Classic American Chocolate Chip Cookies vs Sticky Toffee Pudding with Toffee Sauce

Both desserts begin the same way, creaming butter with brown sugar before beating in egg and vanilla, yet they head in very different directions. The cookies pair brown with granulated sugar and bake briefly, so the edges turn golden while the centers stay slightly soft, with semi-sweet chocolate chips (and optional chopped nuts) folded through the chilled dough. The pudding instead softens chopped dates in boiling water with bicarbonate of soda and folds them into the batter for a longer bake. Its finishing touch is a simmered sauce of butter, brown sugar and double cream, poured hot over the warm puddings.