Rosemary Toffee Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more on Fridays — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

I finally saw Wicked last weekend, and I cannot stop listening to the soundtrack. My whole FYP on TikTok is Wicked-related content, and I’m loving it. Speaking of TikTok… do we think this ban is actually happening? I feel a weird ambivalence to it, even though I should care more because it’s connected to my job. I’m not sure why, but I just can’t see it actually happening…

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THINGS I’M LOVING!

I’ve long been a fan of Spring & Mulberry’s date-sweetened chocolate, but I usually opt for their unique flavors. However, lately, I’ve been using their Pure Dark bars. I’ll break off a piece as a snack, or I’ll use it in baking, like today’s cookie recipe! If you’re into it, though, they have a bunch of other amazing flavors that may pique your interest, like bergamot and lavender rose.

Now that I’ve been focusing on purchasing clothing with natural fibers, I’ve ended up with a lot more wool sweaters. With fabrics like wool, pilling can occur, so I bought this cashmere comb to help get rid of them! You have to apply it gently so as not to tear the fabric, but I’ve found it to be very helpful it making my sweaters look fresh and new!

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RECIPE!

I love sweets infused with rosemary, so I couldn’t stop dreaming about a cookie with rosemary toffee and chocolate chunks. I wanted to keep the recipe simple, so I made the base a simple almond butter cookie, which means it’s naturally gluten free!

Some notes about these cookies:

1. Definitely don’t skip the part where you chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes. This is essential in helping with the texture and keeping its shape!

2. Leave a lot of room on your baking sheet — these cookies will spread a lot, so bake in 2 batches if you need to!

3. Because the cookies spread, I like to use the mouth of a glass to shape them right as they come out of the oven. See an example here.

4. Let them cool before judging! Fresh out of the oven, the cookies will be very soft-looking. Just give them a little time, and they’ll firm right up!

Rosemary Toffee Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients (makes about 16 cookies)

Cookies

• ¾ cup creamy almond butter

• ½ cup light brown sugar

• 1 large egg 

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ½ cup chopped dark chocolate

• ½ cup rosemary toffee bits

Rosemary Toffee

• 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted American butter

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1. Start by making your rosemary toffee. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Add butter, sugar, salt, and rosemary to a small saucepan on medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until toffee is turns an amber color (it’ll almost look like peanut butter). This can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes, so keep a close eye on the mixture.

2. When toffee has reached the right color and consistency, pour it over the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Let the toffee cool until it’s fully hardened, about 20 minutes.

3. Once it’s cooled and hardened, use a rolling pin to crack the toffee and break it into bite-sized pieces. You can also use a mallet or another heavy object.

4. To make the cookie dough, add almond butter, brown sugar, egg, baking soda, dark chocolate, and 1/2 cup of your rosemary toffee to a medium bowl. Mix together, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat your oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and then using a cookie scoop (or 1 tbsp), place cookie dough on the baking sheet, leaving at least a few inches between each piece of dough, as cookies will spread. Press a chocolate chunk or two on the top of each cookie, if desired. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are golden.

6. Remove from the oven, and immediately use the mouth of a glass to shape the cookies into even circles. Sprinkle with flake salt, and then let cool for at least 5-minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received a recipe for sheet-pan chicken thighs baked with potatoes, sweet potatoes, red peppers, and a delicious chimichurri — it’s all ready in just 30 minutes!

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