Whiskey Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Christie Vanover | Published December 18, 2021 | Last Updated February 16, 2023

Disclosure Aspire by Hestan compensated me for this recipe.

This is a grilling website, so you may be wondering why you landed here for a baking recipe. Believe it or not, in addition to grilling, I LOVE to bake. Sometimes I bake in the oven, but most of the time, I bake on my grill.

This toffee chocolate chip cookie recipe is completely flexible and can be made in the oven, on a gas grill like my Aspire by Hestan or on a pellet grill. 

Before you get started making the cookie dough, you’ll need to make the whiskey toffee chips. They only take 10 minutes to make, and you can make them several days ahead of time. Just store them in an air-tight container or plastic bag

GCG Tips

• Chill the cookie dough to allow the butter to firm up before baking.
• Place an inverted pan on your grill to elevate the cookie sheet from the grill grate to prevent the bottoms from burning.
•  Add a kiss of whiskey barrel smoke to make your toffee chocolate chip cookies even more memorable.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients

Every chocolate chip cookie recipe contains pretty much the same ingredients: sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and of course chocolate chips. 

What makes each recipe different are the proportions. If you go heavier on the flour, your cookies will be more cake-like. If you add more butter, they will be thinner. 

To me, the perfect cookie are those ones at the bakery that are about 4 inches wide and pretty flat with wrinkles that hold in the chips and melted toffee that creates a brittle bark. 

This recipe makes flat cookies like you would find in a bakery shop. They’re both crispy and chewy. If you prefer cookies that are thicker and softer, substitute half of the butter with shortening. 

How to Grill Cookies

Once you’ve made the cookie dough batter and mixed in the dark chocolate chips and homemade whiskey toffee chips, let the batter chill while you prepare the grill. 

You’ll need to heat it to 375F degrees. And the most important part is adding an inverted pan to the grill to create an elevated surface above the grill grate. For my Hestan, I just use the rotisserie pan, and place it upside down. You could also use an upside down pie tin or 13×9 pan.

This will prevent your cookies from burning on the bottom. 

If you’re using a pellet grill, I also recommend this step. Pellet grills do have deflector plates, but they can still get pretty hot above the fire pot. 

Add a kiss of smoke

If you really want to make your toffee chocolate chip cookies memorable, add a kiss of Jack Daniel’s whiskey barrel smoke. Jack Daniel’s whiskey barrels are made of white oak. The whiskey matures in the barrel for years before it is bottled.

Once the barrels are empty, some are chopped up into smoking chips that have the beautiful essence of whiskey mixed with the oak. 

Place the chips in a smoking tube, and place the tube on the grill. The heat of the grill should be enough to generate smoke. If not, you can light them with a lighter. 

Once the grill is ready, place a spoonful of cookie dough onto the lined sheet pan. Then, place the sheet pan on the inverted pan on the grill next to the smoke tube. 

They’ll be perfectly cooked in 10-12 minutes.