There is no winner in 12 days of cookies…but if there was, these might just be the winner. As I’ve been baking, Christian and I have been ranking them for fun, and this one shot to the top at first bite. And I shouldn’t be surprised! Sticky toffee pudding is up there as one of my very favorite desserts, and I wanted to do her justice in my lineup this season.
The brown butter cookie has a satisfyingly soft texture, yet the dates keep it sturdy and give it a good toothsome quality. It’s lightly spiced, and the buttercream mimics whipped cream in the way I’d hoped, offering a mildly sweet, creaminess next to the rich toffee sauce. It’s a perfect Christmas bite.
Tomorrow is the last day of my cookie chaos, and I am so excited to share a family favorite. I hope you’ve been enjoying the recipes, even if you don’t feel like making a single one. Until tomorrow—love you <3
STICKY TOFFEE COOKIE
I forgot to count how many cookies this recipe made—sue me! I think it’s roughly 30?
Cookie:
1 ½ cups pitted medjool dates, roughly chopped
1 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp nutmeg, use divided
¼ tsp cloves, use divided
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 sticks unsalted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature*
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Buttercream:
½ cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/8th teaspoon cream of tartar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed & room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste**
Pinch salt
Toffee sauce:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
Pinch salt
*Brown butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat. Once little bits of brown start to collect at the bottom and the whole thing becomes golden brown and the butter’s fragrance turns nutty, almost like you’re toasting almonds, turn the heat off. Pour it into a separate bowl, scraping those brown bits as much as possible. You can cool it at room temperature, it’ll just take awhile. I put mine in the freezer and stir it every 10 minutes until it’s a pliable texture similar to room temperature butter.
**Vanilla bean paste adds an extra boost of flavor and the specks of vanilla are a nice touch. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste or don’t want to spend the money on it—me most of the time!—you can use 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract.
***This cookie dough needs to rest overnight—plan accordingly!
Make the cookie:
In a small saucepan, combine the dates, water, cinnamon stick, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8th teaspoon cloves over medium heat. Once it reaches a boil, remove from the heat and let this mixture steep for 15-30 minutes. Strain the liquid out of the dates, remove the cinnamon stick and let the dates cool to room-ish temperature (mine were still slightly warm to touch, but that’s okay! So long as they aren’t hot). This took about 30 minutes for me.
While the dates cool, whisk together your dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and ⅛ teaspoon cloves and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and both sugars. Use a paddle attachment or hand mixer to cream these on a medium speed until the sugar dissolves into the butter, lightening the color of the mixture a shade or two. It should take about 5 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well on a low speed and scraping the bowl in between each addition. Add the vanilla with the second egg.
Add all of the dry ingredients and the cooled dates at once. Mix on a low until no dry streaks remain. Use a spatula to scrape down into the bottom of the bowl and ensure everything is well combined.
If you plan on scooping, cover the dough in the bowl and chill. If you’re going to weigh your cookies, spread some plastic wrap on your work space and dump the dough out on top. Press the dough into a rectangle, wrap well and chill like this. Either way, let it sit in the fridge overnight.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two sheet trays with parchment paper.
If you’re weighing cookies, you want 40-45g. If you’re scooping, a 1 oz scoop will be best here. I didn’t stress much about these being round and “cookie” shaped, but you can always roll them into perfect little balls if that’s your jam. Give them a couple of inches of space to grow on the pan.
I baked each tray for exactly 10 minutes–the only cookie that was so consistent! The middle should still show a few signs of moisture, but they should not be wet. And the edges will set and start to turn a shade darker.
Let them cool on the trays for at least two minutes before transferring them to wire racks, if you’re using them. Let them cool completely while you get your frosting and toffee sauce together.
Make the buttercream:
In a small saucepan, add a little bit of water to coat the bottom and add the sugar. Turn this on a medium heat while you prep your egg whites.
Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. A stand mixer will be easier here, if you have one, but either works.
Once the sugar starts to boil, start whisking your egg whites on a medium speed. You want your whites to reach a soft peak just as the sugar reaches 233-237 degrees. If the sugar reaches temperature before the whites are ready, simply remove the pot from the heat and crank the speed on your whites to high. If the whites are ready before your sugar, turn the speed to low.
Once both are ready, over medium speed, pour the sugar syrup into the bowl in a slow, steady stream. If you’re using a hand mixer, go 1 tablespoon at a time. Once all the sugar is added, increase the speed to medium-high and whisk until a fluffy meringue forms and the bowl no longer feels warm. This took my mixer about 8 minutes.
Now, with the mixer still on medium-high, add the butter one cube at a time. Add one every five seconds or pick a song and add it to the rhythm or something, but add it consistently until all of it is added. The mixture might look crazy. Curdled even. Don’t worry! It’ll come together, I promise.
Keep whisking until a silky, smooth buttercream comes together. You’ll want to scrape the bowl once or twice. Add the salt and vanilla and whisk another minute to combine. You just made Italian buttercream!
Now frost your cooled cookies! My piping bag was still wet from the gingerbread, so I just used an offset spatula to plop some on top. Do as you like! Frost them all, and then it’s time for the final step.
Make the toffee sauce:
Whisk together the butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Let this come to a boil and dissolve the sugar for about 5 minutes. Whisk pretty consistently as it cooks.
After minutes, remove from the heat and whisk in the cream, vanilla and salt.
Spoon the toffee sauce over the frosted cookies. I didn’t measure this, but maybe it was 1 teaspoon each? You can always start with less and go back and add more with whatever you have leftover.
Eat these ASAP. Then eat them again tomorrow. And the next day. After that, they lose a little bit of their luster, but not enough that we didn’t still eat them.
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