Chai Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookie

claudine bonsu
1 day ago
3 min read

Sticky toffee pudding is one of those desserts that never really disappeared, but has definitely had a resurgence lately. From interpretations on the classic bake, to the rise of the 'STP Guy' on social media, i couldn't help but put my spin on a nostalgic british bake.

Chai works so well with sticky toffee pudding because of it's warm spices - cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and ginger - they naturally mirror and amplify the caramelised, almost treacle-like depth of dates and toffee, lifting those notes and making the whole flavour profile feel richer and more layered.

From there, I've added swirls toffee paste that will melt in pockets when baked, emulating the sticky toffee sauce poured on the pudding. And too push it that much further, I've made a chai chocolate bark that adds texture and a spiced chocolate finish.

The result is something that still feels rooted in the nostalgia of sticky toffee pudding, but pushed into something more modern, and slightly spiced.

Recipe

Yields 7-8 110g cookies (adjust as needed)

Important Note: This recipe uses the pan-banging method, allowing for crisp edges but soft centered cookie.

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

110g salted butter browned
70g soft light brown sugar
50g granulated sugar
30 soft dark brown sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (ACV) or lemon juice
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
200g plain/all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
chai (tea) bag, ground

Date Paste

85g of dates
boiling water
chai (tea) bag

Sticky Toffee paste

70g soft dark brown sugar
50g butter
pinch of salt
2 tsps of treacle

Chai chocolate bark

120g of blonde chocolate - I use caramilk
half a chai (tea) bag
dark muscovado sugar (to sprinkle)

Instructions:

in a small bowl, steep one of your tea bag in some boiled water. Place your dates in the bowl, which will allow them to soften up for 20-30mins.
Melt your butter over medium heat until the milk solids turn gold brown and foamy. ( Once you hear the butter stop bubbling its time to take it off). Once off the heat, add your ground tea bag to infuse into the browned butter. Let it cool before popping into the freezer for 15-20 mins. When taken out, whisk the butter using a fork, to form a more firm butter mixture. ( this happens due to the coldness of the bowl from the freezer) Tip: check my recipe for Rich Tea & Earl Grey cookies for a more in depth browned butter tutorial
Whilst your butter is chilling, melt your blonde chocolate and mix in half of your tea bag. Spread on a parchment lined baking tray and sprinkle some muscovado sugar over, before place in the freezer/to harden.
In a large bowl, cream together the brown butter with the sugars, then add in your date paste until fully incorporated.
Add in the egg yolk, vanilla extract and ACV, and mix until well combined
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and bicarbonate of soda, and until fully incorporated, then add your chopped up blonde chocolate bark.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined. Avoid over mixing to keep the cookies tender. ( hands are always the best for small batches!)
In a bowl layer your cookie dough with the toffee swirl , this is going to create your pockets of toffee like caramel once baked.
Scoop your cookie dough to 110g sized balls
Chill the dough: Cover and refrigerate the dough minimum of 4 hours (this is a wetter dough mixture, so the longer chill time will help the flour absorb some of this and maximise flavours)

Baking

Oven temperature: Preheat your oven to 356°F (175°C)
Baking time: Place your cookie dough balls ( about 4 each tray) Bake for at a total of 18 minutes. At 6 minutes, take your cookies out and tap your baking tray a 3-4 times on a kitchen surface. Do this again at the 9th, 12th and 15th minute mark . The edges will be nice and golden and with a soft centre.

These cookies will slightly spread, so just use a small bowl or muffin mould to swoosh your cookies into a circular shape.
Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack or an airtight container.