Peanut Butter Toffee Bit Cookies — You need just 6 simple ingredients to make these toffee cookies! The peanut butter cookie dough is accidentally gluten-free and packed with toffee bits!
Easy Toffee Cookie Recipe
One of my favorite cookies are my blog are these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies And one of my favorite, but underused, add-ins are toffee bits. Why not combine the two? So I did.
I recently saw Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits in the Target baking aisle and promptly tossed them in my cart for a rainy day.
Toffee bits remind me of riding my bike to Dairy Queen for Heath Bar Blizzards during the summer when I was a kid. It was an extra quarter to get like quadruple the amount of Heath bar chunks. Money well spent.
The rainy day came much sooner than anticipated in the form of these soft, slightly chewy, extra peanut buttery cookies loaded with toffee bits.
I used my recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies and instead of adding chocolate chunks, I added the toffee and milk chocolate bits. No earth-shattering changes made, but the recipe is so good as written, and I didn’t want to mess with it much.
That recipe boasts, “There’s no flour, no butter, and no white sugar used”, and it’s one of my most popular recipes on Pinterest.
These toffee crunch cookies are the same. There’s no flour, butter, or white sugar added.
Please don’t write to tell me that brown sugar is really just white sugar with molasses. I’ve been told that one or four hundred times. I am not making a health claim about the sugar. I am making a taste claim.
I love the way brown sugar-based cookies taste. And brown sugar always creates softer cookies than those made with white sugar and these are wonderfully soft.
Because there’s no butter and no flour to dilute the flavor, you’re left with intensely peanut buttery cookies. The best kind.
The recipe makes 12 to 14 cookies. Perfect when you don’t want or need the temptation that comes from having oodles of peanut butter cookies just laying around.
The crunchy toffee adds an amazing texture contrast to an otherwise buttery soft dough. They also add slight saltiness, playing up the salty-and-sweet element.
There’s just enough chocolate to add flavor, without detracting from the full-on peanut butter punch these cookies pack.
My family said these are the best cookies I’ve ever made. Grab the napkins. Enjoy.
What’s in the PB Toffee Bit Cookies?
To make these peanut butter toffee cookies, you’ll need just six basic ingredients:
- Creamy peanut butter
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits
How to Make Toffee Bit Cookies
These toffee crunch cookies couldn’t be easier to make! Just cream together the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until completely smooth (this will take about 5 minutes).
Stir in the baking soda and toffee bits, then roll the dough into balls and chill for at least 2 hours.
Once chilled, the dough can be baked. You want to bake the cookies just until the edges are set and the tops are barely set, even if slightly under baked in the center.
Can I Use a Natural Peanut Butter?
No! I bake with either Jif Creamy or store brand peanut butter from Ralph’s grocery store. It’s half the price of Jif and I get similar results.
Don’t use natural or Homemade Peanut Butter. It will exacerbate the oily issues, cause the cookies to spread, and bake thin and flat. Sometimes people write to say they baked with natural peanut butter and had success, but it’s a gamble.
Can I Make the Cookie Dough in Advance?
There’s no harm in making the dough, forming it into balls, and keeping them in the fridge for up to 5 days before baking, or freezing unbaked dough for up to 4 months.
Bake as directed whenever you’re ready to bake. I have at least 10 different kinds of unbaked cookie dough at any given time just hanging out in my fridge and freezer. Rainy days.
Tips for Making Toffee Cookies
You must really cream the first four ingredients together, very well, for at least 5 minutes, and more if you’re not using a stand mixer. Don’t shortchange this step.
The dough is oily. There’s no flour and nowhere for the oil to be absorbed, so the dough is oily, and some brands of peanut butter are more oily than others.
You must chill the dough for at least 2 hours. No exceptions. Warm, limp, oily, flourless dough becomes a hot mess in the oven and your cookies will turn into crispy pancakes.
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Peanut Butter Toffee Bit Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, Do not use natural or homemade peanut butter, it’s too runny and can separate – see note below
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- one 8-ounce bag Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits
Instructions
- To the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using an electric mixer, combine peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-combined and the sugar is fully incorporated and is mixture is no longer gritty or granular, about 5 minutes, or as long as necessary (7 to 8 minutes).*
- Add the baking soda and beat to incorporate, about 1 minute on medium-low speed.
- Add the toffee bits and beat to just incorporate; don’t overmix.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping mounds of 2 to 3 tablespoon each.
- Place mounds on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Chilling is mandatory, do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges are set and tops are barely set, even if slightly underbaked in the center. Cookies firm up as they cool, and baking too long results in cookies that become too crisp and hard. The cookies in the photos were baked for 8 minutes, and have chewy edges with soft centers.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Toffee Desserts:
ALL OF MY RECIPES FEATURING TOFFEE!
Spiced Toffee Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting — Looking for recipes using spice cake mix? Make this spiced toffee cake! It’s an EASY, soft, and fluffy spice cake with toffee bits inside and on top!! The frosting is AMAZING and takes this cake over the top!!
Toffee Bars — An ultra butttery base made with almond extract and topped with chocolate and toffee bits! An easy dessert that’s ready in 15 minutes but tastes like you slaved over it!
Pumpkin Caramel Poke Cake — Easy and the best pumpkin cake ever! Two kinds of caramel sauce, toffee bits, chocolate chips, whipped topping and more!
Toffee Butterscotch Cake — Butterscotch sundae topping isn’t just for ice cream – it makes AWESOME poke cakes!! Along with the irresistibly crunchy toffee bits, this is a perfect fast and EASY cake everyone will love!!
Graham Cracker Toffee Bars— If you’re looking for a recipe that will disappear at holiday parties, cookie exchanges, neighborhood potlucks, or school bake sales, this graham cracker toffee is a guaranteed winner!!
Melt in Your Mouth Homemade Toffee — Irresistible, buttery, ADDICTIVE, and just melts in your mouth!! EASY and perfect for holiday parties, gift-giving, or cookie exchanges!!
Chocolate Gingerbread Cake — An EASY, no mixer cake that’s perfect for the holidays!! Chocolate and ginger are amazing together! The GINGER spiced whipped cream is the literal icing on this cake!!
I have a serious weakness for toffee. This cookies are way too tempting, Averie :) Pinning!
thanks Anna!
Toffee is the best thing EVER. And the gooey factor of these Averie…WOW.
I made them right after the trip…just what I DIDN’T need to whip up. Lol
Look at these mega chunky monkey cookies! Love that they’re flourless.. that just means more yumminess packed inside :)
You got that right! :)
Anytime there are toffee bits in the store – I HAVE TO BU THEM. It’s like a compulsion. These look divine!!
I am thinking I need to have a bag on hand at all times. That’s kind of dangerous though :)
These look like those toffee cookies that panera used to sell! I’ve got to give these a try!
I used to live by a Panera like 10-12 years ago! Gosh they had such good cookies!
1. I have been making this basic peanut butter cookie recipe for years and it’s SO good! Such an intense peanut butter flavor!
2. I have no idea how anyone could mess these up and not like them. They really are easy and so scrumptious!
3. Toffee bits are the bomb.
4. I want at least 4 of these now!
5. Pinning!
Girl I will try to remember to email you the next time I get a failure email. I’ll get like 20 ‘amazing’ comments and then someone who’s hating me that they didn’t turn out and I truly have no idea why – but it happens. Glad to know you’re a big fan too!
Thanks for pinning!
I so need these in my life!
Thanks Kevin and I’ve been pinning your soups the last few days. Everywhere where I turn, I see another one I have to pin :) You have quite the collection!
I saw your soup pinboard and it has quite the collection of tasty soups!
I just started it last week to be seasonal and all :) And you have so many good ones I would love to try!
Oh they look like they will melt in your mouth and get all sticky.. I love a cookie that has no flour….
They do! They kind of stuck to each other after I stacked them for the photos and that was fine by us – thicker and more gooey action!
I love flourless pb cookies and make them all the time. So easy and yummy – I can whip them together after dunner when I have a craving. But I never chill the dough, mix it until it just comes together and often use natural pb and it turns out perfect! Really didn’t know there were issues with making these cookies – they’re pretty straightforward.
I’ll get like 20 ‘amazing’ comments and then someone who’s frustrated that they didn’t turn out and I truly have no idea why – but it happens. Glad to know you’re a big fan too! And that you can get away with natural PB and not chilling the dough! Even better!
Oh wow! These look so good, but can you believe I do not think I have ever had toffee bits? I think just just gives me all the more reason to stop in at target today! :)
I love that these cookies have no flour or butter! That is crazy and so interesting. I bet they have the perfect doughy texture!
Super doughy – soft, tender, with just a slight chew. The toffee bits are also in reg groc stores (usually) in the baking aisle. There are so many different varieties of the toffee bits that Hershey’s makes and not all groc stores carry the full line but most stores have at least 2 versions. You are going to be in heaven. It’s a small bag too – 8 or 9 ounces usually. Goes very fast :)
Averie, these look AMAZING! I absolutely love toffee, and these look so loaded with that buttery goodness. Pinning!
Thanks for pinning and glad you’re a big toffee fan. Me too!
Toffee bits are one of my favorite ingredients to use too. Those and peanut butter! So, these are a winner!
Man, these cookies are packed with goodness! Holy cow! :)
Flourless PB cookies are one of my favorites–just a few ingredients and so good! I have made them several times and haven’t ever had a problem–I can’t understand what could go wrong for a few people either (and wouldn’t dream of trying homemade PB–that stuff gets drippy within a few minutes of coming out of the fridge). I think I’d like just about any chip or candy bar bits in them but the toffee is a great choice!
I’ll get like 20 ‘amazing’ comments and then someone who’s frustrated that they didn’t turn out and I truly have no idea why – but it happens. And the thought of using warm, drippy, homemade PB in them is just a foreign concept for me too, but people try :)
Love the addition of toffee bits in this rich, brown sugar and flourless PB cookie dough base, Averie! Yum. It doesn’t hurt that they are naturally gluten free either. Thanks for sharing, Pinning!
Thanks for pinning, as always! :)
Your cookies always look so unbelievable, and these are no exception! Love the toffee and PB!