Toffee Crazy

I’m a sucker for toffee. Everybody knows that the chocolate covered caramels in that box of chocolates are the best, right? That burnt sugar crust on a crème brulee is what it’s really all about. So, when I decided to make cookies last week, I combined my favorite things: the old standby oatmeal cookie with some toffee chips and dark chocolate chips. Not exactly adventurous, I know, but will it win my heart? Mais, oui!

Usually I’m quite content to leave any hint of chocolate out of my cookies, since, as I've confessed before, I am not a fan of the standard chocolate chip cookie. I don’t really like the cookie part and I’m not a huge fan of semi-sweet chocolate chips, so I guess it would follow that there’s not much I like in there. I concede that straight from the oven, when there is a bit of crispy sugar around the edges, they are acceptable, but I definitely prefer a cookie with more going on. Oatmeal cookies are my favorite, probably because of their texture. A chewy oatmeal cookie, made with brown sugar and toffee chips, is this girl’s caramelized dream come true. Adding some dark chocolate chips keeps the husband happy, too, because some of us, obviously, need more than caramelized sugar.

I like that this recipe can be easily halved so that making a batch of cookies for two isn’t quite so sinful. This is my offering to this month’s Sugar High Friday hosted by Jasmine, of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict. The theme is sweet seduction so go check out all the other enticing desserts this Friday! While these cookies aren't exactly the ultimate in seduction, they do make us happy! Besides, the French throw around the word seduce a lot more casually than us puritans. If something is seducing, it's pretty much just coyly interesting. There's my excuse!

Chewy Oatmeal Toffee Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chips

2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Cream together the softened butter and sugars using an electric mixer. Beat in one egg at a time until smooth; add vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda, salt and spices. Whisk lightly to distribute the spices in the flour. Gradually add the flour mixture to the eggs/butter mixture, beating until smooth. Using a spatula, mix in the oatmeal, then the toffee and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should look slightly underdone; crisp around the edges but not completely set in the middle. Remove from the oven but let them rest on the cookie sheet about one minute before transferring to a cooling rack and you should have chewy cookies! Depending on the size, this should make 40-some cookies, but most often I make mine larger and get about 36.