Toffee Peanut Cookies are crunchy peanut butter cookies coated in bits of chopped peanuts and toffee. These gourmet peanut cookies are dressed up and party ready, but they are also so easy to make (no mixer needed), that you can easily keep the cookie jar full.
Why you'll love this recipe
I am drawn to peanut butter cookie recipes and I bake them all! Soft, crunchy, or crisp, they each have special attributes making them irresistible to me. While the rest of the world celebrates Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies, I dream about the peanut butter sandwich cookies, Do-si-dos®.
For me, peanut butter cookies are a nostalgia food, calling up distant memories of the once lunch box standard, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Which is why I made Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies!
Both the creamy and the crunchy peanut butter varieties had their highly biased supporters. Grape was the most popular jelly flavor. Personally, I often skipped the jelly altogether, savoring a plain peanut butter sandwich.
In recent years, peanut allergies seem to have become an epidemic among children, causing many schools to become “peanut free zones”. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and peanut butter cookies have been relegated to home-based eating for those without allergies.
I have some serious tree nut allergies, but luckily, I am not allergic to peanuts. I am well aware of how intense and scary food allergies can be.
The protective measures against allergens could be potentially lifesaving. Peanut eating kids today, will just have to create peanut butter memories at home!
This recipe has a few more ingredients than the most basic peanut butter cookie recipes, but they couldn’t be easier to make. The dough for Toffee Peanut Cookies is mixed in one bowl with a spoon!
Brown sugar and butter add toffee richness to the cookie. The peanut-toffee coating makes them special. In a world full of peanut butter cookie recipes, this one is a stand out!
Toffee Peanut Cookies stay wonderfully fresh for weeks, making them a great care package treat for any peanut butter cookie lover!
Though peanut-free schools make it not possible to pack these cookies in a lunch box, Toffee Peanut Cookies and a glass of milk make a great after-school snack!
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Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In a large mixing bowl, microwave butter until melted. Mix in the brown and granulated sugar, then the egg, vanilla, and peanut butter. Whisk to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Mix with a spoon or spatula, just until incorporated. Chill for at least 2 hours (up to 2 days).
- When ready to bake, combine the chopped peanuts and toffee bits in a small bowl.
- Use a small (2 teaspoon) scoop to portion the dough. Roll the dough into 1” balls or little logs (like a fat Tootsie Roll). Coat the top and side of each cookie by pressing into the peanut-toffee bit mixture.
- Place the cookies 2” apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the tops and bottom edges are light golden.
More peanut recipes
Chinese Peanut Cookies are bite sized and melt in your mouth. These traditional Chinese New Year cookies have intense roasted peanut flavor.
Honey Roasted Peanut Cookies are super crunchy cookies with chopped bits of sweet-salty honey roasted peanuts.
Peanut Butter Powder Cookies are crunchy treats that get a boost of extra peanut flavor from peanut butter powder.
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars are super easy, chewy cookie bars that are much quicker to make than individual cookies.
Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats are chewy cereal bars without marshmallows. Crunch, chewy, and delicious.
Chinese Milk Candy is easy to make nougat candy with chopped peanuts. They make great gifts.
Peanut Butter S'mores Cookies are filled with gooey marshmallows and melty chocolate chips. These crunchy cookies are flourless and gluten free.
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Toffee Peanut Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup peanut butter creamy or chunky (“natural” style recommended)
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
Topping
- 1 cup peanuts chopped into small pieces
- ⅓ cup toffee bits (Heath bits)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, microwave butter until melted.
- Mix in the brown and granulated sugar.
- Add egg, vanilla, and peanut butter. Whisk to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture into the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Mix with a spoon or spatula, just until incorporated.
- Cover the dough and chill for at least 2 hours (up to 2 days).
- When ready to bake: Line a baking sheet with parchment. Preheat the oven to 325° F.
- Combine the chopped peanuts and toffee bits in a small bowl.
- Use a small (2 teaspoon) scoop to portion the dough. Roll the dough into 1” balls or little logs (like a fat Tootsie Roll).
- Coat the top and side of each cookie by pressing into the peanut-toffee bit mixture.
- Place the cookies 2” apart on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the tops and bottom edges are light golden.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for at least 2 weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
First Published: October 1, 2016. Last Updated: October 3, 2021. Updated for additional information and better reader experience.
Ray McCormick
"Store in an airtight container at room temperature for at least 2 weeks." Store "...at least 2 weeks." Really?
The Monday Box
Hi, Ray. Yes, really! These cookies store beautifully at home or in the mail. Like biscotti (that can be stored for more than a month!) these cookies are crisp and dry, so the texture can be maintained over time.
Lexi @That Fit Fam
these cookies with that toffee added seems like it'd hit the spot! thanks for sharing!
The Monday Box
Thanks, Lexi! The toffee makes these peanut butter cookies special. 🙂
Reeni
Peanut butter and toffee sounds like a wonderful combination - one I don't think I ever had before. I am a peanut butter lover through and through. I have been craving peanut butter cookies all week and these look irresistible. My Grandma used to eat peanut butter and butter sandwiches - occasionally I have one too in her memory. They're great on toasted bread so they melt together.
The Monday Box
Toffee and peanut butter are AWESOME together, Reeni! I hadn't had the combo before either and now I am hooked! I had forgotten all about peanut butter and butter sandwiches! I think people used the butter so that the peanut butter wouldn't stick in your throat. How wonderful that you have a "memory sandwich"!
Miz Helen
Two of my favorites in one awesome cookie, I can't wait to try this one! Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday today. Have a great day and come back soon!
Miz Helen
The Monday Box
Thanks, Miz Helen! I hope you do get to try this recipe. The toffee-peanut butter combination is delicious!
Stephanie | Worth Whisking
Wendy, these cookies look fabulous! I also was a peanut butter-only sandwich eater when I was younger. I have a long love affair with peanut butter, and it makes me sad that some people can't eat it and are missing out. Love that these cookies are so easy to make and stay fresh for so long! Great for a care package or gift!
The Monday Box
Thank you, Stephanie! Allergies and food sensitivities can certainly make people feel left out. My husband can't eat peanut butter and has found a soy nut butter that he loves. I haven't tried it in this recipe yet, but I am planning on it!
Frugal Hausfrau
What fat little chunks of love!! The flavors sound amazing, too! Thanks for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
The Monday Box
Thanks, Mollie! If you like regular peanut butter cookies, you will love these. The toffee crunch adds something special! Thanks for hosting Throwback Thursday. 🙂
Winnie
AWESOME !!
I looove PB, but never though to combine with toffee. I looooooooove your idea, and I really need to try this recipe. My cookie jar needs to b e filled..... 🙂
The Monday Box
Thank you, Winnie! I am now hooked on peanut butter with crunchy toffee. It is an awesome combination! Your cookie jar definitely needs these. 🙂
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert
Oh boy what a great combination! I love peanut butter in desserts and topped with toffee ... they must be fantastic. Very pretty too!
The Monday Box
Thanks, Tricia! The toffee bits really do make these peanut butter cookies stand out!
Saltandserenity
Wendy, I can't wait to try these cookies. Peanuts and toffee are my happy flavours! They look so pretty too.
The Monday Box
Thanks, Cindy! They are some of my favorite flavors too. If a recipe says peanut in the title, I bake it! Plus any recipe that originates with Alice Medrich is sure to be good.
Monica
Ironically, I didn't eat much - nor crave much - peanut butter as a kid but now...it's so different! I top my english muffin with PB a few mornings a week and I am constantly craving some peanut butter cookie or snack! It's just so good. Now, I see this and I'm hankering for your cookies big time. The toffee bites are a lovely surprise. What a great after school/after camp treat!
The Monday Box
Thanks, Monica! Do you think that growing up outside of the US, peanut butter just wasn't a standard childhood food and that might have had something to do with your lack of interest in it as a child? How funny that now you crave it! 🙂 Many of my friends who spent their childhoods outside of the US still think peanut butter is disgusting! Our tastes often do evolve as we age. Alice Medrich recipes are always reliable and this one is another winner. 🙂