Harry Potter and the Butterbeer Cookies

Imagine this: you’re cuddled up with a warm, fluffy blanket, snuggled up against your significant other, best friend, pet, or even just by yourself with a steaming, frothy cup of hot cocoa. The Harry Potter theme score starts drifting from your television; marathoning the iconic movies is a tradition you have had since you were a young adult. Nothing screams “it’s the holidays” quite like Hogwarts, quidditch, and your favorite gang of wizards. The one thing that would absolutely complete this yearly movie run would be a warm, gooey butterbeer cookie.

I grew up watching the Harry Potter movies- in fact, I watched all the movies before I had ever picked up one of the novels. That says a lot, since I was a very avid reader while growing up. I honestly think the first time I had ever seen the movies was during ABC Family’s annual Harry Potter marathon, and year after year, I kept coming back to watch them.

The food side of the universe has always interested me. From pumpkin pasties and treacle tarts, to Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs, the food item that has always seemed the most appealing to me was the butterbeer. I have always wanted to make a glass, especially when reading the novels or watching the movies, but I never seemed to remember.

One day, inspiration struck. I was baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies when I stopped to think for a minute. What if I made butterbeer cookies? Butterscotch and toffee chips aren’t too hard to find, plus, they would probably last a bit longer than a mug of the drink would (hopefully). So I got to crafting a recipe, and I am confident that I have created a wonderful, buttery toffee cookie that will appeal to fan’s of Harry Potter and fans of holiday cookies alike.

Harry Potter’s Favorite Butterbeer Cookies

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes

Yields: 80 Cookies (at most; you could make bigger cookies with a smaller yield size)

Yummy Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix, powdered

1/4 cup instant butterscotch pudding mix, powdered

2 large eggs (can substitute with applesauce or other egg replacers as well!)

1 additional egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp butter extract or imitation butter

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (if you prefer chewier cookies, only use 2 and 1/4 cups of flour)

1 and 1/2 cup Heath toffee bits (without chocolate; bonus points if you make your own toffee!!)

Optional Ingredient Ideas:

You can use butterscotch chips along with the toffee bits! Just use a total of 1 and 1/2 cup’s worth of chips/bits!

If you like fluffier, cake-like cookies, you can add 2 tbsp of cornstarch to the bowl of dry ingredients! The cookies will stay almost exactly how you place them on the sheet; they don’t really spread out or deflate too much!

For a subtle warmth that makes any dessert feel more holiday-ish, you can add a few dashes of cinnamon to the cookie mix!

Easy Instructions:

Step One: In a stand mixer (using paddle attachment) or large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. You may need to scrape the sides to ensure they are blended properly.

Step Two: To the butter and sugar mixture, add your pudding mixes, eggs, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and butter extract/imitation butter. Beat the ingredients together for at least one minute while on medium speed.

Step Three: In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda.

Step Four: SLOWLY add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients about a 1/2 cup at a time until mixture is fully combined. (BE CAREFUL when adding the dry ingredients to the mixer, it could end up looking like it snowed in your kitchen if it’s added too fast!!)

Step Five: Mix in your toffee bits and/or butterscotch chips! (Tip: be careful not to over mix your cookie dough as that can toughen it. Mixing leads to gluten development, and too much gluten development can lead to a tough cookie!)

Step Six: Bring the dough together into a ball and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or reusable beeswax wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours and no more than 12. Remove dough from refrigerator about 10 minutes before baking to soften the dough and make it easier to work with. (Tip: If you like chewier cookies, feel free to skip the chilling process! Your cookies might end up a bit flatter if you skip the refrigeration, but they will be just as tasty!)

Step Seven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Step Eight: Roll the dough into balls around one inch in diameter to get the yield of 80 cookies and space them out evenly on your baking tray, aiming for two inches of space between cookies. If you are using a nonstick tray, there is no need to spray cooking oil or put a silicon baking liner on the baking tray. Bake the cookies for 10-13 minutes! (However, make the cookies as big as you want! You’ll just have to adjust the length of time you bake the cookies.)

Step Nine: Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for 2-5 minutes before removing them and placing them on a cooling rack. (Cooling racks will help your cookies cool faster, as well as ensuring they don’t get soggy bottoms from the steam!)

Step Ten: Put your favorite Harry Potter movie on the TV, grab a pal, a warm blanket, and a hot chocolate (or homemade butterbeer!), then grab your freshly baked cookies and enjoy!