Toffee Crunch Cookie Brittle

I have a new favorite cookie.  I didn’t start my weekend looking for a new favorite cookie.  I hadn’t even planned to make cookies, but a few days earlier, my son asked me why we didn’t have cookies in the house.  I told him we didn’t have cookies, because he hadn’t made any cookies.  He looked at me and said, “But I don’t know how to make cookies!”  Obviously, I needed to rectify that situation.  I promised him we would make cookies over the weekend. 

On Friday morning, I was tearing apart the sideboard where I keep my cookbooks trying to find my Martha Stewart Cookie book.  My daughter was tapping her foot impatiently worried she was going to be late for school because of my frantic search for a cookbook, so I gave up without finding Martha's book.  I settled for the Big Fat Cookies book instead.  My son took note of my failed search, and checked out a cookie cookbook from his school library.  I guess he was worried I would renege on my promise if he didn’t bring a cookie cookbook home from school.  Too cute!

My son looked through the book he brought home from the library, and decided he wanted to make lemon bars.  We had a great time making the cookies.  He wanted to do everything himself, and I loved watching him, especially when he was zesting the lemon carefully into a small bowl.  He was very proud of his lemon bars, and I promised him I would put them on my blog.  I’m not sharing the recipe because I wasn’t very impressed.  The cookies were a bit heavy on the crust, and too light on the lemon filling, but (shh!) don’t tell my son.  He did a great job.

My new favorite cookie came out of the Big Fat Cookies book.  The recipe for the Toffee Crunch Cookie Brittle looked great, so I decide to make a second batch of cookies on Saturday after my son and I finished the lemon bars.  These cookies are great.  The dough is like the dough of a Russian teacake, sandy, crumbly and melt-in-your mouth.  And, the toffee adds a salty sweet flavor more satisfying to me than a plain chocolate chip cookie.  These cookies are really easy to make, which makes them even better!

Toffee Crunch Cookie Brittle
Adapted from Big Fat Cookies by Elinor Kilvans
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup crushed Heath or Skor bars (4 bars)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Position a rack in the center of the oven.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth and glossy, about 30 seconds.  Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until the mixture is smooth.  Stir in the crushed toffee and the walnuts.

Spoon the dough into the center of the prepared baking sheet.  Press the dough into a rectangle leaving 1 to 1½ inches boarder around the dough.  Using your hands, press the dough into an even ½ -inch layer.

Bake until the top is golden brown and the sides are light brown, about 19 minutes.  Cool the cookie on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, and then slide the cookie with the parchment paper onto a wire cooling rack.  The cookie will become crisp as it cools.

Break the cooled cookie into 4- to 5-inch pieces, and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.  Makes about 12 to 15 cookies.