These Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies are particularly special to me. Not just because of the concept (you all know I love Sticky Toffee Pudding), but because of how many small (but mighty!) techniques come into play in this simple, delicious, and deeply nostalgic recipe.
When I was looking to make a date-infused cookie dough, it was a struggle to figure out how to do that while also making sure the cookies weren’t too puffy or cakey. If you know anything about me, you know I love a cookie that is soft at the center, but nice and crisp at the edges, all while being uniformly flat throughout. But when you add in any paste (in this case, date paste), things are about to get…puffy. So this cookie took some tests! To get them perfectly flat with an insanely chewy texture, I used egg whites instead of eggs and a bit more water for maximum spread. The dough holds up a perfectly golden toffee, which makes everything feel very reminiscent of the classic English dessert, while still being a distinct cookie.
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies are probably my best sticky-toffee-something yet. And wow, do I love them. I hope you do, too. Read on for why they are just that good.
What makes these Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies worth making
This recipe is so good for so many reasons, here are just a few:
- The toffee stays sticky, which is a feat! It doesn’t stay too soft, and it doesn’t get all hard like a butterscotch. It is designed to be easy to make, but also stay perfectly tempered for as long as your cookies last (which hopefully won’t be long!)
- These cookies are thin but still soft and chewy. All credit for this goes to the egg whites, which give cookies a delicate, chewy texture, while not letting them puff up.
- There is a rich, cinnamony, sticky-toffee flavor that reminds me of the classic dessert, but in cookie form. I spent days trying to make sure this cookie tasted just like the cake, and I feel like I really nailed it.
Ingredients for the toffee
This is a small toffee, but it’s only the amount you need for your cookies:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, 57 grams
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 25 grams
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, 55 grams
- 2 tablespoons honey, 21 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 30 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients you will need for these Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookie dough
- 150 grams dates (weighed after the pits are removed)
- 1/3 cup boiling water, 80 grams
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened, 226 grams
- 1 cup granulated sugar, 200 grams
- 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, 110 grams
- 2 egg whites
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 280 grams
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
What does water do to a cookie dough?
Now this is the miracle ingredient I was not expecting to find in a cookie dough – WATER. Water with the dates, plus the egg whites are the key to a soft, chewy cookie that spreads beautifully, while still holding all the flavor and ingredients I want to include.
I read about this technique when I was reading about thin and crispy cookies. A chef was talking about how they use water in their cookies, and it was a lightbulb moment for me. Water helps sugars caramelize in a caramel, so why wouldn’t it help facilitate the same thing in a cookie?
So yes, a bit of water is the secret ingredient here. And it works wonders.
How to add the toffee to the cookie dough
After the first bake of the cookie dough, the dough will look a little pale, puffy and sad. That’s where the toffee comes in. Add a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of toffee to the center of each cookie. Here are a few big tips when adding the toffee:
- Be sure not to press it down through the dough. It will sink naturally, but pressing it down might cause it to break through the cookie and be a bit of a mess.
- Make sure not to over-toffee the dough. While it is tempting, too much toffee will overpower the dough and spread everywhere.
- Aim for the center. This gives you the prettiest cookie and also the best structure.
Make-ahead suggestions, as well as storage notes and tips
I hardly ever develop cookie recipes that need a 24-hour rest time, because if I’m being honest, I hardly ever want to wait 24 hours for cookies. However, that doesn’t mean that these cookies can’t be made ahead (or that they don’t get better with time!). The cookies in the photo below were baked after a 24 hour rest period, and I think they look pretty fabulous.
To make the cookie dough ahead of time:
I suggest following the recipe as written, just store both the toffee and the dough for 24 hours in the fridge. The toffee will firm up to a stiff texture, meaning it can only be cut using a knife. When you are ready to bake, slice the toffee into 1/2 teaspoon size pieces (I eyeball it) and place those in the center of the cookies. Bake as you normally would.
To store the Baked cookies in the fridge:
These will keep in an airtight container for up to 7 days. I like to wrap each cookie in a layer of wax paper to prevent the from sticking to each other.
To store the cookies in the freezer:
These will freeze well for up to six months. I like to line them with wax paper so they don’t stick to each other, then place them in a freezer gallon bag. To thaw, remove the cookies from the bag and let them sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours. They they should be ready to eat!
Looking for similar recipes?
Here are a few other cookies that are blog favorites!
Sticky Ginger Bars
Honeynut Cookies with Pistachio Chocolate and Cranberry Swirl
Pumpkin Miso Caramel Cookies
And that’s everything for these Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies!
If you make them, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Ingredients
For the toffee:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, 57 grams
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 25 grams
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, 55 grams
- 2 tablespoons honey, 21 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 30 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cookies:
- 150 grams medjool dates, weighed after the pits are removed
- 1/3 cup boiling water, 80 grams
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened, 226 grams
- 1 cup granulated sugar, 200 grams
- 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, 110 grams
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 egg whites
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 280 grams
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Begin with the toffee. Add 1/4 cup (57g) butter, 2 tablespoons (25g) sugar, 1/4 cup (55g) brown sugar, 2 tablespoons (21g) honey and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt to a small pot. Set this over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Let this mixture simmer for 4 minutes. If you have a thermometer, use it to monitor the temperature and aim to get it between 280°F-290°F, but make sure it doesn't go above 300°F.
- After the toffee has simmered for four minutes, remove it from the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons (30g) heavy cream and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pour this into a container and transfer to the fridge to cool. See Note*
- Next, make the dough. Add 150g of dates to the bowl of a stand mixer, or to the large bowl you plan to mix your dough in. Pour over 1/3 cup (80g) boiling water. Press the dates down into the water, they won't completely submerge but this will help soften them a bit.
- Using the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, mix the dates and water together until you have a paste, 2-3 minutes. It's okay if it is a bit chunky. Add in 1 cup (226g) of softened butter and mix again until the dates and butter are combined. Add 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon (110g) brown sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until the mixture is fluffy.
- Add the two egg whites. Continue to mix on high until the dough is a shade lighter in color and very fluffy. It may start to look a little broken, but don't worry about it.
- Add 2 cups (280g) of flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Mix on the lowest speed until the dough is just combined.
- Use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough into 24 balls, aim for 1.5 ounces each. Chill these in the fridge while you preheat the oven.
- Evenly stagger two racks in the oven and preheat to 350°F convection (375°F standard).
- Line your half sheet pans with parchment paper. Stagger the cookies 3 inches apart (they will spread quite a bit).
- Bake the cookies for 6 minutes. They will look pale and puffy, but don't worry, some magic is about to happen. Scoop a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the toffee mixture into the center of each cookie. Then bake the cookies for another 6 minutes. By now they should be golden and flat. If it looks like the toffee has disappeared, don't worry, as the cookies cool it will magically resurface. If any toffee has spilled out the edges, use a spatula to gently press it back towards the cookie. As it cools the toffee will cling to the edges and make a nice sticky bite.
- Repeat this process for all the dough. Let the cookies cool until the toffee is firm before transferring them from the parchment paper. Then enjoy!
Comments
These look delicious! I would love to gift these for Christmas on different days, is it possible to rest them in the fridge for longer than 24 hours and bake them off? I would like for them to be baked on differing days, so they are freshly baked right before gifting.
Hope you have a lovely holiday season with loved ones!
Hi Meral,
Absolutely 🙂 Just proceed with the recipe as normal, but instead of a short chill, make it as long as you need. The toffee will stiffen up, but you can use a knife to slice it into small pieces!
Perfect, thank you! Looking forward to gifting these and having them as a cheeky snack!
I made these cookies tonight and the dough tastes amazing, and the toffee tastes amazing! but I went to bake a test cookie and realized I used bread flour – any suggestions before scrapping for a redo dough.
I think they should still be salvageable! Were you able to use them?
These cookies are absolutely delicious, but there are some challenges here that I’d like some guidance on to help perfect it!
The recipe doesn’t specify what kind of dates to use. I feel like baked recipes usually go for medjool, but I had deglet nour so used those. They’re a little more fibrous than the former. I wish I had chopped them and maybe let them soak a bit in the hot water. I ended up having to microwave the date/water mix and go in with kitchen scissors (and a splash more hot water) to get rid of some big, fibrous chunks.
The toffee, aka the true bane of my existence. Is there a recommendation for a more specific temp range? I used a candy thermometer and didn’t let my mix go above 300, but I don’t think I let it get high enough. I think it was at like 225 for most of the cooking time until the end, when I got it up to 280. This led to some S T I C K Y toffee. Even after refrigerating for a day, it couldn’t be cut. It was more of a two-spoon scoop and scrape situation, and boy, was it sticky. I ended up portioning out dollops on wax paper ahead of time and putting that in the freezer. I’m really glad I did because I think trying to do it over hot cookies would’ve actually sent me over the edge. The frozen toffee was still melty sticking to the wax paper, which makes me think I didn’t cook it at a high enough temp?
Lastly, some of my cookies had holes in them where the toffee had sort of melted through. I did use a spatula to scrape everything back in, but some of them just couldn’t be filled so they’ve got kind of craters in them. Maybe the toffee temp error?
Anyway, all that to say that these were delicious and worth the hassle!!! Though I’m hoping to make them less of a challenge so I can have them more often
Made these tonight and they turned out perfectly! Subbed in 260g of gluten free flour (rather than the called for 280g of normal flour). Will be making again!
I love your cookie recipes, but these were a huge fail for me. I think my toffee needed more than 4 minutes. I have a thermometer but couldn’t use it with such a small volume. The toffee didn’t sink at all and just made huge puddles around the cookies. The cookies themselves also didn’t seem to work. They never got golden and stayed weirdly pale even after an extra 6 minutes in the oven. I eventually just decided to give up and will probably compost these 🙁 The dough and toffee tasted great, they just never came together.
Hi KS, I am truly so devastated to hear this and I am so sorry. I have a few questions, if you don’t mind. I’m so proud of this recipe and I want to make sure it works for everyone! The toffee should sink a little bit, but I’m worried yours sank so much because there wasn’t enough flour to hold them in. Did you measure by cups or by weight? And were you able to chill the toffee at all? For the cookie baking, did you bake on silpat sheets? And did you line the pans with parchment? All ovens are different so the additional baking time is normal, but I’m very surprised they stayed pale. Additionally, are you at altitude? I just want to make sure I have all the info before I give these another look! I promise I tested them many times before deciding they were ready. I am so sorry this happened to you again!
I’m not sure what exactly happened to this person, but my cookie dough had the same issue. Even after an extra 5 minutes they were still pale — almost raw — but the bottom was burnt. The only two points I could guess is either my oven is the wrong kind of oven (although all of your other cookie recipes work perfectly!) or I overmixed the dough? Everything else was identical to the recipe, both in weight measurements and chilling time. Tastes great tho and the toffee is fantastic!
Hi Losha, I’m so sorry this happened! Were you baking on a dark baking sheet? It’s either that or our ovens are different, I’m so sorry you had issues!
I had this same problem. They tasted great but the toffee and the cookie spread out SO much that they were a bit of a mess. Didn’t look at all like your photos. I weighed the ingredients (I always do) but I am at altitude and didn’t adjust for that–I generally don’t for cookies. I had to cook them for a lot longer so they weren’t raw. I wondered if my oven had a problem but then I made your ginger toffee squares and they turned out perfectly after 30 minutes. My son loved the flavour and sweetness so we are going to try again…maybe I won’t add the water and maybe a little more flour and cook the toffee a little longer.
These were SO GOOD. Flavor is JUST like sticky toffee pudding – I actually added a rooibos tea bag to the steeping water for the dates because that’s what I do when I make the OG stuff and I liked that depth. Also did half whole wheat flour and half AP, and it turned out great. I don’t think my toffee cooled enough before I plopped it on the cookie so I had a lot of runoff, but still so so good. Will def be making again.
These are so delicious! A few helpful tips for others maybe:
— really try to put the toffee in the exact center of the cookie, otherwise it might break through the edges and create something a little monstrous looking (but still delicious)
— if you like salty sweet things like me, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon or so of salt to the cookie dough while mixing, and top with flaky sea salt while you’re putting the toffee in the dead center of each cookie!
Extremely delicious. Mine didn’t quite crisp — not sure if an issue of didn’t paste the dates enough or subbing Bobs Red Mill 1:1 GF flour or insufficient mixing.
Regardless, planning to make again.
I am so looking forward to making these, but I’m having a heck of a time with the date paste. The date skins aren’t breaking up very much; however, the insides are very much a paste. How long should they soak in the hot water before mixing? I think that may be what I missed…
Hi Valerie,
I am so sorry for my delay here. The paste doesn’t need to be perfect! Some dates are stiffer than others, and at that point just mash them as best as you can.
These are delicious! Can they be frozen after baking to gift later in cookie boxes?
Just made these for my family and my cookie-hating brother came back for seconds, then thirds, then fourths… made them a bit too large so they cooked longer but sooo good
I had some leftover caramel left,so made these. They turned out to be so good
These cookies taste amazing! But I ran into a problem after baking. The toffee seemed to seep through to the bottom of the cookie, so even after letting them cool, I couldn’t figure out how to get the cookie with the toffee intact off the sheet pan. Any advice?
Thanks so much and merry Christmas!
Hi Julianna – I’m so sorry that happened! My best advice is to bake on parchment paper, so that way the toffee can cool a bit and hold into the cookie (it locks in like magic after cooling for a few minutes) and then you can use a spatula to take the cookies off the sheet pan!
My test batch is just out of the oven! The dough came together really nicely and they taste like a nuttier, more interesting snickerdoodle to me. I definitely misread the temp for regular ovens at first so my bake timing was a bit off, but that’s what the text sheet is for Also, i scooped with my 1.5 Tbsp cookie scoop and ended up with like 35 cookies somehow? Looking forward to baking the rest of them up!
I found this to be the case too! To get the 1.5 ounces she suggests I had to use my 3 tbs scoop. In the video on Instagram she’s definitely using something bigger than a 1.5 Tbs scoop.
Hiii, made these cookies and the flavors were yummy but i think you should be more specific about what temperature the toffee should be cooked at. I took mine off at 250 and when i baked the cookie, the toffee didn’t hold and oozed out everywhere:( Might try to reheat and firm up the toffee again, we’ll see
These cookies were a last minute addition to my holiday cookie boxes, but as a date cake lover, I knew I had to make them (and I’m glad I did)! They’re sticky in the most delicious way, and the reception for them was unbelievable. In a box of 11 other cookie varieties, I given a very sincere review from a cousin who doesn’t dole out compliments lightly… “Jacqueline, this is the best thing I’ve put in my mouth…. ever.” Making these cookies (probably because they were left out of the fridge a bit before getting into the oven) was quite a messy experience… they ended up quite large and unweildy, but with a little shaping with a bowl, I was able to fix it up in no time. Overall, delicious, and highly recommended!
This dessert truly represents traditional British comfort food. It doesn’t try to be fancy, but the taste is rich, satisfying, and memorable.
These sticky toffee cookies look absolutely irresistible such a fun twist on a classic flavor combo!
Quick question: do you have any tips for keeping them soft and gooey (instead of cakey) after baking? Thanks so much for the delicious‑looking recipe!
Hi there! Store them in between wax paper or parchment paper in a ziploc bag the fridge and that should help keep them chewy for the longest time possible! They won’t be very cakey at all (it’s a thin cookie), so you shouldn’t have issues 🙂
These sticky toffee cookies look incredible the perfect mix of nostalgic sticky toffee pudding vibes and cozy holiday cookie energy. The way you’ve layered that deep caramelized toffee with a chewy cookie base is such a smart idea, it honestly feels bakery-level but still super approachable for a home bake
Thanks for the follow up! I did chill the toffee for a few hours but it stayed on the softer side and melted off the cookies before it could sink in, so I think it didn’t get hot enough during the 4 minutes to reach a harder form. As for the cookies, it wasn’t any of the normal culprits. I weighed the flour, used parchment on normal cookie sheets, and doubled checked the oven temp afterwards with a thermometer (and I’m at sea level). Only thing I can think of is that I over mixed the dates and butter – not sure if that’s a thing. I wasn’t sure how smooth to get the paste and I was worried it was too chunky and maybe tried to overcompensate with the mixing time. I would probably throw the dates and hot water in a mini food processor next time. I will likely try these again at some point cause they do look great. Thanks!
This was delicious but even after experimentation sheet to sheet (e.g., 6 minutes until toffee application, 7 minutes, 8 minutes…), I never figured out how to get the toffee to stay put. I needed to scrape it all back onto each cookie at the end of the bake. Is it possible I didn’t cook the toffee properly? I didn’t have a candy thermometer so I just cooked for four minutes. The cookies themselves seemed to bake well, thankfully, and are beautifully caramelized. It was just a lot of work to fix the toffee
Hi Meredith! I’m so sorry this happened. I retested these cookies over the weekend and noticed that even on the same sheet pan, the toffee “sinkage” can vary from cookie to cookie. I’d say next time ignore the instructions and gently press the toffee down to the center, that should help a bit!
I love how the ginger cookie base pairs with the honey toffee topping for ultimate flavor balance.
Very good. I did not have heavy cream on hand, so I subbed half and half with butter, and the toffee still turned out good. I did have to cook it for much longer than 4 minutes. I felt that a heaping half tsp was a little much so I switched to a heaping 1/4 tsp and it worked much better for me. As a personal preference, the honey flavor is a little too strong for me but otherwise delicious! I was doubtful when I pulled my cookies out of the oven and they looked crazy but they worked out and are so yum!
i made these and omg they were so tasty! my only issue was that the toffee melted straight through to the pan, making a hole in the cookie. this made them impossible to get off the parchment/silpat even after completely cooling. i ended up having to serve them on little parchment circles so they didn’t fall apart. any remedies for this? thanks!
Hi Diana! I’m sorry this happened, but there are a few things to do to make sure the cookies can be picked up and stored even if the toffee sinks in the center (which should happen, so no stress there!). I know you said you used parchment, which is usually my first big tip/ask. The toffee should be able to cool and then you can either peel or use a spatula to remove the cookie from the parchment paper, which should make the process easier. I’m not sure if the silpat changed anything, but I’ll look into getting some so I can test my recipes on those, too! My second big tip is cooking the toffee on the stove to the highest point of the temperature range, this will make it far more likely to firm up after baking on the cookie. I hope this helps and I’m glad they were still delicious <3
Combined these with Hailee Catalano’s and LOVED how the toffee firmed up and then pooled in the cookies halfway through the baking process! Will definitely be making these again, they were delicious!
I made these and they taste delicious but they were more cake-like than cookie-like. They were still on the thin side but they were very, light and airy and not crispy on the edges. Trying to figure out if I did something wrong or mixed the dough too long or something. Really enjoyed the flavor but want them to be more like a cookie.
Hi just baked these, after having thad the recipe saved since it came out! I think the cookies are great, very reminiscent of sticky toffee pudding in a cookie form, however I found quite a few issues with the toffee. I followed the recipes instructions to add the toffee after 6 minutes and found that once the cookies had cooled the toffee sunk and created holes in the cookie which then stuck to parchment and were quite impossible to transfer to wire rack (or get them off after cooling). I tried a few different methods of adding the toffee at different points and found that the only solution was adding once the cookies had baked, but then did take away the melty goodness. Sadly, despite the cookie being yummy. I don’t think I will be making again.
These were delicious but quite a faff, some spread lots and some trays were close to unsalvageable as cookies. However, the batch I baked the day after, so with overnight chilled dough and much smaller than the 1.5tbsp as described came out perfect.
I would make again but will chill the dough first. I also used an Aga oven, top shelf of the baking oven worked better than bottom of the roasting.
the flavor of these is INCREDIBLE, only thing is they spread so much they are paper thin 🙁 i tried baking them right after, then i refrigerated the dough for a few hours and then i froze the dough for about 14 hrs. they all came out the same. i measured everything so not sure what to do! thank you <3
I’m so sorry that happened? Did you measure by grams? Also what were you baking on?
oops yes i measured by grams! and baked them on a metal baking tray
Hmmm this is quite a confusing one for me, and I’m so sorry they didn’t match your expectation! They should be thin (like a Tate’s) but they should also puff up because of the baking soda before they then collapse. If you want a thicker cookie next time, I’d suggest adding 15 grams of flour to stabilize, or decrease the water that you mash the dates in!
made these tonight and i’m running a couple of small test batches because my oven isn’t the most consistent temp wise. First couple tests came out fairly dark looking but once cooled they still tasted great and weren’t crumbly – they had a great chew! Want to figure out a better way to handle the toffee to prep for the dispensing onto the cookies as I was quite the mess, but the cookies is delicious and it’s another great recipe from our Queen Justine! <3
Hi Bonnie, the darkness in color is half from the baking soda, but also if your oven heats from the bottom (most do, but you never know!) it could also be because of dark baking sheets. However they should get a deep golden, so you can always pull them 2 minutes early if you want them less dark!
For tips on the toffee prep, I’d suggest chilling it until it’s firm, then pressing it a bit on the cookies. Just make sure the pans are lined, because some toffee might sink through (you’ve probably seen that in the comments!), but once the cookies cool you should be able to pull them off the pan, no problem.
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