Toffee Butter Icebox Cookies

Toffee Butter Icebox Cookies - made dough December 13, 2015 from Mom on Timeout

I’ve confessed before that I’m a hoarder of baking ingredients, right? I can declutter clothes, shoes and dust-catching knickknacks with the best of them but when it comes to baking ingredients, I buy extras like Armageddon is coming and all the survivors are going to gather at my house for a baking marathon before the world ends. Why else would I have 4 ½ packages of Heath toffee baking bits? Although, in my defense, the plain toffee baking bits, as opposed to the milk chocolate toffee baking bits, are harder to come by so a friend gave me two and when I was in a grocery store I don’t normally go to and found them there, I bought a few more. And we should ignore the fact that I haven’t used them since.

Until now. Normally I buy the harder-to-find ingredients because I have a recipe that uses them and I go seeking them out. Then after all that trouble, I try to pick them up so I don’t have to search for them again next time I need them for another recipe. Sadly, for the toffee bits, I haven’t had cause to use them for any particular recipe. Fortunately, there’s pinterest and you can go seeking for recipes that use the ingredient(s) you want to use. Which is how I found this recipe for Toffee Butter Cookies.

What I love about this recipe is the simplicity. The dough is easy to mix together and handles easily, meaning not too sticky or soft and also not hard or crumbly. It obligingly pats into a log which make it easy to roll up in wax paper and stick in the freezer. When you’re ready to bake them, let the dough logs thaw for about 10-15 minutes before slicing them. You don’t want to cut them when they’re frozen solid as that’s when they might crumble but you also don’t want the dough to soften to room temperature as it’s harder to cut cleanly and keep their shape.

This is not a soft and chewy cookie and, for once, I don’t recommend underbaking. You’ll know you’ve underbaked it when it doesn’t have the “snap” like a good shortbread and instead of chewy but not a good chewy. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the tops also have browned slightly. You don’t want to overbake it either or the toffee will burn. This also defies my normal cookie-eating recommendation of eating while warm or lukewarm. Instead, I recommend you let it cool completely before taking a bite. When baked and cooled properly, this is a nicely crisp butter cookie with the added sweetness and crunch from the toffee.

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Heath toffee bits

1. Cream butter and sugar together.
2. Add in the egg and vanilla extract; mix until well combined.
3. Stir in flour, mixing just until incorporated.
4. Fold in Heath toffee bits.
5. Divide dough in half and place on top of a sheet of plastic wrap. Form the dough into a log about 6" long and 1.5" in diameter. Wrap each log with the plastic wrap and refrigerate dough logs for 1-2 hours or until firm.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Remove plastic wrap from rolls and cut into 1/4" slices. Place slices about 2" apart on baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.