These cookies are absolutely amazing. I made them for Christmas (posting these a little late, I am aware) and I have never had such success with a chocolate cookie! Previous experiences have turned out ugly, flat cookies, but these look just as awesome as they taste.

I tried the slice-n-bake option Deb suggested but I got frustrated and had an easier time scooping these cookies after letting the dough sit in the fridge for an hour or two. I am so incredibly pleased with how they turned out, and they didn't last very long at all - they were devoured in about a day or two. MAKE THESE COOKIES!

Oh, and I recommend sprinkling them with just a touch of sea salt before putting them in the oven - the sea salt pairs nicely with the intense chocolate flavor.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups (packed) brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 1.4-ounce chocolate-covered English toffee bars (such as Heath), coarsely chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped
Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional, but recommended!)

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; whisk to blend. Stir chocolate and butter in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Cool mixture to lukewarm.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in bowl until thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture, then toffee and nuts. Chill batter until firm, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto sheets, spacing two inches apart. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt, if you’re using it. Bake just until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft to touch, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

I know that it will be impossible to let them cool completely, but they really taste a lot better cool, as they continue baking once they come out of the oven.

Slice and bake option: Roll the dough into a log 1.5 inches in diameter and chill it. When you're ready to bake the cookies, cut your log into 1/2-inch slices. You can store the dough log in the freezer, wrapped in waxed paper and then two layers of plastic wrap for up to a month, just baking the cookies off as you need. Cookies baked straight from the freezer may need an additional minute or two in the oven, depending on their thickness.

Labels: chocolate, cookies, toffee

These cookies look and taste great, but not quite how I was expecting them to taste. The coconut flavor is very subdued and I would add more of it (I also used flaked coconut so I didn't bother putting it in the food processor because it was already small enough, and I should have toasted mine longer) I would also suggest using a high quality butter for these because the butter flavor is very intense - I used Organic Valley butter and was very pleased. These remind me very much of a tea biscuit, although I have yet to try them with tea.

Deb suggests spreading these with jam to make linzer cookies or dipping them in chocolate for added flavor - great suggestions for next time!

Toasted Coconut Shortbread
Adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2004

1/2 cup (about 1.5 ounces) unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (I used 1/2 tsp of coarse sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until coconut is light golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Cool completely, then grind in a coffee grinder, food processor or blender until coarsely ground.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in salt and vanilla. Beat in flour in 2 additions. Stir in toasted coconut. Gather dough together, flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough disk on lightly floured work surface to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter cookie cutters, cut dough into rounds. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out additional cookies.

Bake cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 week.)

Labels: butter cookies, coconut, shortbread

HELLO! I'm horrible at not going months between updates, aren't I? Please don't answer that...


I've had to push myself a bit to bake more at home these days because I spend so much time at work that the last thing I want to do on my days off is bake some more, but I know my family craves those home-baked goods! This post is full of cookies because I don't have the energy to devote time to things a little more time-consuming lately, but I'm trying to stray away from the ordinary, so these are far from being your grandmother's chocolate chip cookies!

Deb's blog Smitten Kitchen is one of my absolute favorites, I always have such success with the recipes she finds and I enjoy her little add-ins. The three recipes that follow are all from there. Actually, I'll just throw some pictures in this post and then make an individual post for each cookie so as not to throw too many recipes in one post...

Labels: cookies