Heath Bar Cookies are a chocolate lover’s dream! Inspired by “Better Than Anything” cakes, these gooey, caramel-filled cookies are topped with whipped cream frosting and toffee bits.
Heath Bar Cookies are “Better Than Anything”!
“Better Than Anything” cake is a rich chocolate cake soaked with sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce, then topped with whipped cream and crushed Heath® bars for the ultimate dessert. If you’ve tried this cake, you know it’s nothing short of incredible—rich, gooey, and completely indulgent.
So, what could be better than that? “Better Than Anything” COOKIES, of course!
This recipe starts with rich, thick, chewy chocolate cookies filled with soft, sweet caramel and topped with whipped cream frosting and crushed Heath bars. Just like the cake, but in cookie form—and even better, in my opinion!
Heath Bar Cookies: Special Ingredients
This cookie recipe uses two special ingredients that you might not see often: cake flour and Dutch-process cocoa powder. If you bake a lot, you might already have them at home. If not, you can easily find both in most grocery stores.
Special Ingredient #1: Dutch-process Cocoa Powder
- Dutch-process cocoa powder gives cookies a rich, dark, and moist texture. Regular cocoa powder makes them less flavorful and drier.
- Hershey’s® “Special Dark” cocoa powder is a Dutch-process cocoa powder that is also delicious in these cookies and is readily found at most grocery stores.
- Local grocery stores often have Ghirardelli® Dutch-process cocoa powder. Look for “Dutch process” or “Dutched” on the container.
Special Ingredient #2: Cake Flour
- Another special ingredient in Heath Bar Cookies is cake flour. It’s not usually found in cookies, but it’s important for the cookies’ texture and taste in this recipe.
- Cake flour is ground to be very fine and has less protein, which means it makes less gluten when you mix the cookie batter. Less gluten results in a softer, gooier cookie.
Adding Caramels To The Cookie Dough
Now that the chocolate cookie dough is whipped together, it’s time to stuff it with caramel!
My favorite (affordable) caramels are Werther’s® soft (not original) caramels (not sponsored). These caramels have a great flavor, hold their shape well, and we think they’re perfect in these cookies.
These cookies are BIG (bakery style!), so we like to add two full caramels. A good substitute for caramels in this recipe would be Rolo® candies. Try using 2-3 per cookie.
Quick Tip
Make sure the dough fully covers the caramels to prevent leaks. Some caramel might still seep out, so bake the cookies on parchment paper or a liner to catch any drips. The caramel will harden and be easy to remove.
Top Cookies With Whipped Cream Frosting
Once the cookies are cool, top them with whipped cream frosting. It’s simple to make with just three ingredients.
Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, then add heavy cream and whip until light and fluffy. A stand mixer makes it even easier.
Finish Off Heath Bar Cookies With Toffee Bits
Last, but not least, we add Heath milk chocolate English Toffee Baking bits on top of the whipped cream frosting.
These baking bits make the perfect topping for these Heath Bar Cookies!
Heath Bar Cookie Tips
- Don’t substitute ingredients. I’ve tried out this cookie recipe a bunch of times! To get the best cookies, make sure to follow the recipe closely and use the specific ingredients listed. There are some unusual ingredients, but it’s best to stick with them instead of swapping them for others. Baking can be tricky, so it’s hard to know if substitutes will work as well.
- Don’t skip or shorten the chilling time. The longer the dough sits, the tastier it gets, and chilling it helps with the texture and shape of these Heath Bar Cookies. Chilling makes sure the cookies bake thick and don’t spread out too much.
More Cookie Recipes
- Gideon’s Bakehouse Cookie Recipe Copycat with chocolate and toffee
- Maple Cookies with a maple glaze (tastes like a maple donut!)
- Avalanche Cookies no-bake cookies with white chocolate and peanut butter
- Cowboy Cookies with cinnamon, coconut, and pecans
- Salted Caramel Cookies with cream cheese frosting and a caramel drizzle
Heath Bar Cookies
Equipment
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- 1M Open Star Piping Tip
- Piping bags
- large sheet pan,
- Silicone Baking Mat
Ingredients
Cookies
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder see note 1
- 1/2 cup cake flour see note 2
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour see note 3
- 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 12 Werther’s soft caramels unwrapped
Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese brick-style and full-fat, not cream cheese from a tub
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- Heath milk chocolate English Toffee Baking bits
Instructions
- Cut butter straight from the fridge into small cubes. Add the cubed butter and brown sugar to a large bowl (or stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment). Beat until completely combined and ultra creamy, about 3–4 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until combined. Add in cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Beat until just combined, scraping the sides with a spatula as needed. Add in cake flour (read note 3 first) and regular flour and again beat until combined. Don’t overbeat the mixture. Add the mini and regular-sized chocolate chips. Fold the chips and cookies into the dough with a spatula. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for 45 minutes up to 2 hours.
- After chilling, remove the bowl from the fridge and form 6 cookie dough balls. Each ball should be just over 4 ounces (117 grams each). Roll into large balls, then split each ball in half and press 2 unwrapped caramels in the center. Roll the balls back up, being careful to fully cover the caramels. Place dough balls on a parchment-paper-lined sheet pan or plate and return them to the fridge or freezer to chill for 15 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325°F. Line an extra-large sheet pan with a silicone liner (parchment paper works, but the cookies bake better on a silicone liner). Add 3 dough balls to the pan, leaving plenty of space between each cookie. Bake for 13–18 minutes, erring on the side of slightly under-baking (I think they’re perfect at 15 minutes). They’re slightly under-baked but will firm up to nice, fudgy/chewy cookies as they set. Remove from oven and immediately press the edges of the cookie inward with the back of a metal spatula to get the perfect round bakery-style cookie. Let cookies stand on the pan 10–15 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool and finish firming up. Repeat process with the last 3 cookies.
- Place cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl (fitted to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or use a hand mixer) and beat on medium speed until completely smooth. Switch to low speed and slowly add in the heavy cream; beat until just combined. Stop mixer and scrape the sides with a spatula as needed. Once all the cream has been added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting holds stiff peaks. Watch carefully to avoid overbeating. Gently fold in the vanilla with a spatula if adding.
- Transfer whipped cream frosting to a piping bag fitted with an open star piping tip. Generously frost each cookie, equally dividing the frosting among the 6 cookies.(I use all the frosting, but if you don’t want to use it all, save the rest to use as a fruit dip or addition to other desserts.) Immediately top with crushed Heath bits (to desired preference). Cookies are best enjoyed within a couple of hours; otherwise, the frosting will begin to soften or weep. (See Storage if you won’t be eating these all at once).
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
As your sister I have to say the BEST cookies ever! and super easy to make! would recommend to everyone!
So happy you enjoyed these! Thanks for the comment 🙂