Never A Wish Better Than This: Toffee Crunch Cookies

So one of the things I love to do, especially with the kids, is bake, and cookies are pretty easy to make with kids. Last year Josh and the kids got my a cookie cookbook Nordic Ware "The Great Cookie Book" for Christmas. I also got some new cookie sheets, silpat liner and spatulas for Christmas (and am getting a beater blade and cookie scoop for my birthday later this month, woohoo!) and wanted to try them out. This was a hidden little recipe at the end of the book, but I love toffee and thought it would be worth making. I usually don't like oatmeal in cookies, but this really doesn't taste too much like oatmeal, more just adding a nice chewy texture to the cookie. I don't taste the coconut at all, Josh says he does but it tastes good. I didn't have the almonds so I just increased the oatmeal and then in half the batter added mini chocolate chips. They.were.delicious. While nothing can beat my first love, chocolate chip cookies, these will have a high place in the rotation list for sure. My family and co-workers seemed to enjoy them as well.
Next time I may try to make them with the almonds and see how they taste.
One thing I tried to pay attention to this time, was how to reduce spreading of the cookies. I tried a new choc chip cookie recipe a few weeks ago and it really spread out. I let the butter warm at room temp rather than in the microwave. I also took care not to overbeat while mixing. Though this recipe didn't call for it, I did put the batter in the refrigerator while the first batch was baking, and the second batch stayed even thicker and fluffier. I also made sure not to reuse the same cookie sheets so they were cool/cold going in. Lastly, based off suggestions, I only baked for 13 minutes rather than the 15 suggested. I have noticed both times I used the Silpat mat, the cookies spread more than the plain pan. I am going to retry the choc chip cookies on Friday and I may also try using either bread or cake flour as that was another tip I came across in this wonderful book my secret santa got me this year...I plan on reading and using it a lot as I try to improve my baking skills this year!

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 (10-ounce) bag toffee candy bits
1 cup oatmeal ( I used 1.5 cups)
1 cup sweetened flake coconut
1 cup chopped whole, skinned almonds (I did not have/use added approximately 2/3 cup mini chop chips to half of the batter)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat the eggs slightly; then add to the butter mixture and mix well. Sift flour, salt and baking soda; then add slowly to the moist ingredients and mix thoroughly. Mix in the toffee bits, oatmeal, coconut and nuts.

Drop dough by the teaspoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.(I baked for 13 minutes)

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