Shetland Sheepdogs are considered one of the smartest breeds of dogs. While I bake, my Sheltie, Pax, hangs out in the kitchen alternating between sleeping and asking for samples. Cocoa is poisonous for dogs, so of course I wasn’t giving out any samples of these Soft Chocolate-Toffee cookies. When I told Pax he couldn’t have any because they weren’t good for him, he paused, cocked his head to the side thinking, and then left the room. I was busy baking and didn’t notice that Pax had left my sight. It’s rarely a good thing. When I realized he wasn’t in the room and that the house was strangely quiet, I went to investigate.
Apparently, Pax had considered the “no cookie” situation and had determined that perhaps he was lactose intolerant. So he went in search of some Lactaid chewable tablets. I told you he was smart. I found him sitting on his dog bed with a half-eaten cardboard box between his paws. Blister packs of Lactaid tablets lay all over the floor. Quite a few had tablets missing. He may be smart but he can’t read the dosage instructions.
In a panic, I called the vet’s office. The receptionist explained that they would look up the ingredients and call me back. In the meantime I called Lactaid to find out overdose information. However, Lactaid told me they couldn’t help me because they don’t test their product on dogs. I guess that means lactose intolerant canines will have to miss out on ice cream. Luckily, my vet called back immediately and said there was nothing to worry about. By then, Pax was full of vanilla flavored Lactaid tablets and no longer interested in cookies.
Luckily, humans can fully indulge and enjoy these Soft Chocolate-Toffee Cookies. The chocolate dough is made even more chocolaty with the addition of mini chocolate chips. Mini chips are great for dispersing evenly throughout the dough, providing a boost of flavor. All of that soft chewiness is coated with buttery toffee crunch.
I considered waiting until after the summer to post this as a care package recipe. The milk chocolate toffee pieces could get a bit melted if mailed in hot weather. But this is finals time for many college students and these are perfect stress relief cookies. Each bite provides a moment of m-m-m-m. A care package with Soft Chocolate-Toffee Cookies could make finals week less nerve-racking. At the very least, they would make finals week more delicious.
Soft Chocolate-Toffee Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa Dutch processed
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk slightly beaten together
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- 1-8 oz. package Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits or 8 oz. chocolate coated toffee bars finely chopped
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
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In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Allow to cool about 10-15 minutes until room temperature. (If the butter is not sufficiently cooled, the batter will be too loose to scoop into balls and will need to be refrigerated for an hour before scooping.)
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To the slightly cooled, melted butter add brown sugar and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
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Mix in the egg.
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Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.
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Fold in the chocolate chips.
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Pour the Heath bits onto a plate.
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Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, scoop dough, roll into a ball, and roll the ball in the Heath bits to coat completely.
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Place the coated dough balls 2-3” apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
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Bake for 12 minutes.
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Allow the cookies to cool for about 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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When completely cool, store at room temperature in an airtight container for at least 7 days. Zapping a cookie in the microwave for 10-20 seconds will help restore chewiness if the cookies begin to dry out.
Packing Tips
Double wrap pairs of cookies in plastic wrap with bottoms together. Place wrapped cookies in a column inside an airtight container or ziplock bag (with as much air squeezed out as possible). Soft Chocolate-Toffee Cookies travel best in cooler temperatures.
Oh my gosh I am SO glad that Pax is okay! My in-law’s dog always seems to get into things … it makes me so nervous! One time he ate a whole sheet of aluminum foil that I had on top of a loaf of quick bread! Pulled it down right from the table!
And these toffee cookies look wonderful : )
Dogs are crazy! I get eating vanilla flavored tablets (especially if you are trying to cure lactose intolerance) but aluminum foil?!! (Thank goodness your in-law’s dog can “digest” metal!) Leaves? Sticks? Shoes? It wasn’t until Pax picked up a petrified dead rodent that I told him there would be no more kisses!! Not a good image for a food blog. Sorry. 🙂
Oh my. Everytime I see one of your beautiful photos, my waistline thickens! I am going to HAVE to try these out! x
Thanks, Keren! Any chocolate toffee bar will do if you don’t have Heath Bits in the UK. Skor bars maybe? Gather family and friends to help eat them as waistline protection! 🙂 I send them out in a care package IMMEDIATELY! Thank you so much also for your kind words about the photos. They are what I struggle with the most!
Oh no. That’s a scary situation. I am so glad to here he is ok!! These cookies look so yummy. Toffee and chocolate sounds amazing. I need to try them soon.
Thanks, Zainab! The dog is a goof. He will eat anything that doesn’t bite him first! These cookies really are worth trying. They may even be the solution to all the scholastic stress in your life lately! 🙂
Good grief, that fudgy chocolaty center has me hooked! It would definitely relieve any stress I had, Wendy! I’m glad your dog is okay! I guess he was trying to console himself about the chocolate. It’s so sad not to be able to enjoy chocolate. ; )
Thanks, Monica! Yes, poor deprived Pax. No chocolate in his life, just lousy homemade peanut butter or sweet potato biscuits (cut out in bone shapes)! 🙂 Truly, Monica, I can’t say enough about these cookies. First try they didn’t taste like chocolate to me, but adding the chips was just what they needed. Rolling in sugar is ok, but rolling in heath bits is amazing!
awwwww poor Pax! Such a cutie, though! I’m glad he’s okay. 🙂 And these cookies are more than ok! I love chocolate and toffee together, and these cookies look like a chocoholic’s dream come true. Wendy. 😀
Thanks, Jess! When I crave chocolate, these cookies would be just the thing to fill that intense chocolaty need! So good! And Pax…he is a nut but a cute nut! 🙂
Oh, Pax! I’m glad he is better now–and that humans can indulge in these gorgeous cookies!
Thanks, Amy! Dogs will eat the craziest things! 🙂 Chocolate cookies make you glad to be a human.
Your dog! 🙂 I’m so glad he is ok – he has great taste! These cookies sound amazing. Toffee is probably our favorite thing to add to desserts around here, so this twist on the chocolate chip cookie is right up my alley!
Thanks, Mary Frances! Toffee adds a buttery warmth and a crunch! Good stuff! 🙂
Our dog hovers in the kitchen waiting for me to drop food. I just pray it’s not chocolate when I do!!
Dogs do make the best cleanup crew, Dorothy! One would think I never made a mess on the kitchen floor with my canine cleaning service! 🙂
Oh poor puppy Pax! I guess he really did understand he would get no satisfaction hanging with you in the kitchen. They are smart dogs – and Pax is gorgeous. The cookies are gorgeous too – and I bet they would be hard to resist! Lovely recipe, great care package. Have a blessed, wonderful, restful, fun Mother’s Day!
Thanks, Tricia! Yes, poor Pax. 🙂 He thinks his sweet handsome face will get him whatever he desires…..Unfortunately, he is right (most of the time)! My daughter tells me I spoil him like a grandchild. 🙂
We didn’t even bother trying to resist these cookies. I even nibbled as I packed up the care package!
Wishing you a lovely Mother’s Day as well!
These look wonderful, definitely my kind of cookies. That is so funny about your dog, very smart, indeed!
Thanks, Chris! I really enjoyed the soft-chewy cookie with the contrast of crunchy toffee. A favorite flavor combo as well. 🙂 My dog is is a goof and too smart for his own good! 🙂
p.s. I am excited that we will both be at the Food Blog Conference in Asheville! Can’t wait to meet you in person!
I’m glad your dog is fine!!
My cat should give him some lessons, as he (my cat) doesn’t touch any human-food. He thinks it’s below him (He loves tuna, but as we don’t eat it, he’s sure it’s not a human food LOL)
I love these cookies, and I’m pinning them!
Thanks, Winnie! Pax is all puppy and energetically into everything. He will eat just about anything but his favorite snack is shoes! Cats can be rather elitist, sophisticated creatures! Good thing your cat loves tuna not caviar! 🙂
תודה רבה for the pin (AND Facebook like)!!
I’m so glad your sweet pup is ok! My dog has gotten into her fair share of things, and thankfully always been ok. Crazy dogs! 😉 These cookies look so moist, and that toffee just takes the cookies up a notch. I love it!
Thanks, Jocelyn! Some dogs are just programmed to eat everything possible. 🙂 I do worry that Pax will get into something dangerous. He has a driving need to chew on EVERYTHING. These cookies have a great texture. They are great for humans with a driving need to chew on cookies! 🙂
Eeeeeek! Thank goodness Pax is ok! I would’ve freaked right out. Abby is always eating something weird – we have to watch her like a hawk. Every time we turn around she has something new in her mouth. The scariest was when we were visiting cousins in San Francisco and a vase had broken in their house without anyone knowing. Abby disappeared and when I went looking for her, she had glass in her mouth. I was so scared she swallowed some but she was fine, so I don’t think she did. Pax is a beautiful dog, look at his sweet face! And these are beautiful cookies. I can’t get over how thick, fudgy and chewy they look! And I’m in love with the dough to toffee ratio. It’s perfect!
OMG, Nancy! I think I would have freaked out completely if I had found Pax with glass in his mouth! How do you even know what to do?! X-ray or no x-ray…and does glass even show up on an x-ray?! What a relief to find that Abby hadn’t swallowed the glass! What is it with the constant need to search out things to chew and swallow?! My mother (very much not a dog person) visited recently and was very concerned that I wasn’t feeding Pax enough because he always seems to be searching out more food! 🙂 As for the cookies….I found the dough to toffee ratio to be super delicious! One of my favorite cookies. Even Mr. Quite-Spoiled-by-Multiple-Care-Packages thought these were a major keeper! 🙂
Thank goodness Pax is ok! I would of been crazy with worry! I think I would of stress eaten my way through these cookies! They look absolutely delicious. And Pax is very handsome.
Thanks, Reeni! I spend half of my life stress eating so this situation was no different! 🙂 I probably stopped breathing while I waited for the vet to call me and say all was well. I know I was aware of feeling suddenly able to breathe once I learned that Lactaid posed no danger….not that I plan to use it as a dog dietary suppliment! 🙂 Pax can be quite the trouble maker. Lucky for him that he is so handsome! 🙂
These are so delicious I used Hershey’s special dark cocoa and they are so rich. They taste like a brownie in cookie form
Thanks, Rebecca! I agree that these cookies are brownie-like, with the added toffee crunch bonus! 🙂 I am so glad you are enjoying them!
I tried making these soft chocolate toffee cookies last night… They were burnt, like bad. I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong? They also were dry. This is the first recipe I’ve ever had difficulty with..
Hi, Jill. I am sorry your cookies didn’t turn out! This is a recipe I prepare often, so I am not sure what the problem might be with your batch. Burnt cookies are, of course, overcooked, and will therefore be dry. If you are sure that your oven temperature is correct, I would try watching a test cookie as it bakes to determine what is the right baking time in your oven. Every oven does heat a little differently.