These mini toffee chocolate chip cookies are the perfect bite-size treat–crispy edges, chewy middle, and a perfect recipe for freezing ahead of time to use whenever the need for chocolate strikes. 

A few weeks ago I left all my boys at home while I flew to my parents’ house in California for the weekend. It was a great little getaway to see siblings, parents, and old high school friends. I had way too much fun…and stayed up way past my bedtime. Ugh, there is a reason I don’t stay up past midnight anymore.

From what I gather, the boys had a good time, too. My little guys absolutely adore their Daddy, so they were thrilled to have a special “boys only” weekend where he thoroughly spoiled them with love.

I came home to a happy family…and the smell of fresh baked cookies.Now, I’m usually the chef in the family, but Sunday evening dessert is often Daddy’s gig. My husband is a pretty good cook actually; he just usually defers to me because I enjoy cooking and am usually the one home to do it.

Dessert, however, is a whole different ball game. The first time I showed him how to pin a dessert idea to my account, I came back 20 minutes later and he had had pinned at least 30 more! Needless to say, this man takes his treats seriously. But that’s okay with me. We’ve enjoyed some really tasty dishes over the years due to his insatiable sweet tooth.

These cookies were no exception. Seriously, they might be the best I’ve ever had in my life. And I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to perfect my own chocolate chip cookies. Plus, I spent two summers in high school baking hundreds THOUSANDS of cookies with my best friend to sell as concessions at the community theater’s summer productions.

I’m not a cookie newbie. But these cookies BLEW ME AWAY.

So I sat there on the kitchen counter, munching happily on a divine cookie, and I asked him where he got the recipe. He started telling me how he made them, and I laughed out loud.

He said he just Googled a recipe, but he made a couple of “mistakes”. He melted the butter completely (everything I’ve ever read says that this COMPLETELY ruins cookies). Then, he decided to substitute “your coconut oil” (apparently he shares no ownership of this particular item in our pantry) for shortening and said the dough had kind of a weird texture because of it. But, he added, they seemed to cook okay in the end.

And who can argue with the man’s process when they turned out SO delicious? The best part? The dough freezes really well (in fact, after some experimentation, I think the cookies turn out better after the dough has been frozen) so we’ve been able to pull out a dozen or so at a time to bake up when we want a treat in the evening without getting the kitchen messy. They still bake perfectly, and it’s so nice to have an easy dessert on hand.

These are really small cookies, which makes them perfect for popping in your mouth and consuming more than you care to admit…or great for serving just one to kiddos as a treat when you don’t want them to overload on sugar.

Have I convinced you yet that you need these cookies in your life–especially in your freezer? Oh good! In that case, keep reading for the recipe below. Enjoy!

Mini Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Notes: Don’t over bake these cookies. If you bake them too long, they’ll be too hard and crunchy. However, if you trust the timer, you’ll be rewarded with lovely crisp edges and a chewy center. Mine were perfect right at 9 minutes. Remember, they’ll continue to crisp up after you take them out, so err on the side of underbaking a bit.

Also, the cookies get the best texture if you freeze the dough (once you’ve shaped it into balls) and bake them straight out of the freezer.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (one 12 oz. bag)
• 2/3 cup Heath bits

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix first four ingredients (sugars & fats) with electric beaters until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until no dry streaks remain. Gently stir in chocolate chips and Heath bits. (Note: It’s going to seem like A LOT of chocolate–like the dough will hardly hold together–but it’s SO good that way. I tried a batch with less chocolate and it wasn’t nearly as good. The texture totally flopped.)
4. Form dough into small balls (about 1 inch in size and 1/2 ounce in weight) and place on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1/2 hour. In my experience, they get the best texture if you actually freeze the dough and bake them straight out of the freezer.
5. Bake 9-10 minutes (mine were perfect at 9), until lightly brown. Don’t over bake! If you bake them too long, they’ll be too hard and crunchy. However, if you trust the timer, you’ll be rewarded with lovely crisp edges and a chewy center. Heavenly!

Source: Adapted from a recipe from All Recipes. Changed various ingredients and amounts.

If you like these cookies, try some of our other favorite desserts:

• Brownie Pudding
• Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cake
• Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Pie

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