Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies
These perfect sticky toffee pudding cookies have super chewy, caramelly centers, tender edges, and are full of rich brown sugar and date flavor. A generous piping of silky vanilla custard buttercream and drizzle of brown sugar toffee sauce is the finishing touch. They are the best over the top cookies to bake this Christmas season!
Why You’ll Love These Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies
Extra chewy cookies with a super rich flavor– Brown sugar, dates and molasses add such a deep caramel flavor to the cookies while also helping to give them the best chewy texture.
The silkiest frosting– When thinking about how sticky toffee pudding would normally be served with vanilla custard, I thought it would be so yummy to make a custard based frosting to top the cookies with. German buttercream was the answer here. We’ll make a very thick vanilla bean pastry cream that will be mixed into whipped butter to give us literally the best frosting I’ve ever had. It is my new favorite frosting of all time. The pastry cream takes a bit of effort, but trust me it’s SO worth it for the result!
Delectable toffee sauce– To top off these spectacular cookies, we’ll make an easy brown sugar toffee sauce to drizzle over the frosting. 10/10!
For the full recipe, including measurements, step by step instructions, and bake time, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is just a brief overview!
Tips & Tricks for Perfect Cookies
Very softened butter. You’ll want to make sure your butter is super soft. As in, you should be able to press your finger into it very easily. This will make it easier to cream together with the sugar and help give the cookies the best texture.
Measure your flour properly. If you learn anything from making this recipe, please let it be this: measure your flour (and all other ingredients) with a digital kitchen scale. Please don’t bring me to tears; don’t scoop your measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to inaccurate flour measurements and therefore, a wonky bake.
Blend the dates and molasses A LOT. It will take some time to get the right consistency in the food processor, but keep at it until the dates are really blended into the molasses without large chunks. This will ensure a perfect texture for the cookies!
Beat the egg and vanilla thoroughly. Make sure to beat your egg yolks, date mixture and vanilla into the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale in color and very fluffy, not just until it’s combined. This helps to give the cookies their pillowy texture.
When the cookies are straight out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around them to give them a perfect circular shape! Because we’ll be rolling them into balls and shaping before baking, the cookies should be pretty round after baking, but to make them extra perfect use this trick! ?
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies FAQs
Nope! Simply make the dough, scoop, roll the balls in sugar and bake! (I Actually think the cookies are best when baked straight away.)
If you need to make the dough in advance and bake the next day, you of course can. For the best results I would just recommend letting the dough return to room temperature before attempting to scoop and bake!
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days for best taste. You can also refrigerate them, but let them come to room temperature before enjoying.
They can also be frozen for up to a month. Just make sure they are airtight for best storage!
I have been on my own gluten free journey lately and have found that most of my recipes turn out great GF- Hooray! There is a caveat though, I can only say the recipe will come out good with Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour. This is not sponsored, but my true opinion. This is the only gluten free flour I use as it bakes most similarly to regular, all-purpose flour.
I think you could send these cookies in a cookie box, but there is a high chance that they will arrive smushed because the frosting is very soft. I recommend sticking with some of my other cookis to send in the mail! Try my chocolate thumbprint cookies, Christmas kitchen sink cookies, gingerbread cookies, or brownie cookies for mailing instead!
If you make these cookies please leave a star review! Also, tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ so I can see your creation! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!
Other Christmas Cookies to Try
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Bean Custard Buttercream
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) whole milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated white sugar
- 3 tbsp (24 g) cornstarch
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter, cold and cut in cubes (for the pastry cream)
- 3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (for the frosting)
- pinch of salt
For the Toffee Sauce
- 1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 6 tbsp (84 g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream (double cream)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- pinch of salt
For the Brown Sugar Date Cookies
- 1/2 cup (100 g) Medjool dates, 6-9 dates depending on size (I highly recommend weighing them!)
- 1/3 cup (113 g) unsulphured molasses , or black treacle
- 2 1/4 cups (281 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (165 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Instructions
For the Vanilla Bean Custard Buttercream
- Start by making the frosting so it's ready to use once the cookies are done baking.
- Measure out 3/4 cup of milk, and from this take 1 tbsp. Add the 1 tbsp of milk to a large bowl along with the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until combined and a pale-yellow color. (It will be thick at first but will get smooth as you whisk.)3/4 cup (180 ml) whole milk, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated white sugar, 3 tbsp (24 g) cornstarch , pinch of salt, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- In a medium saucepan, heat the rest of the milk over medium-low heat just until it’s steaming.
- Add in 1/4 of the heated milk to the egg yolk/sugar mixture while stirring vigorously. Then, add the rest in and stir to combine.
- Transfer the mixture to the saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat and cook for 6-8 minutes, whisking continuously, until the mixture is very thick and soft peaks form. (Half way through if it is getting too hot and starts to get lumpy, remove it from the heat, whisk vigorously until smooth, then return to heat to continue cooking until thick.)
- Once it's thick, remove the pastry cream from the heat and transfer it to a bowl. Add in the butter and mix to combine. Place plastic wrap right on top of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill it in the fridge until completely cold.2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter, cold and cut in cubes (for the pastry cream)
- Add the larger portion of butter and pinch of salt to a large bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on high speed for about 5 minutes until the butter is pale in color and very fluffy.3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (for the frosting), pinch of salt
- Add in the chilled pastry cream and mix on medium speed until smooth. Set aside for later use. (Just cover with plastic wrap and leave on the counter at room temperature.)
For the Toffee Sauce
- Add the butter and brown sugar to a medium saucepan. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.(It should look very bubbly and “alive looking”. The mixture will go from just looking like separated melted butter and melted brown sugar to incorporated and very bubbly when it's ready.)1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed, 6 tbsp (84 g) unsalted butter
- Reduce the heat to medium-low heat and whisk in the cream. Let the mixture simmer for 3-4 minutes until thicker.1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream (double cream)
- Remove the toffee sauce from the heat and mix in the vanilla and salt.1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste, pinch of salt
- Pour the hot toffee sauce into a bowl and let it cool on the counter to room temperature for later use on the cookies.
For the Brown Sugar Date Cookies
- Yay it's time to make the cookies! (You're doing great!!)Preheat the oven to 350 ℉ (175 ℃). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the pits and roughly chop the dates and add them to a food processor, along with the molasses. Grind together until completely smooth with no large chunks of dates. This part is a bit tedious, but eventually it will all blend together. It will also be very sticky! (Like the name implies 🙂 )1/2 cup (100 g) Medjool dates, 6-9 dates depending on size (I highly recommend weighing them!), 1/3 cup (113 g) unsulphured molasses
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside the flour mixture.2 1/4 cups (281 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda
- To a large bowl, add the softened butter and brown sugar. Cream together with an electric mixer on high speed for 1-2 minutes until very light and fluffy.3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened, 3/4 cup (165 g) light brown sugar, packed
- Then add in the egg yolks, vanilla and date/molasses mixture. Mix on medium speed until combined and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.2 egg yolks, at room temperature, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- Add in the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed just until combined.(At first the dough may be a little softer than normal cookie dough, but let it rest in the bowl on the counter for ~10 minutes and the flour should have absorbed all the liquids making it easier to scoop and roll.)
- Scoop the dough with a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, and roll them into balls. Then roll the dough balls in sugar.
- Place the cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Slightly flatten each ball and form into a circle as best as you can. (See photo in the blog post above.)Bake 6-8 cookies at a time.
- Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes, then let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. (When the cookies are straight out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around them to give them a perfect circular shape.)
- Transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Assembling the Cookies
- Rewhip the frosting with an electric mixer on high speed until it's nice and fluffy again. Transfer it to a piping bag fit with a decorative tip. (I used a Wilton 2D tip.)
- Once cooled, pipe frosting onto each cookie, then drizzle each with toffee sauce. Enjoy!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days for best taste. You can also refrigerate them, but let them come to room temperature before enjoying. They can also be frozen for up to a month. Just make sure they are airtight for best storage!
Reg. Please send me a catalog. Thank You. A Deafs. Non Jobs. Happy Halloween Days. Products. Flavors. Reg. Rhonda Wright , 7 Colony Blvd , Apt 106 , Wilmington , DE 19802. Thank You. A Deafs.
Sticky toffee pudding with custard, is the ultimate British pudding. I hope these cookies (biscuits in the UK) stand up to the flavour test. Nothing beats a sticky toffee pudding.
I couldn’t agree more — nothing beats a proper sticky toffee pudding! ? I hope these cookies do it justice and bring a little of that classic flavor in cookie form. You’ll have to let me know what you think once you try them! ?
I tried this recipe as soon as it was posted. Really great cookie! My only qualm is that the molasses overpowers the delicate flavor of the dates. I’m wondering if it can be omitted or replaced. Similar to how the dates in the sponge cake is combined and blended with boiling water. I assume it would make too wet of a dough. Just wondering if there is an alternative.
These cookies look great. However I would like to make them smaller… say 1 tablesp00n batter per cookie instead of 2. How would you recommend to shorten the baking time?
These are fantastic. I’d definitely make them again. I made mine a little smaller (36). I could have used a little extra buttercream.
Thank you so much for making them! I’m thrilled you enjoyed them. Making them smaller is such a great idea — and extra buttercream is always a good call. I really appreciate you taking the time to share this!
Some of the best cookies I have ever made. I’ll definitely be incorporating this into my holiday baking each year. They got 5 star reviews from everyone who ate them
So happy you loved them!
followed instructions, broke my food processor
Oh no, I’m so sorry Maria!
Followed instructions, broke my food processor. I used the small food processor attachment for my stick blender to chop the dates after I removed the pits. I then added the molasses. The mixture was so sticky that the top of the bowl broke in two places when I turned it on. I obviously can’t assess the rest of the recipe, but when I try it again I will not put the molasses in the food processor.