Butterscotch Toffee Shortbread Cookies

Butterscotch Toffee Shortbread Cookies - made dough March 21, baked March 30, 2014 from Taste of Home

I do most of my baking on the weekends and bring in what I've made to work on Mondays. I missed last Monday and apparently I threw my coworkers off. They insist I've "got them trained" to check the kitchen when they come in on Monday morning so missing last week was like not holding up my end of their Pavlovian conditioning. Okay, that's a lot of pressure. To alleviate it, I made up some cookie dough ahead of time just in case I get to any Sunday night and don't have an offering to bring in the next day. Nothing easier than taking out frozen cookie dough and baking off a couple of sheets at the last minute.

This was an easy dough to make, especially if you get the Heath bar baking bits (includes toffee and milk chocolate) rather than having to chop up whole Heath bars. I get mine by the bag from the baking aisle at Target. The original directions say to roll out the dough and cut with a cookie cutter. To be honest, I don't have that kind of time. Plus I don't like cutting out cookies when it also means trying to slice through toffee bits and butterscotch chips with a cookie cutter - messy. Instead, I split the dough in half and rolled into logs then wrapped the logs in wax paper, put them in a freezer bag and stored them in the freezer until I needed them, aka Sunday night. If you freeze the logs rather than chilling them in the refrigerator, let them thaw for about 10 minutes before you turn your oven on to preheat. They'll be easier to cut cleanly and evenly. If you try to cut the frozen logs, they're harder to slice properly and may even crumble. I didn't really time these in the oven and although the directions say to bake for 10-12 minutes, this is one cookie you don't want to underbake or you won't get the snappy shortbread texture. Bake until golden brown almost all over and the middles are still a little pale. These were nice little shortbread cookies, especially with the crunch from the toffee bits and the extra flavor from the butterscotch chips. One of my coworkers came into my office and confessed she "took three". Can't ask for a better endorsement than that.

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butterscotch chips, finely chopped
1/2 cup milk chocolate English toffee bits

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in butterscotch chips and toffee bits. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut with a floured 2-inch fluted round cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Alternatively, roll dough into logs, wrap in wax paper and chill or freeze until ready to use. If freezing, allow to thaw for 10 minutes before slicing.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.