bits.
- Toffee Chunks: The arguable star of this show. These homemade toffee chunks are delightful.
Directions:
We’ll make our cookie dough in 10 easy steps.
To a large bowl, add your softened butter (1) along with the sugars and molasses, and combine together (2 & 3). Then, add in the egg and extract(s) and beat together until it is fully combined into a smooth caramel-like consistency (4 & 5). Sprinkle your coconut flour on top and mix it in, then let your mixture rest for a couple minutes to allow the coconut flour time to absorb and thicken (6).
Add in the almond flour, baking powder, salt and espresso powder (7), and thoroughly mix everything together into a cookie dough, being sure to scrape the bottom to incorporate all the flour and break up any lumps (8). Finally add in your dark chocolate and toffee chunks and fold it into the cookie dough.
To Chill or Not to Chill…?
Now at this point you have four options:
- you can scoop out portions and freeze them for later use – to do this scoop your cookie dough onto a baking tray in 12 equal portions and freeze them until solid, then store your frozen cookie scoops in an airtight bag or container until you’d like to use them. To defrost let them sit in the fridge overnight or at room temperature until thawed.
- you can ripen your dough overnight in the fridge – Letting your dough “ripen” in a covered bowl in the fridge for 24-48 hours the full flavor of all the ingredients will meld and play with each other, lending to a cookie that is a more flavorful and closer to the original cookie recipe that this gluten-free version is based on. Honestly if you have the time and patience, I highly recommend doing this.
- you can briefly chill it for 20-30 minutes – If you let your dough chill for 20-30 minutes in the fridge it will allow the flours to absorb all the liquids and allow the butter to solidify a bit which will help the dough to set and be easier to portion and work with (aka you should be able to scoop and roll a portion without it sticking to your hands).
- you can bake it right away – which is what we’re doing today. Here’s how you do that…
Time to Bake!
Preheat your oven to 325F – this is important. Most cookies are baked at 350F however at that temp the bits of toffee melts too quickly and your cookies will not bake up with the right texture or spread.
Scoop your cookie dough onto your parchment-lined baking tray, being sure to leave 2″-3″ between each one.
You want your cookie dough to be cool but still soft so that you get an even bake and spread. If you’re using dough that’s been completely chilled (or thawed from frozen) in the fridge, let your scooped out cookie dough sit at room temp while your oven preheats.
Bake your cookies for 18-20 minutes at 325F until you can see the edges and undersides are slightly browned. Once your cookies are done, take the tray out of the oven and let them cook completely undisturbed for about 15-20 minutes.
TIP! – If your cookies spread out too much or come out the oven shaped oddly you can use a silicone spatula or knife or spoon to quickly (as in within 30-60 seconds after taking them out the oven) but gently push the edges in towards the middle to reshape your cookie before they cool.
And there you have it, an intensely flavorful cookie that is sure to delight your tastebuds. And as a bonus, while these cookies are great when warm, I would dare to argue that they taste even better when chilled in the fridge as the contrast between the bits of toffee and chocolate are more pronounced and the cookie’s whole texture changes. Give it a try and let us know what you think by leaving a comment and rating down below! ❤️
Gluten-Free Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
For Toffee Chunks:
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 1/2 cup raw cane sugar
- 1/2 tbsp molasses
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
For Cookies:
- ½ cup salted butter melted
- ½ cup organic coconut sugar
- ¼ cup raw cane sugar finely blended
- 1/2 tbsp molasses
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp maple extract (optional, can replace with vanilla extract)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp organic coconut flour
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp espresso powder
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips use a blend of cocoa % and chop the chocolate
- 1 batch toffee chunks
Instructions
Make Toffee Chunks:
- Add butter, molasses, sugar, and salt to a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat.4 tbsp salted butter, 1/2 cup raw cane sugar, 1/2 tbsp molasses, 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
- Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens and reaches 300°F (150°C)
- Spread onto a lined sheet pan and allow it to cool and harden completely.
- Once cooled, shatter and break into small pieces.
Make Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- To a large bowl, combine the melted/softened butter with the coconut sugar, cane sugar, molasses, and extracts until fully mixed together.½ cup salted butter, ½ cup organic coconut sugar, ¼ cup raw cane sugar, 1/2 tbsp molasses, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp maple extract
- Add in the egg and stir vigorously until the mixture has a caramel-like thickness and smoothness to it.1 large egg
- Mix in the coconut flour and let the batter rest for a minute or two before adding in the almond flour, baking powder, espresso powder and salt. Mix your cookie dough together.1 tbsp organic coconut flour, 2 cups blanched almond flour, ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp espresso powder, ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
- Add in your dark chocolate and toffee chunks and fold them in to incorporate them as evenly as possible into the cookie dough.½ cup dark chocolate chips, 1 batch toffee chunks
- You can use your dough right away, or if you like, you can chill your dough for 20-30 minutes in the fridge to allow the fats to solidify once more and this will help the dough to set and be easier to portion and work with.Alternatively, you can let your dough "ripen" in a covered bowl in the fridge for 24-48 hours the full flavor of all the ingredients will meld and play with each other, lending to a cookie that is a bit more flavorful.
- Scoop your dough onto a parchment-lined tray in 12 even portions and bake at 325°F for 18-20 minutes. *See notes for Baking tips.
Notes
Freezing Tip: Once you make your cookie dough, you can portion and freeze them for later use. Scoop your cookie dough into portions onto a baking sheet and freeze them until solid and then store them in an airtight bag or container.
Temperature Tip: Be sure you're baking at 325F. Any higher and the toffee chips will melt and leak out before the cookie dough has time to set and it will end up making a mess.
Baking Tip: If baking from frozen dough, let your dough thaw in the fridge until soft. If baking after being chilled in the fridge set your portioned cookie dough onto a baking tray on the counter for 10-15 minutes then press down and bake 10 min at 325. turn off oven, let cookies rest for another 3-5 minutes in the closed but turned off oven. Keep an eye on them and don't let them get too browned.
Cookie Shape Tip: If your cookies spread out too much or have an odd shape once baked, you can reshape them by using a spoon or silicone spatula to gently push in the edges to get them back into rounds. You should do this within 30-60 seconds after you've baked them before they set up and cool.
Nutrition
