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Disney’s Gideon’s Bakehouse Pistachio Toffee Chocolate Cookies

These jumbo-sized cookies don’t require a ticket to the Magic Kingdom.

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These Gideon’s Bakehouse Pistachio Toffee Chocolate Cookies are straight from the magical land of Disney and stand up to the plate in terms of being fantastically sublime. A substantial cookie base is loaded — and I mean loaded— with chocolate chips, salted pistachios, and chocolate toffee bits. And while you may not first think of these three mix-ins as going together, they are a match you wish you had eaten before.

There are many similarities between all of Disney’s magical kingdoms, however, there’s a unique spot in the Orlando location — Gideon’s Bakehouse. This bakery is serving up seasonal half-pound cookies that reportedly take almost a day of preparation to make. The flavor options rotate frequently throughout the months, but their Pistachio Toffee Chocolate Cookie is a mainstay. I’ve never visited any of the Disney locations, but this bakehouse is enough of a reason to try and go — but before I rushed in and booked tickets, I figured I would try my hand at making them myself, and I’m glad I did. This copycat recipe makes a knockout cookie, and it didn’t take an entire day to prepare and bake.

To get the cookie of my magical dreams, I decided to go with the cold-butter mixing method. This keeps the cookie structure super firm and chewy. Using dark brown sugar instead of the classic light brown sugar gives the cookie a deeper caramel flavor.

Make sure to beat the wet ingredients very well, this adds a lot of aeration and ensures the ingredients are properly incorporated.

Next, I gradually added all of the dry ingredients — slowly — very slowly! This recipe calls for a lot of flour, so before I turned on my mixer, I folded the dry ingredients with a spatula and then went at it with the mixer. While I said to beat your wet ingredients thoroughly, you don’t want to overmix your dry ingredients into the cookie dough. That creates a tough cookie, which is something none of us want.

Now comes the best part — the mix-ins. Instead of dumping all of the mix-ins into the bowl, I reserved a small portion of the pistachio (both whole and chopped), chocolate chips, and toffee bits in separate bowls. I folded the remaining mix-ins into the dough, which ensures that nothing breaks apart too much. If you want the crazy jumbo-size, then divide your dough into roughly eight portions and roll them in your hands for even shaping. For a more manageable size, you can divide the cookie dough into twelve portions instead.

What makes Gideon’s Bakehouse cookies so great is their striking visual appeal. Looking at the cookies, you can automatically recognize the cookie’s flavor because they load the top of the cookie with the mix-in ingredients as well. So I took those reserved mix-in ingredients and pressed them into the tops of each cookie.

Since I mixed the dough with cold butter, there was no need to chill the cookie dough. These cookies could go straight into the oven! And they only need ten to twelve minutes in the oven — don’t overbake them as all baked goods experience some carryover cooking when they come out of the oven.

Once cooled you’ll be won over by the results (I know I was). The cookie is firm on the outside yet slightly chewy and soft on the inside. Pistachios add a contrasting crunch to the soft molten gooeyness of the melted chocolate chips and the toffee bolsters the caramel, and golden notes of the cookie dough and gives a bit of flavorful bite.

Yield(s): Makes 8 large or 12 medium sized cookies

15m prep time

12m cook time

4.7
Rated 4.7 out of 5
Rated by 45 reviewers

Allergens: Eggs, Tree Nuts, Gluten

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Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, cold and cut into small pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, cold
  • 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 14 oz milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup toffee bits
  • 1 cup salted pistachios, roughly chopped, reserve some whole pistachios for garnishing cookie
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
  2. With a stand or hand mixer, beat butter with dark and granulated sugars until thoroughly incorporated, about 3 to 4 minutes. Since the butter is cold, it’ll stick to the sides of the bowl more so make sure to scrap the bowl frequently.
  3. Mix in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. While the eggs are beating, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.
  4. Lower the mixer speed to the lowest setting and gradually add in the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl and paddle frequently. Finally mix in 11 ounces of the chocolate chips, 3/4 cup of the toffee bits, and 3/4 cup of the pistachios.
  5. Divide the cookie dough into 8 big portions and roll into balls and flatten slightly into the shape of a hockey puck.
  6. Take the reserved chocolate chips, pistachios, and toffee bits and put them into the same bowl. Press the top of each portioned cookie in the mix-in bowl, making sure there’s a bit of each mix-in on top of the cookie.
  7. Place cookies 2-inches apart on the baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway. The cookies will still look a little undercooked, but they will continue to cook after being pulled from the oven.
  8. Let cookies rest for 5 to 10 minutes and then enjoy!

Recipe adapted frrom Modern Honey.